S.C. Review #15:

Twisted: The Untold Story Of A Royal Vizier, (2013), Brian Holden.

While it was hardly the first to do so, Stephen Schwartz’ musical take on Wicked popularised an entire subgenre of storytelling: the alternate perspective/revisionist fantasy, usually from a character deemed as villainous or otherwise not seen in a positive light in whatever the original story happened to be. Familiar stories were given makeovers and these new takes were seen as the ‘untold true’ versions of events, usually positing said villain as the good guy or just misunderstood. Professor Moriarty got The Hound of the D’Urbervilles, Maleficent got her own movie, as will Cruella in the near future, and in 2013, Jafar from Disney’s much beloved Aladdin got his own shot at redemption in the form of a Kickstarter-funded musical parody from StarKid Productions, a Chicago theatre group known for parodying big franchises like Harry Potter and Star Wars in musical form.

With music by A.J Holmes, lyrics by Kaley McMahon and a libretto by Eric Kahn Gale and Matt & Nick Lang, Twisted skewers not just Aladdin but also a lot of Disney fairytales in a story that says Jafar was not actually an evil sorcerer bent on using the magic lamp to steal the kingdom, but instead a good man whose ugly appearance and logical mindset put him at odds with the residents of the land, who were decidedly more in the clouds. We see him struggle against a corrupt administration, a spoilt princess and the antics of a no-good street rat driven by decidedly lower inclinations as he tries to fix the rampant poverty and an oncoming war with the neighbouring kingdom of Pixar.

Now, to address the elephant in the room as to how I’m able to review a limited run stage show on what is a series meant for analyzing films, StarKid themselves recorded the production and put it up on their Youtube Channel, making Twisted essentially a concert film. As far as cinematic technique or language goes, Twisted is about as basic as can be, mostly comprised of wide and close ups when needed to make sure you’re always aware of everyone is on stage and who comes in when. It’s functional and that’s all it needs to be, though a shame they went handheld instead of having fixed cameras in the theatre as it does come off a little amateur.

As for the actual content, one of the strongest things Twisted has going for it is a cast, most of whom often double up in roles, who are fully embracing the over the top material and running with it. Dylan Saunders plays Jafar and leads the charge with a deft hand, giving us a very sympathetic Jafar while also playing off the absurdity around him rather well. Saunders benefits from having a wonderfully expressive face, accentuated by the makeup, and gets a lot of comic mileage out of it. Taking up the defacto villain role is Jeff Blim as Aladdin, who undercuts his boyish good looks with a perverted and sleazy edge. Rachael Soglin as the Princess hits the right blend of naive yet sincerely youthful and wide eyed, which allows her to work well with Blim’s predatory Aladdin and produce some good laughs. It also helps all three have pretty good pipes on them.

Speaking of which, the songs by Holmes and McMahon are fun and definitely capture both the energy as well as the emotional stirring associated with Disney’s soundtracks, and a number of the tunes are parodies of famous Disney songs, like the opening number being a parody of ‘Bonjour’ from Beauty and The Beast, or ‘Take Off Your Clothes’ obviously making fun of ‘A Whole New World’. Of course the titular song is easily the standout number, throwing a few bonus cameos from Disney’s rogues’ gallery and offering fun spins on familiar tales as Jafar faces a critical decision with the lamp. It’s at once poignant as well as hysterical, and though it doesn’t quite reach the late great Howard Ashman’s level of inventiveness, that would be an unfair standard to hold against the team’s efforts.

Now as for the actual narrative, Twisted serves as both a satire as well as tribute to all things Disney. From various characters to movies to attractions to even elements of the company’s own animation history are lampooned during the runtime. The show itself just has fun with the quirks of 90s Disney films, from subliminal messages, rapid relationships and ethnic stereotypes, to debatable morals and even the consequences of things seen as cute little gags in the films like the slapstick being lethal or the visiting Prince being mauled by Jasmine’s tiger. It’s a project clearly born of people who love this material and can not only poke fun at it, but celebrate its idealism and inspirational powers, as embodied by the Princess, who alternately represents the best and worst of Disney’s female line-up and, to an extent, Disney’s own audience.

But despite the barrage of verbal and visual jokes, Twisted really crafts a compelling and often heart wrenching story of Jafar’s life. It draws clear parallels with many of the individuals who’ve joined Disney over the years, having him be an idealistic young man with new ideas who is swallowed by a system that is stubbornly against change and in turn, limits his abilities to fix problems. It literally steals his life and the people he loves away from him, leaving him a frustrated and tired old man whose efforts are thwarted through a combination of bad luck and the selfish motives of others. Sometimes, doing what’s right doesn’t automatically get you everything, not even respect. This is a very universal message and gives the show a lot more personal resonance than just being a goofy slice of spoof fun, as well as dimension.

However, there is one thing that does deflate the proceedings: the use of vulgarity in a number of jokes as well as the songs. It just feels uninspired and a means to get quick, cheap laughs out of the audience. Amusing as it might be to see Disney icons spouting the F and S bombs, it’s a novelty that after the expletive heavy opening number, gets old fast and feels like it unnecessarily limits the potential audience that Twisted could appeal to. Surely with perhaps another redraft, there could’ve been ways to make fun of familiar songs or character types without being excessively crass. Frankly, Twisted could’ve made a great double bill with the actual Aladdin, either the film or the stage musical, encouraging children to think about how there’s always more than one side to every story, and its story moral is something that will be of great importance to them as they grow older. Make them laugh and think, and it’s a shame Twisted didn’t go for this approach.

However, review what you have, not what you want, and in the end, Twisted is a reminder that lower budget musical theatre can be every bit as creative and engaging as its bigger cousins on Broadway and the West End. It reminds us that there’s more to life than just dreaming and yet to also never forget to have them. It’ll make you laugh and even cry a few times and quite frankly, isn’t that the sign of effective theatre? Well done StarKid. Well done, and by the way: is it just me or does Nick Cage (one of their troupe) look like Eric Idle?

Final Score: 3.5/5.

© SavageScribe 2016