Life, Death and Arias
Don’t go into Arias with a Twist, REDCAT’s latest production, expecting thorough program notes on what you’re about to experience. Do order a glass of wine—or perhaps something more psychedelic—before taking your seat. Joey Arias, the legendary Mistress of Seduction in Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity, and before that, the New York grande dame of drag performance (a crowded field, to be sure), doesn’t want a studied audience.
Had he declined to explain the narrative behind his latest production on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, one might write it off as exasperating affect. But he has good reason. The absurdist plot is sheer indulgence, one that shouldn’t require hand-holding; those who need it should probably be upstairs at Disney Hall watching Dudamel conduct Mozart's "Jupiter" symphony. “I just don’t want to give too much away. It’s bumpy ride, and it might open up emotions that some aren’t ready for,” Arias tells Style Section L.A.
What you’ll see and hear is a woman with a magnificent voice, at once fiercely campy and heartbreaking, as she leads you on a journey through Led Zeppelin, Eric Carmen and John Lennon. She is also woman in trouble: probed, stoned, alone and amuck. This is perhaps the first—and last—presentation at the Roy and Edna Disney/CAL Arts Theater that stars a 60-year-old queen performing certain sexual acts on a well-endowed devil during a psilocybin-addled fantasia in Thierry Mugler-designed costumes.
The magic of this spectacle is not just a product of Arias, whose magnetism attracted legions of club kid veterans and emulators in torn stockings, jeweled blazers and tartan suits to opening night earlier this week. The Twist in the show title refers to the dreamy Basil Twist, a third-generation puppeteer and sole American graduate of École Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionette. Twist spends the duration of the performance cloaked in obscurity, directing lascivious demons, Garden of Eden flowers, chubby-legged kick lines and a jazz quartet that accompanies the diva's final numbers. Arias is in love with the pint-sized trumpeter, then the drummer. She chides the pianist and stokes the ego of the bassist. Yes, it’s ludicrous, but it’s also Muppets for grown-ups, deliciously entertaining. If you’re no fan of Jim Henson or drag, don’t bother.
Vision in Violet: Thierry Manfred Mugler's sketch for Arias. Photographed by Steve Gunther.
There are plenty of gags and splayed crotches to be had in this 90-minute show, equal parts Joan Crawford and Vegas in Space. The genuine tenderness, however, you don’t expect. After a hard night of evil pleasuring, Arias, tripping her brains out, falls through outer space before landing on a black fainting couch. She sits erect and is momentarily frank—alarmingly so. Her lovers, her friends, have all gone, she confesses, and she’s left with the most parodied song of the modern age: All By Myself. You may reflexively laugh for the first few seconds, but then you’ll feel uneasy. Arias’ rendition is so mystifying that your tear ducts may scream, This is a drag show. Get it together. It’s not supposed to be serious. Don’t make us wet ourselves. Mine momentarily capitulated. It’s a beautiful rendition. “Life isn’t just a giggle, it’s not just about beauty, there are ugly parts to life,” Arias says. “When I’m channeling the energy of the room, I do get choked up sometimes, too.”
Mugler, whose chocolately Angel fragrance remains lucrative and was actually present in the audience (Rosanna Arquette, perhaps? Someone behind me was marinating in it)—continues to work with Arias, whom he first met on the set of George Michael’s 1992 music video Too Funky. Now known by first name Manfred, Mugler is currently collaborating with Arias on a new stage production, scheduled for a 2011 premiere.
Though many of us may be inured to shock value, one has to give credit to REDCAT, which is, after all, a product of the wholesome Disney franchise. “This is so elegant, so chic, so pushing the limit. This is exactly what we’re looking to do,” Arias says. “REDCAT was gung-ho on us completely. This is a multimedia experience without being a crazy performance art spectacle, without some guy taking a dump on stage."
And what of the Disney name? "I think he would have loved it," Arias says of Walt Disney. "And he would have said that this show is mind-boggling, but has no place with Mickey Mouse. You damn got that right!”
Arias with a Twist runs through Dec. 13 at REDCAT, adjacent to Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown L.A. For showtimes and ticket prices, visit www.redcat.org.