Arias with a Twist
Encyclopedia
Arias with a Twist is a collaborative play created by drag queen
Joey Arias
and puppet
eer Basil Twist
. It premiered on June 12, 2008 at the HERE Arts Center
in the Dorothy B. Williams Theatre. Although the play is performed as a one-person show starring Arias, it also features the work of six nearly-invisible puppeteers who manipulate traditional marionettes, hand puppets, and the scenic elements. It has been nominated for the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience
.
by Led Zeppelin
. When the aliens are finished with the intrusion, they eject her from their spaceship and she crash lands in a jungle, presumably on earth. She follows her landing with Jungle of Eden, an original song by the Propellerheads
' Alex Gifford. Alone and hungry, Arias searches for food only to find a mushroom that causes her to hallucinate. During the hallucination sequence, psychedelic imagery is projected onto a scrim at the front of the stage while Arias sings a Beatles medley comprising Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
and Within You, Without You. The scene shifts to an undisclosed location where objects float through the air accompanied by Arias’s monologue on her sugar daddy. She is then sent to Hell
where she performs a musical number and some suggestive activities with two giant anatomically-correct male devil puppets. Arias sings the Eric Carmen
song All By Myself
and is confronted by her doppelganger in puppet form who inspires her to return to New York City
. This prompts another original Alex Gifford song, Lately. When Arias returns to New York, she arrives just in time to perform in a show with the aforementioned puppet band where she sings the Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
song, Twisted, the Bill Carey and Carl T. Fischer
song, You've Changed
, and Ziegfeld Follies
song, You've Gotta Pull Strings. The production ends in a Busby Berkeley
-esque finalé, which includes mirrors and kaleidoscopic video images of Arias's face.
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
Joey Arias
Joey Arias
Joey Arias is a New York City based performance artist, cabaret singer, and drag artist.Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he was six when he moved with his family to Los Angeles. After singing with the rock band "Purlie" on Capitol Records and a stint with famed improvisational group the...
and puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
eer Basil Twist
Basil Twist
Basil Twist is a New York City-based puppeteer who is best known for his underwater puppet show, "Symphonie Fantastique".-Life and work:Originally from San Francisco, Basil Twist is a third generation puppeteer. He graduated from the École Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette in...
. It premiered on June 12, 2008 at the HERE Arts Center
HERE Arts Center
HERE Arts Center is a New York City based off-off broadway presenting house, founded in 1993, with two stages specializing in hybrid performance, dance, theater, multi-media and puppetry. From 1993-2009, HERE supported over 12,000 artists and served approximately 950,000 audience members...
in the Dorothy B. Williams Theatre. Although the play is performed as a one-person show starring Arias, it also features the work of six nearly-invisible puppeteers who manipulate traditional marionettes, hand puppets, and the scenic elements. It has been nominated for the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience
Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience
The Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience was created to honor those Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and legitimate not-for-profit theater productions which, due to their unusual nature, cannot be categorized in the regular musical and play categories...
.
Plot
The play opens with a musical band of four marionettes, each playing an instrument; piano, drums, trumpet, and bass. After a brief song, the audience is introduced to Joey Arias. Arias has been kidnapped by aliens and is subjected to probing while she performs a version of KashmirKashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
by Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
. When the aliens are finished with the intrusion, they eject her from their spaceship and she crash lands in a jungle, presumably on earth. She follows her landing with Jungle of Eden, an original song by the Propellerheads
Propellerheads
Propellerheads were a British big beat musical ensemble, formed in 1995 and made up of electronic producers Will White and Alex Gifford. The term propellerhead is slang for a nerd, and when Gifford and White heard a friend from California use this in a conversation, they thought it the perfect name...
' Alex Gifford. Alone and hungry, Arias searches for food only to find a mushroom that causes her to hallucinate. During the hallucination sequence, psychedelic imagery is projected onto a scrim at the front of the stage while Arias sings a Beatles medley comprising Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, for The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...
and Within You, Without You. The scene shifts to an undisclosed location where objects float through the air accompanied by Arias’s monologue on her sugar daddy. She is then sent to Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
where she performs a musical number and some suggestive activities with two giant anatomically-correct male devil puppets. Arias sings the Eric Carmen
Eric Carmen
Eric Howard Carmen is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist.He scored numerous hit songs across the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Raspberries , and then with his solo career, including hits such as "All By Myself", "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", "She Did It",...
song All By Myself
All by Myself
"All by Myself" is a power ballad written and performed by Eric Carmen in 1975.The verse is based on the second movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18...
and is confronted by her doppelganger in puppet form who inspires her to return to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. This prompts another original Alex Gifford song, Lately. When Arias returns to New York, she arrives just in time to perform in a show with the aforementioned puppet band where she sings the Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross were a vocalese trio formed by jazz vocalists Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross.-History:The group formed in 1957 and recorded their first album Sing a Song of Basie for Paramount Records...
song, Twisted, the Bill Carey and Carl T. Fischer
Carl T. Fischer
Carl T. Fischer was a Native American jazz pianist and composer. He worked with Frankie Lane, and composed Laine's 1945 hit song, "We'll Be Together Again"....
song, You've Changed
You've Changed
"You've Changed" is a popular song originally written by Bill Carey and Carl Fischer in 1941. It has been covered by many singers, including:*Harry James's band with vocals by Dick Haymes *Nat King Cole *Connie Russell...
, and Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
song, You've Gotta Pull Strings. The production ends in a Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns...
-esque finalé, which includes mirrors and kaleidoscopic video images of Arias's face.
Original cast
- Joey Arias
- Oliver Dalzell
- Randy Ginsburg
- Kirsten Kammermeyer
- Matt Leabo
- Jessica Scott
- Lindsay Abromaitis Smith
Original creative team
- Director: Basil Twist
- Lighting Designer: Ayumu Saegusa
- Sound Designer: Greg Duffin
- Projection Designer: Daniel Brodie
- Costume Concepts: Thierry MuglerThierry MuglerThierry Mugler is a French fashion designer and creator of several perfumes.-Childhood:Mugler was born in Strasbourg, France on 21 December 1948. His passion led him to focus more on drawing than on school and at the age of 9, he began to study classical dance...
- Costume Designer: Chris MarchChris MarchChris March is an American fashion and costume designer best known for his appearance as a contestant on season 4 of Bravo's Project Runway. He was also on the Project Runway All-Star Challenge, and was the third runner up....
- Musical Arrangements: Eliot Douglass and Jean Houle Francoise
- Original Songs: Alex Gifford
- Stage Manager: Neelam Vaswani
- Producers: Barbara Busackino, Here’s Dream Music Puppetry Program, Tandem Otter Productions, and Johnnie Moore