#stuff from 2017

Three years after their previous appearance, VoicePlay returned to the stage in Dayton as professional headliners for the Kettering National A Cappella Festival. Their recent schedule hadn't allowed as much educational outreach as usual, so they enjoyed what time they had with the kids.

.

[Here is another recording from the side of the stage with more of their entrance.]

A toe-tapping tune with an audience participation element is a fantastic way to kick off a show. With a performance like this one, it's not surprising that the crowd treat them like the rockstars they are.

Details:

title: Mr. Blue Sky

original songs / performers: "Mr. Blue Sky" by ELO (Electric Light Orchestra); [1:10] "Blue Skies" by Ben Selvin & Charles Kaley (as The Knickerbockers)

written by: "Mr. Blue Sky" by Jeff Lynne; "Blue Skies" by Irving Berlin

arranged by: Geoff Castellucci

performance date: 11 November 2017

My favorite bits:

the crunchy harmonies on ♫ "sun shines brightly" ♫ ☀

J.None working the front row, and the kids' resulting excitement

Layne looping back for his mic stand without missing a beat

"So far, you've been helping us… not so much." 😆 (Very diplomatic.)

the smooth transitions into and out of the "Blue Skies" section

Geoff giving Layne's arm a friendly bump as they cross on the riser

using the mini megaphones to replicate the voice distortions from the original song

the build up to the lovely ending chord

Trivia:

The guys performed this arrangement for a little over a year more before they finally filmed a video for it as the first entry in the second round of their PartWork series.

The mini megaphones later made an appearance in the music video for their cover of "You're My Best Friend" by Queen.

.

There's a ton of overlap between a cappella kids and theater kids, so it was an easy choice for VoicePlay to include a song from the biggest musical of the 21st century in their setlist. It's interesting to see how their new member and a live setting led to adjustments in the arrangement from the recorded version.

Details:

title: My Shot

original performers: cast of Hamilton: An American Musical (2015)

written by: Lin-Manuel Miranda & Alex Lacamoire

arranged by: Layne Stein

performance date: 11 November 2017

My favorite bits:

shifting the vocal roles with J.None taking on both the Hamilton and Burr lines

all the audience members singing along

the projections on the backdrop

Earl's fantastic French accent and that dip into his lower register

the moment of silence after ♫ "you're gonna get shot" ♫ and Layne's gunshot sound effect

the building tension during Geoff's repetition of ♫ "When are these colonies gonna rise up?" ♫

harmonized fast patter lyrics

J's big old belt leading into the ending section

Trivia:

VoicePlay had released their video for this song a year and a half earlier, shortly before the 2016 Tony Awards.

This video was originally posted to Facebook by the Western Brown Choirs from Mount Orab, Ohio.

.

Every performance of this piece is unique. It's also one of the best demonstrations of their group name, a chance for the boys to play together for everyone's amusement, including their own. Unfortunately, this clip is only the first two verses and one chorus, but it's still fun while it lasts.

Details:

title: Elvira

original performers: The Oak Ridge Boys

written by: Dallas Frazier

arranged by: Geoff Castellucci

performance date: 11 November 2017

My favorite bits:

troublemaker Eli nudging Earl to take center stage

pouty Geoff sitting on the edge of the riser, and the ensuing gesture conversation between him and Earl

J.None's smooth runs

Eli's big old riff

Trivia:

This fan favorite tune was a staple of VoicePlay's live shows for many years, including on the 2015 Sing-Off tour, but they've never made a music video for it because the audience response is so integral to the humor of it.

Their buddies in Home Free enjoyed this arrangement so much that they asked to use it as a starting point for their own version recorded with The Oak Ridge Boys.

.

Additional photos

.

The crowd was pretty excited for the post-show meet and greet.

People often debate what qualifies a movie as a true Christmas movie, and The Nightmare Before Christmas is no exception, despite the name of the holiday appearing in its title. But there's absolutely no question that its soundtrack is darn catchy. Which is why VoicePlay have made several music videos of those songs as their Halloween offerings, starting with this one. After all, professional singers often have to start rehearsing for holiday shows in October, if not earlier. Why not ease into things with a little gleeful spookiness?

Details:

title: What's This? (feat. J.None)

original performer: Danny Elfman as Jack Skellington in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

written by: Danny Elfman

arranged by: Layne Stein

release date: 30 October 2017

My favorite bits:

the lovely opening chords

J.None's tone of cautious wonder

Eli and Earl imitating the carolers and the ossilating movements of their vehicle from the movie

♫ "I might possibly go daffy…" ♫ followed by Layne popping a quack into his percussion riff 🦆

"But seriously? What is this? Ew!" coinciding with the lighting change & makeup reveal

singing undeterred while dodging incoming "snowballs"

those sweet harmonies on ♫ "coming from insiiide" ♫

Geoff and Layne excitedly leaning into the middle at the start of the crescendo

the silly character voices on the syncopated ♫ "What… is… this? Yeah." ♫

the combination of rhythmic clock ticking and lullabye-like cooing as the "children" drift off to sleep

♫ ⇘ "dre-eam-laaand" ⇘ ♫ "That was weird..." 😬

J batting away Earl's encroaching monster hands

Geoff's bouncy descending bass line

the abrupt ending

Trivia:

This song had been part of their holiday setlists for several years, including their annual residencies for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Disney World.

They finally recorded this version with J.None for their "Warm Up" EP, which was released two days after this video.

The UV-reactive makeup looks were designed and applied by Andy Wright and Lia Malamo from Makeup and Creative Arts. The fixitive they used was apparently very effective, since the guys said it took several days to completely wash off.

Each singer is painted to resemble a character from the movie. Eli is Dr. Finkelstein, Geoff is Oogie Boogie, J.None is (of course) Jack Skellington, Layne is the Mayor of Halloween Town, and Earl is Barrel.

When VoicePlay revisited this movie in subsequent years, the only singer to repeat a character from this lineup is Geoff, who had the lead on "Oogie Boogie's Song" in 2019.

The lighting changes were designed by Eli, and controlled by Kathy during filming. Meanwhile, Nick handled the audio playback and "color commentary" (perhaps code for "snowball" throwing?).

There are some sneaky Oogie Boogie faces in the set. Take a look at the black boxes behind Earl.

The lyrical silliness in this video's YouTube description was: " "What's this? What's this? There's white things in the air, What's this? There's white things in the air. What's Thi… " Wait… what are the words again?! Ok, back to zero everyone let's shoot this thing from the top again!"

When they were done filming, they had a little fun in breaking down the backdrop. Earl smash!

A fan was so amused by the destruction that they decided to not just draw the scene, they also animated it with a little speech bubble.

Leon King also indulged in some animation inspired by the glowing makeup.

Disney animated movies are probably best known for their music, and almost all of them have a showstopping tune for their main characters. Singing or listening to those songs can feel empowering. So, sit back, relax, and spend a few minutes being inspired and entertained by these goofballs.

Details:

title: Aca Top 10 — Disney Heroes (feat. J.None)

original songs / performers: "Go the Distance" by Roger Bart as Hercules in Hercules (1997); [0:37] "When Will My Life Begin?" by Mandy Moore as Rapunzel in Tangled (2010); [0:55] "You'll Be In My Heart" by Glenn Close as Kala & Phil Collins as the narrator in Tarzan (1999); [1:24] "One Jump Ahead" by Brad Kane as Aladdin in Aladdin (1992); [1:44] "Colors of the Wind" by Judy Kuhn as Pocahontas in Pocahantas (1995); [2:06] "Reflection" by Lea Salonga as Fa Mulan in Mulan (1998); [2:33] "Part of Your World" by Jodi Benson as Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989); [3:00] "How Far I'll Go" by Auliʻi Cravalho as Moana in Moana (2016); [3:23] "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" by Jason Weaver as Simba, Rowan Atkinson as Zazu, & Laura Williams as Nala in The Lion King (1994); [3:40] "Let It Go" by Idina Menzel as Elsa in Frozen (2013)

written by: "Go the Distance" by Alan Menken & David Zippel; "When Will My Life Begin?" by Alan Menken & Glenn Slater; "You'll Be In My Heart" by Phil Collins; "One Jump Ahead" by Alan Menken & Tim Rice; "Colors of the Wind" by Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz; "Reflection" by Matthew Wilder & David Zippel; "Part of Your World" by Alan Menken & Howard Ashman; "How Far I'll Go" by Lin-Manuel Miranda; "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" by Elton John & Tim Rice; "Let It Go" by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez

arranged by: Geoff Castellucci

release date: 21 September 2017

My favorite bits:

J.None's clear, hopeful tone on "Go the Distance"

the rhythm section being confused as to where they're supposed to be looking before their parts begin

Eli shrugging off his own muscles compared to Earl and J 💪

Layne's little finger wiggle from the beginning of "You'll Be In My Heart" being redirected at Geoff

the crunchy harmonies on the ♫ "Whoa-o-o-oa, number seven" ♫ transition

Layne's scampering percussion riff in "One Jump Ahead"

Geoff looking over at Layne while singing ♫ "why he grins" ♫, and Layne shrugging

J's flirty little wave to the camera during "Reflection"

Eli and J following the lyrics for ♫ "jumping, dancing" ♫

that lovely bell chord on ♫ "street street stree-ee-ee-eet" ♫

the back row dramatically looking left and right as they sing the words

everyone's befuddlement at Geoff taking the lead on the beginning of "Let It Go" ("That's not your song, bass man.")

Earl's adorable power pose at the end

Trivia:

○ VoicePlay had recorded and/or performed several of these songs previously:

"How Far I'll Go" was in their "Moana medley" video just one month before.

"I Just Can't Wait To Be King" was included in The King Returns medley on their 2012 album "Once Upon an Ever After". It was also part of the "aca-Disney" mashup they created for the Disney On Broadway 20th anniversary celebration.

"When Will My Life Begin" was in their condensed Tangled performance at the 2015 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.

"Let It Go" was part of their "Wow! Vol. 1" medley during the 2015 Sing-Off tour. Layne also snuck it into one memorable rendition of "Road Trip".

○ A couple of these songs were revisited in later videos:

"Part of Your World" was, of course, included in their "Little Mermaid medley" with Rachel Potter in 2020.

They recorded a full version of "Go the Distance" with EJ Cardona in 2021.

○ Eli's incredible riff and declaration of "Xtina for life!" at the end of the "Reflection" excerpt are in reference to the pop version of the song that Christina Aguilera recorded for the movie's end credits.

○ J.None had sung "You'll Be In My Heart" as part of his audition process to perform at Disney World in 2013. He was cast as Nakawa in the Festival of the Lion King live show.

○ The YouTube description includes a parody verse for "Reflection" — "Whooooooo is that Earl I see… / Staring straight at Eli? / When will my REFLECTION show / Jellied ham and RICE!!? / Yummmmmmmmm… "

○ The guys are all wearing graphic t-shirts featuring characters from the movies included in the countdown:

J.None — Hercules flexing his biceps, surrounded by a circle of text reading, "Don't act like you're not impressed"

Earl — Pua the pig from Moana with the inscription "I'm no bacon"

Eli — Ariel and Sebastian in a circular frame with "Little Mermaid" in jagged heavy metal style lettering across the top

Geoff — Genie from Aladdin with a microphone in hand and a blue neon sign reading "Applause" emerging from his shoulders

Layne — Mufasa's face from The Lion King with the word "king" in black letters across the top

When the PattyCake fellas set out to retell the classic rags-to-riches fairy tale of Cinderella, they turned to the music of Taylor Swift. Her songs' themes of overcoming detractors and self-doubt, learning from painful situations, and striving for a better life were a perfect fit for the story's narrative.

Details:

title: Unexpected Musicals – Cinderswift

performers: Leah Lowman (Cinderella); Matthew "Bucky" Buckner (Prince Charming / additional vocals); Andrea Stack (Lady Tremaine / additional vocals); Olivia Adkins (Anastasia Tremaine); Melanie Stringer (Drizella Tremaine); Rachel Copeland (fairy godmother); Michael Navarro (royal crier / coachman); Hannah Laird, Hannah Juliano, Layne Stein, & Tony Wakim (additional vocals)

original songs / performer: all songs by Taylor Swift — "Mean"; [0:32] "Style"; [0:55] "Shake It Off"; [1:30] "Bad Blood", feat. Kendrick Lamar; [1:50] "22"; [2:47] "Wildest Dreams"; [3:40] "I Knew You Were Trouble"; [3:55] "Love Story"

written by: "Mean" by Taylor Swift; "Style" by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Karl "Shellback" Schuster, & Ali Payami; "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, & Karl "Shellback" Schuster; "Bad Blood" by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Karl "Shellback" Schuster, & Kendrick Lamar; "22" by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, & Karl "Shellback" Schuster; "Wildest Dreams" by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, & Karl "Shellback" Schuster; "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, & Karl "Shellback" Schuster; "Love Story" by Taylor Swift

arranged by: Layne Stein & Tony Wakim

release date: 14 January 2017

My favorite bits:

Leah singing ♫ "You can take me do-o-own" ♫ on a descending run as she crouches to reach the tea set

Andrea's absolute poise and stillness as Lady Tremaine

the tiny mouse chorus 🐁 (Ah, so those are the additional vocals.)

all the ladies' 90s-tastic ballgowns

those crunchy minor chords during "Bad Blood"

Rachel's bouncy, trilling vibratto throughout "22"

combining the 1950 animated dance sequence with some of the Regency-era steps from Taylor's "Love Story" video during "Wildest Dreams"

transforming "I Knew You Were Trouble" from a rueful reflection into a sinister threat

Bucky and Leah's lovely harmonies in the final song

Trivia:

The opening dedication "For Dori" refers to Layne's youngest daughter, Doris, who was about six months old at the time of this video's publication.

This video was filmed at the Luxemore Grande Estate in Winter Park, which is primarily used for weddings and other large events. The venue coordination was handled by Jaimz Dillman, who had played Sarah Sanderson in PattyCake's "Hocus Heathens" Halloween video, and has continued to feature in their projects.

Leah has reprised her role as Cinderella in several episodes of PattyCake's "Princess Academy" series, as well as their "Disney Girls Like You" video in 2019, and their original piece "If the Shoe Fits" in 2023.

According to Bucky, there were many outtakes during the dance sequence because "the boots were big on me and that dress was ginormous".

The guys had known Bucky for many years prior to casting him in this project. He'd played the Wolfman opposite Tony's Dracula in the "Beetlejuice Revue" show at Universal Studios, and joined 4:2:Five as their new baritone when Layne switched over to vocal percussion in 2004.

A fan combined the audio from this project with footage from the 1950 Disney animated film to create a fantastic fanvid.

Many of the songs in this video were also later included in PattyCake's villainous Halloween offering for the year, "Look What You Made Me Brew".

Layne and Tony had previously sung a portion of "Bad Blood" in VoicePlay's "Aca Top 10 — Summer Hits 2015" countdown.

"I Knew You Were Trouble" was the foundation for VoicePlay's 2013 "Trouble" mashup music video with Rachel Potter, which led to them competing on The Sing-Off.

Every villain is the protagonist of their own story, and part of that viewpoint requires finding ways to justify their actions. The so-called heroes must deserve to be on the receiving end of their machinations.

So when the PattyCake guys decided to convene a meeting of some of their favorite baddies for their second Halloween video, they turned to the music of Taylor Swift, who some people view as a hero, and who has been villainized by others. Her gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss anthem was the perfect choice for these characters to revel in their wickedness.

Details:

title: Unexpected Musicals — Look What You Made Me Brew

performers: Jennica McCleary (Winifred Sanderson), Stephanie Trilli (Sarah Sanderson), Jaimz Dillman (Mary Sanderson), Michelle Knight (Regina / Evil Queen), Leah Lowman (Maleficent), Tiffany Trilli (Cruella De Vil), T. Robert Pigott (Captain Hook), Emma Dahlin (additional vocals), & Hannah Juliano (additional vocals)

original songs / performers: main title theme from Hocus Pocus; "Look What You Made Me Do" by Taylor Swift; "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift; "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift; "…Ready for It?" by Taylor Swift; "Style" by Taylor Swift; "Bad Blood" by Taylor Swift, feat. Kendrick Lamar

written by: Hocus Pocus main theme by John Debney; "Look What You Make Me Do" by Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, Fred Fairbrass, Richard Fairbrass, & Rob Manzoli; "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, & Karl "Shellback" Schuster; "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, & Karl "Shellback" Schuster; "…Ready for It?" by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Karl "Shellback" Schuster, & Ali Payami; "Style" by Taylor Swift; "Bad Blood" Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Karl "Shellback" Schuster, & Kendrick Lamar

arranged by: Randy Nichols, Layne Stein, & Tony Wakim

release date: 3 October 2017

My favorite bits:

the witches' fantastic acting in the intro

everyone's dramatic entrances

the emphasis of specific instruments for each character — stacatto brass behind the Evil Queen, tinkling bells for Maleficent, cymbals and kettle drums with Cruella, clockwork precise snare drums and piano for Hook

the Evil Queen's gritty belt on the second ♫ "bad dreams" ♫

everything grinding to a halt for the "Shake It Off" gag

all the samples from Taylor's other songs blended into the polyphony section

Winnie's final cackle

the spellbook rolling its eye at their melodrama during the end credits

Trivia:

Many of the songs in this medley had also been featured in PattyCake's "Cinderswift" video at the beginning of the year. The one new Taylor Swift song is sung by Leah (Maleficent), who played Cinderella in that project.

Because there is no animated version of Hocus Pocus, the other villains are dressed in costumes and playing characterizations based on the live-action adaptations of their stories.

This video was filmed in a cottage interior set at Columbia Street Studios in Orlando.

Jennica, Jaimz, & Stephanie all returned to reprise their Sanderson sisters roles from "Hocus Heathens" the previous Halloween.

Michelle had played the Evil Queen in PattyCake's very first Unexpected Musical, "Snow Spears", and has continued in that role for their Villains Lair series.

Robby and Tiffany have also remained as Captain Hook and Cruella in The Villains Lair.

Leah first portrayed Maleficent in "Michaeleficent" earlier in the year, and has done so occasionally in the years since.

Some fans pointed out that Maleficent singing the line about "kingdom keys" could also be read as a reference to the Kingdom Hearts video game series in which the character is an antagonist.

The blinking spellbook was created by Rick Underwood, who specializes in props and special effects makeup, which he also uses to create scares for Universal Studios' annual Halloween Horror Nights events.

This video was published a few weeks before Layne flew to L.A. to film VoicePlay's messy version of the song with the pocket.watch crew, which premiered in January.

This video racked up a million views on Facebook in less than two weeks.

Jennica provided a peek behind the scenes on Facebook Live as the cast an crew were preparing to film.

The last few months of the year are usually a busy time for singers, and this year was no exception for VoicePlay. Once they had wrapped up their summer projects, they rolled right on.

.

And they're off

The boys leaped into autumn by heading north once more for shows in NYC and Reading, PA.

They also threw their hats in the ring for a Hostess snack cake giveaway. (They didn't win, but that's okay. Some of the fans always made sure to keep them well supplied with sugar anyway.)

.

Back home, it was time to start rehearsing for their third and final year of residency at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. They also needed to prep for their upcoming trip to the west coast, and film their next music video. Eli did manage to sneak in a bro brunch with their old friend, Jeremy James, though.

.

A little West Coast swing

For the third weekend in October, the guys embarked on a fast-paced trip to Los Angeles. They crammed a concert and three video shoots into just three days.

They kicked things off with a Saturday night show in Palos Verdes (and teased the locals a bit by calling it by the translated name "Green Sticks").

.

On Sunday, they packed in two music video shoots. They started with one of their two Christmas tunes for the year and new collaborator Shoshana Bean. Then they hopped over to reunite with Kurt Hugo Schneider for a little Broadway music.

.

Monday was time to get silly and messy with the pocket.watch ladies and some Taylor Swift.

.

Keep it going

When they flew home, the boys were met by Rachel Potter once again for their second Christmas song of the year.

.

Merry Hallowee-mas

All the preparation the guys had been doing for the upcoming holiday season didn't mean that they would ever neglect spooky season. After a few days of rest, sound guy Paul Kaleka and J.None kicked off the weekend by winning Indaba Music's Spooky Jams contest with a song called "Ghosts and Goblins".

VoicePlay released their video for "What's This?" from The Nightmare Before Christmas on the day before Halloween, and used it as a segue into their new holiday EP, "Warm Up", which they announced at the beginning of November.

The tracks are a combination of revamped tunes from the previous year with J.None's vocals added into the mix, this year's three new offerings, and one more new song that received a video during the following holiday season.

Note that J.None is credited as a member of the group, not a featured guest.

.

One more spin

Just over a week after they'd gotten home, the boys headed out of town again for a student workshop and a concert at Western Illinois University.

.

Off to the races

One week after that, it was time to kick off their MVMCP schedule in the Magic Kingdom.

With sixteen shows per week for the rest of the year, it would be reasonable to think that job would be their sole focus. However, persuing a career in the performing arts isn't usually a path for sensible folks. There were still plenty of other engagements to keep them busy. For the second night of the residency, VoicePlay handed the reins to their backup guys and scooted up to Ohio.

.

But wait, there's more

The reason for their visit to Dayton was headlining the Kettering National A Cappella Festival. The trip there didn't go nearly as smoothly as they would've liked.

Once they actually reached their destination, though, the concert went off without a hitch, and the audience had a grand time.

.

The next weekend, they took a drive down to Avon Park for a show at South Florida State College. Because it was close to home, Kathy and Geoff decided to bring little William along for the first time.

Uncle Earl always seems to end up holding the babies in group photos. 😁

.

Having the week of Thanksgiving free from their Disney World duties didn't mean that they just kicked back and relaxed. First they hopped on the middle leg of a Disney Magic cruise for a three-day jaunt to The Bahamas and back.

Then on the evening of Thanksgiving itself, they gathered up Erik Winger and scooted down to the southeast coast to perform at the annual tree lighting ceremony for the Boca Raton Resort & Club.

.

On another day off from MVMCP in early December, the PattyCake guys teamed up with their friends at Entertainment Central to film a very beachy Christmas romp for their Atlantic City Boys group in Cocoa Beach. The final "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" / "Here Comes Santa Claus" mashup video was originally posted to Michael Evans's channel a week later, then reposted to the group's channel a year and a half after that.

.

That weekend, Winger joined VoicePlay for a two-show day at Mariner Church in Sping Hill, FL.

important preparations — ear plugs and power naps

.

When Rockapella came to town on their holiday tour near the end of the month, Layne and Cyndi took little Doris to see some of their pals.

.

J.None spent both the weekend before his birthday and New Year's Eve rocking out at local shows with Paradigm Party Band.

.

That's all, folks

Love stories don't always have happy endings, and breakups aren't always the end. Relationships can be messy or even outright unhealthy for everyone involved. Luckily, some musicians are really good at conveying those complicated emotions in ways that are resonant and beautiful. In this instance, VoicePlay reunited with Rachel Potter for a screamingly catchy version of Charlie Puth's new hit song.

Details:

title: Attention (feat. Rachel Potter)

original performer: Charlie Puth

written by: Charlie Puth & Jacob Kasher Hindlin

arranged by: Geoff Castellucci & Hannah Juliano

release date: 13 July 2017

My favorite bits:

using boomwhackers in place of the opening plucked electric guitar line

that slow build of tension and harmonic layers

when the rhythm section kicks in at the beginning of the first chorus

so many crunchy harmonies and counterpoint moments

the way each of them expresses a slightly different attitude to the subject of the lyrics — Rachel's vulnerability, Eli's exasperation, Earl's frustration, Geoff's pity, and Layne's guardedness

that percussion breakdown leading into the bridge

that soaring harmonized riff on ♫ "mi-i-i-i-i-i-IIINE" ♫

everyone letting loose for the final chorus to create a glorious flood of sound

Trivia:

This video was filmed at a local tapas bar called Ceviche, which closed two years later. It was across a plaza from the Ballroom at Church Street where Layne, Earl, and Tony had filmed the castle interior scenes for PattyCake's "Beauty and the Bieber" at the beginning of the year.

There is a minor editing goof at 1:23. Eli is shown on screen, but the vocals heard are still Earl.

The silliness in the YouTube description this time is: "You've been runnin' round, runnin' round, runnin' round, throwin' that turtle on my name. Who throws a turtle? Seriously…" 🐢

Since Rachel lives in Nashville, they scheduled filming of both this video and their "Moana medley" video for the same weekend to minimize the amount of travel needed.

They got some love from buddy Chris Rupp, which earned him a little mutual appreciation.

Most Disney villains revel in their evilness to some degree, but few are more deliciously vindictive than Maleficent. And few pop superstars have embodied self-confidence and thwarting detractors in their musical performances like Michael Jackson. When the PattyCake guys decided to combine the two for their Unexpected Musicals series, they created a bit of magic of their own.

Details:

title: Unexpected Musicals — Michaeleficent

performers: Leah Lowman (Maleficent); Paul Kaleka (King Stefan); Doris Stein (baby Aurora); Bebe Caliberr Mercy (Aurora / additional vocals); Jason James (Phillip / additional vocals); Hannah Juliano & Eli Jacobson (additional vocals)

original songs / performer: all songs by Michael Jackson — [0:14] "Bad"; [0:25] "Beat It"; [1:09] "Human Nature"; [1:48] "Smooth Criminal"; [1:58] "Thriller"; [2:54] "Will You Be There"

written by: "Bad" by Michael Jackson; "Beat It" by Michael Jackson; "Human Nature" by Steve Porcaro & John Bettis; "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson; "Thriller" by Rod Temperton; "Will You Be There" by Michael Jackson

arranged by: Layne Stein & Tony Wakim

release date: 12 May 2017

My favorite bits:

Leah's fantastic villain laugh

interweaving "Bad" and "Beat It" as a conversation

Phillip and Aurora's meet-cute sequence

Leah giving her best Vincent Price at the start of "Thriller"

cool dragon! 🐲

the excellent use of ♫ "kiss me and free me" ♫

that last shot of Maleficent leaving room for a sequel

Trivia:

The dedication "for Maggie" refers to Maggie Wakim, Tony's younger sister, who is also a singer and actor. She later appeared in the Princess Academy series.

The interior scenes for this video were filmed at the Maitland Art Center historic landmark. With the right set dressing and lighting, the building's Maya-influenced Art Deco stone structure made a pretty decent Medieval castle.

Jason James is the son of Jeremy and Shalisa James from Vox Audio, who Layne and Tony had known through both the theme park and a cappella worlds, and a talented performer in his own right.

Jaimz Dillman once again served as location and production manager, as well as appearing on screen as one of the courtiers.

The PattyCake guys had worked with Paul Kaleka for many years in his capacity as VoicePlay's sound engineer for their live shows and occasional audio mixer for their studio recordings. But this was their first opportunity to feature his acting talents.

Layne and Tony had filmed another incarnation of Maleficent two and a half years earlier in VoicePlay's video for "Once Upon A Dream".

When the Maleficent sequel film was announced, the boys got to work on a sequel of their own. Leah returned for a rendition of Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy" just in time for Halloween 2019.