Arias With a Twist
Trailer
Synopsis
This documentary explores the creative collaboration between cabaret and drag artist Joey Arias and master puppeteer Basil Twist. The film chronicles the evolution of their successful 2008 stage show, which fuses cabaret, puppetry, and performance art. It includes archival material that traces the lineage of the "Arias with a Twist" stage show and the downtown New York art scene.
Context & Trivia
The original stage production of "Arias with a Twist" premiered on June 12, 2008, at the HERE Arts Center in New York. The show is a glittering stage fantasy that combines Joey Arias's legendary voice with Basil Twist's imaginative puppet universe. In the performance, Arias is abducted by aliens, sent to Hell, and eventually returns to New York. The show features a musical band of four puppets playing instruments, as well as two giant, anatomically correct male devil puppets in the Hell scene. Puppets of showbiz greats like Billy Holiday and Joan Crawford also appear. Basil Twist, a third-generation puppeteer, is known for his imaginative use of scale, style, and color, and his work in "Arias with a Twist" incorporates puppets, sets, and projections to create richly visual fantasy worlds. The documentary also highlights the support of The Jim Henson Foundation for the production.
Puppeteers
Basil Twist, Lindsay Abromaitis-Smith, Oliver Dalzell, Randy Ginsberg, Kirsten Kammermeyer, Matt Leabo, Jessica Scott
Puppet companies
Dream Music Puppetry Program · Tandem Otter Productions
Direction
Bobby Sheehan
Writing
Bobby Sheehan
Cast
Basil Twist, Joey Arias, David Bowie
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