I am beyond excited for StarKid Production's newest musical, Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier, so I decided to create a blog in its honor, hooray!
MY REVIEW OF "TWISTED: THE UNTOLD STORY OF A ROYAL VIZIER"
Hello StarKids! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving/Hanukah! This Thanksgiving, amidst spending time with family, I was able to see Team StarKid's most recent production Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier, as soon as they made the videos public on their YouTube Channel. It was even released approximately 20 minutes earlier than expected, a nice surprise from StarKid! Here is my review of it (spoilers below for those who have not seen it yet).
First off, I wish to comment on the overall concept and story of the musical. I was ecstatic when Matt and Nick Lang released a video announcing the premise of Twisted: a Disney parody of Wicked, taking what that musical did with the Wicked Witch of West and applying it to Ja'far, the Royal Vizier from Aladdin. I absolutely love Disney and had hoping for years that they would do a Disney parody, and Wicked is my favorite musical (and the only one that I have seen on Broadway), so combining the two was something I became super excited for. I couldn't wait, and anxiously kept up with every Twisted-related update.
The story turned out to be a brilliant parody of Wicked, using elements of that story to further the tale, as well as Aladdin and commentary about the Walt Disney Company. The Lang brothers used the musical to comment about their love of the traditional 2D animated Disney films and their wish for the company to make more of them, referencing the disbandment of the entire 150 member 2D department at Walt Disney Studios and the announcement that there will be no more 2D animated films (instead turning to strictly 3D/CGI animated features). The plot of the "Land of Pixar" going to war with the "Magic Kingdom" and Pixar eventually being bought out by the Magic Kingdom for $7.4 billion was perfect, since that is the exact price for which in reality Walt Disney Studios purchased Pixar.
The amount of references they managed to sneak into the 133 minute musical is astounding, both in the dialogue and in the songs (which I will discuss later). As an avid Disney fan, I was able to pick up both blatant and subtle references to Aladdin (obviously), Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmations, Enchanted, Tarzan, The Aristocats, as well as many others through Disney's "golden ages" and obscure ones like That Darn Cat and even theme parks and their attractions (example: "Carousel of Progress").
Besides lines of dialogue and song lyrics, the Lang brothers poked fun at several of the tropes of the Disney franchise. For example, they parodied the frequent use of "love at first sight", the idea of Disney princesses being innocent and naive (and always wanting something despite being very fortunate) as well as the idea of the princes being older men who fall for younger women. During the song "Take Off Your Clothes", they alluded to all of the rumored sexual innuendoes and adult themes present in Disney films. They even managed to do a pop version of one of their songs in the ending credits, which is reminiscent of the ending credits of many Disney feature films. Additionally, the design of the intro graphic resembles the actual Disney logo.
One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Arabic short stories where the tale of Aladdin was first told, was also used as a source for Twisted, and StarKid makes references to it as well. The character of Sherrezade is supposed to represent the narrator of One Thousand and One Nights, Scheherazade, and indeed Sherrezade is the first character to appear onstage in Twisted, delivering the opening narration. The genie is not called a genie, but a djinn, the term used in these original stories.
Now for the performances. The acting in this production was phenomenal. Dylan Saunders in the role of Ja'far showed amazing talent and range of emotion. His versatility as both a comedic and serious actor was really well displayed. He played his role with such passion and humanity that by the end he brought me to tears. He was the perfect choice for this well deserved lead role. His dynamic with the other actors, particularly Meredith Stepien, also aided his already brilliant performance.
Jeff Blim's portrayal as Aladdin was fantastic. He was having fun and was in the moment every second that he was on stage, and he really lived the character.
Newcomer Rachael Soglin as "The Princess" fit seamlessly with the rest of the cast, as if she had been a part of Team StarKid all along. She was able to perfectly capture the mix of innocence and naivety of a princess and her facial expressions were spot on. She had the knack for making the audience love her and yet mildly annoyed at the same time.
Meredith Stepien gives in my opinion one of her best performances of her Team StarKid career. She takes a step back from comedic acting to take on the more serious role of Sherrezade, and does so excellently. Her performance and on-stage chemistry with Dylan Saunders are breathtaking.
Joe Walker as Prince Achmed was absolutely hilarious, he was easily the comedic standout of the show. The role forces him to branch out from his typical acting style, as it is a character very different than anything he has played in a StarKid production before, but boy does he pull it off. His big number "No One Remembers Achmed" is one of my favorites from the show. He also does a wonderful job in the ensemble.
It was a pleasant surprise to see Jim Povolo in a larger role. He has shown much improvement since Team StarKid's inception, and I enjoyed his performance every second he was on stage. He expertly delivers some of the funniest lines in the show, but also displays some emotion as well. He has incredible stage presence, and this role allowed him to show that off.
Robert Manion and Alex Grace Paul also fit seamlessly with the rest of the cast, and help deliver some of the best ensemble work I have seen in any musical, not just Team StarKid's work. The ensemble cast, including Jamie Lyn Beatty, Lauren Lopez, Nick Gage, Denise Donovan, harmonize beautifully and perform the very well choreographed dance numbers in perfect sync.
Now for the music. The music was hands down the best part of the production, in my opinion. The team of AJ Holmes's score and Kaley McMahom's lyrics provided what I think to be the best album in Team StarKid's repertoire. The songs are extremely well composed. The orchestration is gorgeous and provided a full range of instrumentation, from percussion to woodwinds. There is also a nice variety in the style depending on the musical number. McMahom's lyrics are very clever and remind of the late Howard Ashman's work, and she sneaks in many of the afore mentioned references. What makes the music so amazing, however, are the vocal performances by the cast, particularly the leads.
Some songs resemble and are parodies of those from Aladdin and Wicked (for example "I Steal Everything" is a parody of "One Jump Ahead" from Aladdin, parts of "Dream a Little Harder" directly parody "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast, Ja'far's segments of "Happy Ending" resemble "The Wizard and I" from Wicked and his segments in "Twisted" resemble "No Good Deed" from Wicked).
June Saito's costume designs are awesome and very appropriate for the show, looking very Disney-esque and even being replicas of the character costumes from the movies.
All in all, I just can't say enough about Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier. This and much more is why I am able to say without a doubt that it is my favorite StarKid production, maybe even my favorite musical in general. I am so proud of Team StarKid and everyone involved, and I am honored to be a backer of this project, especially since this was the first StarKid show to be funded almost solely via crowdsourcing. StarKid launched a Kickstarter for the musical in March, and their initial goal of $35,000 was surpassed in just two hours. A final balance of $142,564 was raised by backers worldwide...that is incredible. So congratulations to Team StarKid, and thank you for putting on such an amazing production! I wish you all every happiness! Love you guys!
'Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier' retells the timeless tale of Aladdin... from the villain's point of view.
In a once-great kingdom, the Royal Vizier must set off on an adventure to save his city from its bumbling Sultan, an invading prince, and the most notorious thief who's ever lived. This twisted quest for magic lamp containing a wish-granting Djinn (who's really funny, by the way) celebrates and lovingly pokes fun at everyone's favorite series of hand-drawn animated musicals.
Twisted is being released tonight at midnight! (12:00am 11/28)
HERE’S WHAT YOU GOTTA KNOW!!!
1) Twisted will be viewable in 2 distinct ways!
First the first time, we’re releasing one of our shows in two formats. The first is divided into 12 different videos/chapters, like we’ve always…
StarKids! Only one more week until Twisted? Can you believe it? To celebrate, I am posting a journal entry I wrote about them after attending LeakyCon Portland. :)
Team StarKid
They are such an amazingly talented and wonderful group of people as well as performers, I can’t express...
STARKIDS! TWISTED: THE UNTOLD STORY OF A ROYAL VIZIER COMES OUT IN 9 DAYS! AHHHHHHH!
***SPOILERS****
(Photos not mine, credit to http://www.lasplash.com/publish/Entertainment/cat_index_chicago_performances/twisted-the-untold-story-of-a-royal-vizier-review.php)
