''Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel'' is a 2011 pop-art

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

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 ...

from cult filmmaker,

Wes Hurley Wes Hurley is a Russian-American writer and filmmaker. He has collaborated with many theater, drag (clothing), drag, and cabaret performers in Seattle and raised awareness of human rights violations in Russia. Early life and education Born and r ...

. It stars the renowned performance artist, Marc Kenison as his gender-bending

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

personae

Waxie Moon ''Waxie Moon'' is a documentary directed by Wes Hurley and centered on the gender-bending Juilliard-trained burlesque performer, Waxie Moon (performer), Waxie Moon. The film captures the burgeoning and mostly-queer neo-burlesque community in Seatt ...

, as well as The Stranger Genius-award winners,

Sarah Rudinoff Sarah Rudinoff (born August 26, 1971) is an American actress, singer, and writer. She was the recipient of a 2004 Genius Award from the Seattle, Washington alternative weekly newspaper '' The Stranger''. Life and career Born in Alexandria, Virgini ...

, Marya Sea Kaminski and John Osebold, Nick Garison, Keira McDonald, Sage Price, Brandon Petty, Erin Emlyn Badenhop, Inga Ingenue, Lou Henry Hoover, with memorable cameos by

Jinkx Monsoon Jerick Roman Lamar Hoffer (born September 18, 1987), better known by the stage name Jinkx Monsoon, is an American drag performer, actor, comedian and singer best known for winning the fifth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and the seventh seas ...

Lynn Shelton Lynn Shelton (August 27, 1965 – May 16, 2020) was an American filmmaker, known for writing, directing, and producing such films as ''Humpday'' and ''Your Sister's Sister''. She was associated with the mumblecore genre. Early life Shelton was b ...

and Jackie Hell, among others. The film also features an original soundtrack with music by Campfire OK, Jose Bold, Gretta Harley, We Are Golden, The Little Penguins and Brendan Patrick Hogan. Two songs were arranged and recorded exclusively for the film by Eric Lane Barnes - his original composition "Everything is on Fire" performed by

and a

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

version of "Cold Song" performed by Nick Garison. Wade Madsen, Anna Allen, Inga Ingenue and Waxie Moon choreographed the film's many dance sequences. Several hundred looks were created for over 200 performers by the costume and makeup designer, Harmony Arnold. The Genius-award winner Jennifer Zeyl served as the art director for the film. Although, primarily a comedy, ''Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel'' experiments with narrative structure by switching genres to mirror Waxie's social standing and emotional state, and in the process eschews Hollywood's traditional treatment of its female protagonists. Other experimental elements in the film include the generous use of

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

alienation effect The distancing effect, also translated as alienation effect (german: Verfremdungseffekt or ''V-Effekt''), is a concept in performing arts credited to German playwright Bertolt Brecht. Brecht first used the term in his essay "Alienation Effects in ...

and its highly stylized movement and blocking, which often reference choreographers such as

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

Release

The film premiered in Tel Aviv and went on to screen in Scotland and Japan. After its initial premiere in Seattle, ''Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel'' became a local cult favorite. In Seattle the film continues to screen monthly in the tradition of ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...

'' with live performances and hosts such as

Jett Adore Jett Adore is an American burlesque dancer. He has performed as part of Stage Door Johnnies, Chicago's only all-male burlesque troop. Due to his career success, Adore has been referred to as the Prince of Boylesque and is an inductee of the Burle ...

BenDeLaCreme BenDeLaCreme (born September 24, 1981) is the stage persona of Benjamin H. Putnam, an American drag queen, burlesque performer, and actor based in Seattle, Washington. He is known for being a contestant on the sixth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Rac ...

and

. Many of these screenings benefit local charities. In 2015 the film was released on DVD and streaming video by Ariztical Entertainment under the title ''Fallen Jewel''. The DVD release features an introduction by

References

{{reflist 2011 films 2010s English-language films