You’re met with fishnet stockings held up by a garter belt. As your eyes pan upwards, you see a nude corset with black hooks and a jet-black wig. As you take in the whole picture, you see a dancer/singer performing a rendition of Billie Holiday’s “You’ve Changed,” with swaying hips before an elaborate set. Then you realize that this chanteuse is not like the others – not exactly that throaty singer you daydream about. Potentially because… he’s a man…in drag.
His name is Joey Arias and he’s bringing his friend Basil Twist to REDCAT to perform their show Arias with a Twist. From Wednesday, November 18 through December 13, you will be met with a feverish, fabulous theatrical extravaganza. Arias will perform live a selection of songs from a host of different genres – from Billie Holiday to a Busby Berkeley-esque finale, you’ll be thoroughly entertained once you pick your jaw up from the floor. We promise there will be costume changes and shocking showstoppers abound. Telling you about them all would only ruin the effect.
Basil Twist, on the other hand, will be behind a team of puppeteers with vintage marionettes and “anatomically correct puppets.” Known well for his underwater rendition of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Twist has a wild imagination for creative, interactive set design and choreographed feats of puppeteering. Originally hailing from New York’s downtown art scene, Arias and Twist have an underground street cred that’s making its way around the world and across the US – so far this year, they’ve toured through Paris, Brussels, Stockholm and now, Los Angeles.
What better way to kick off the holiday season than with a show that heightens your senses and shocks your sensibilities with familiar songs, wild costumes, spectacular set design, and good ol’ fashioned drag. Just keep in mind that the more you drink, the better he starts to look.
Arias with a Twist will be on at REDCAT from November 18 through December 13. For more information, please call or click here.
Via: Fine Arts LA
