Darth Wiki / Midgar

Midgar is a hybrid of a rock opera/concept album and a radio drama adapted from Final Fantasy VII, loosely following the basic plot, with some elements being Adapted Out or moved around for the sake of time. The actors are shown below (even if the songs are from other sources).

---

• Cloud Strife (Aaron Tveit) – Brooding, handsome, Ex-SOLDIER....or is he?

• Barrett Wallace (Christopher Jackson) – Leader of Avalanche, devoted father, skeletons in his closet. Notorious BIG meets Jimi Hendrix

• Tifa Lockhart (Laura Osnes) – Grew up in the same town as Cloud, it’s been five years...or has it?

• Aerith Gainsborough (Adrienne Warren) – The last Cetra, peppy, headstrong, outspoken; Mary Magdalene (Jesus Christ Superstar) meets Beyonce

• Red XIII (Leslie Odom Jr.) – Talking beast, young at heart, still learning, a former test subject

• Sephiroth (Jeremy Jordan) – Former SOLDIER, obsessed with his “mother” Jenova, a force to be reckoned with, he and Cloud are obsessed with each other; Sweeney Todd meets JD (Heathers); also plays Biggs and ensemble

• Cait Sith (Ephraim Sykes) – Fortune teller, a “living” toy cat on a Moogle, insistent on joining the party, isn’t as he seems; Seaweed J. Stubbs meets Prince.

• Cid Highwind (Brian d'Arcy James) – Abrasive and foul mouthed, but has a heart of gold. Aspired to pilot the Highwind but got swindled, now bitter; Dr. Jekyll meets Ian Gillan.

Tropes present in the album

• Aborted Arc: Icicle Lodge and the entire Huge Materia subplots are gutted for the sake of time.
• Acting for Two: The actor that plays Rufus also plays Wedge, Dio, and Zack among others including flashback version of Cloud.
  • Sephiroth and Biggs share an actor, also playing Dr. Hojo.
  • As do Yuffie and Jessie.
  • Cid's actor also plays President Shinra and Bugenhagen.
  • Vincent, Godo, Heidegger and Dyne as well.
  • Shera, Cloud's mom, and Scarlett
  • Everyone except for Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barrett, and Red XIII double as an ensemble member as well.
• Adaptational Badass: Shera doesn't have any fighting prowess to speak of in the original game, but when disguised as a Shinra soldier she knocks out the other guard with one punch, causing Cid to confuse her for Yuffie at first.
  • Cloud's bout of Mako Poisoning is staved off for a surprising while, though only because he was not submerged in the mako in the temple for a long time after being hoisted out by two Shinra troops. His symptoms manifest after Aerith dies and he and Tifa are exiled from the group.
• Adaptational Heroism: Subverted with Sephiroth; Initially his pre-Nibelheim aspirations for justice are genuine, even offering Cloud a position alongside him to go against Shinra, but his Start of Darkness flushes those plans down the toilet.
  • Rufus is opposed to the execution, but it's Heidegger who convinces him to allow it to save face. And Rufus also makes it a point after the events of Sector 7 to add a clause in Shinra's lawbook that should the President and Vice President both be out of commission, authority will rest with the head of urban development, Reeve, and in the end he not only pardons Avalanche but completely expunges any and all records, putting Reeve in charge of the new Shinra Corp.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Instead of Shera staying with Cid after destroying his dream, Cid outright breaks up with her, reconciling after Shera breaks him and Barret out of the Junon prison.
• Darkest Hour: The end of Part 3 Act 2: Aerith is dead, Cloud and Tifa are exiled from the group, with the remaining six at a loss where to go next, and Meteor looms overhead.
• Death by Adaptation: Implied with Tseng, while Reno is outright Killed Mid-Sentence in the groups last encounter with the Turks.
  • Unlike in the original compilation where Sephiroth lives on within the Lifestream, Sephiroth is rendered Deader than Dead, his essence ripped apart by the Lifestream.
• Death Song: Aerith's last song, taking place in the scene before her death as she communicates telepathically with Cloud.
• Karma Houdini: Downplayed with Rufus Shinra by the end. On the one hand, he himself has survived relatively unscathed and remaining in a decent enough position of authority, but now almost all of his employees save for Reeve are either dead or AWOL, and using Mako as a power source is a no-go, so he has his work cut out for him.
• Pragmatic Adaptation: The truth about Nibelheim scene takes place immediately after the Temple of the Ancients, instead of after Icicle Inn like in the original game, and Meteor is summoned quite a way before Aerith dies. Aerith's death takes place right before Cloud succumbs to Mako Poisoning.
  • The Gold Saucer play is moved to after the gondola ride, and is given a song.
• Race Lift: It doesn't play into the plot, but Aerith is portrayed by a black woman in the album.
• With Lyrics: Averted. While arrangements of the original game's soundtrack is used, it is only used as incidental music, though character leitmotifs are sprinkled into certain songs.