Rosa Elling

"Arias with a Twist," the title of this production, is a clever pun. On the one hand, it simply describes the collaboration of two justly-celebrated talents: Joey Arias, a performance artist, and the director Basil Twist, who designed the set and puppetry for this production. On another, metaphorical level, it conveys the most striking aspect of their joint work: solo songs with myriad surprises. Expect ingenious, mobile settings as Joey, played by Arias, falls from outer space to an earthly jungle, is launched on a trip by a psychedelic mushroom, and finally reaches New York. (My sketch of the itinerary is not complete.) What carries him along can't really be called a plot in the classic sense, for there's no conflict to resolve. Joey is simply thrown around, physically and psychically, but lands remarkably resilient, ready to pose, sing and sway. In that way, the show is reminiscent of many a folktale about a little guy on the road who manages to survive a whole slew of adversities. [more]