{{Infobox play , name = Arias with a Twist , image = Arias with a Twist Postcard 2008.jpg , image_size = , caption = Promotional poster from the original production. , writer =

Joey Arias Joey Arias is an American artist based in New York City, best known for work as a performance artist, cabaret singer, and drag artist, but also as a published author, comedian, stage persona and film actor. He also goes by the names Joseph Ar ...

Basil Twist Basil Twist is a New York City-based puppeteer who is known for his underwater puppet show, "''Symphonie Fantastique''". He was named a MacArthur Fellowship recipient on September 29, 2015. Life and work Originally from San Francisco, Basil Twi ...

, chorus = , characters = Joey , mute = Six Puppeteers , setting =

Outer Space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

HERE Arts Center HERE Arts Center is a New York City off-off-Broadway presenting house, founded in 1993. Their location includes two stages specializing in hybrid performance, dance, theater, multi-media and puppetry in addition to art exhibition space and a cafe ...

Hell

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, premiere = June 12, 2008 , place =

, orig_lang =

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, series = , subject = , genre =

Comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

, web = https://web.archive.org/web/20080914033253/http://www.here.org:80/see/now/ ''Arias with a Twist'' is a collaborative play created by

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

and puppeteer

. It premiered on June 12, 2008 at the

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 A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...

, hand puppets, and the scenic elements. It has been nominated for the 2009

Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience The Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. Due to their unusual nature, these product ...

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 '' Kashmir'' by

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

. 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 were an English electronic music duo, formed in 1995 in Bath and consisting of Will White and Alex Gifford. History Their first release was an EP named ''Dive!'', released in 1996 through the independent label Wall of Sound. ...

' 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" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnersh ...

'' and ''

Within You, Without You "Within You Without You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Written by lead guitarist George Harrison, it was his second composition in the Indian classical music, Ind ...

''. 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 Eric Howard Carmen (born August 11, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist. He was first known as the lead vocalist of the Raspberries. He had numerous hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Rasp ...

song ''

All By Myself "All by Myself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Eric Carmen released in 1975. The verse is based on the second movement (''Adagio sostenuto'') of Sergei Rachmaninoff's circa 1900–1901 '' Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor'', Opus 18. The ...

'' and is confronted by her doppelganger in puppet form who inspires her to return to

. 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 were an American vocalese trio formed by jazz vocalists Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross. From 1962 to 1964, Ross was replaced by vocalist Yolande Bavan. History The group formed in 1957 and recorded their f ...

song, ''Twisted'', the Bill Carey and

Carl T. Fischer Carl T. Fischer (1912–1954) was a Native American jazz pianist and composer. He worked with Frankie Laine, and composed Laine's 1945 hit song ''We'll Be Together Again'', and '' You've Changed'' with lyrics by Bill Carey. Background Carl Theo ...

song, ''

You've Changed "You've Changed" is a popular song published in 1942 with music by Carl Fischer and words by Bill Carey. The melody features descending chromaticism. The song was first recorded on October 24, 1941 by Harry James & His Orchestra (vocal by Dick H ...

'', and

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...

song, ''You've Gotta Pull Strings''. The production ends in a

Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...

-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 Mugler Manfred Thierry Mugler (; 21 December 1948 – 23 January 2022) was a French fashion designer, creative director and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the fo ...

*Costume Designer:

Chris March Christopher Andrew March (February 25, 1963 – September 5, 2019) was an American fashion and costume designer, best known for his appearance as a contestant on season 4 (2007–2008) of Bravo's ''Project Runway''. He was also on season 4 (2 ...

*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

References

NYTheatre.com

External links

Official website''Airas with a Twist'' official blog''Time Out New York'' review
2008 plays American plays Comedy plays Off-Broadway plays LGBT-related plays Plays set in New York City Plays set in hell Puppetry