I have been a fan of Starkid
Productions since I first came across ‘A very potter musical’ on Youtube.
When Twisted: The Untold Story of a
Royal Vizier, was announced, I was excited. Twisted shows the story of Aladdin,
but from the point of view of Jafar. This production was funded through
Kickstarter which is proof how big their fanbase is. Twisted is a hilarious yet
touching look at a tale we all love.
This version of the well-known Disney
villain is simply trying to help the Kingdom but is blamed for other’s
mistakes—the line “This is all your fault, Jafar” becomes a running joke.
From the start, the musical is lively and
hilarious. From one-liners, to running gags, Twisted made the audience laugh
harder and more frequently than any other Starkid production. The musical keeps
at a good pace and moves quickly, even when it reaches the second act.
Although the musical was incredibly
funny, it also had a really heartfelt storyline involving Jafar.
The great thing about Twisted is that
all the musical numbers run seamlessly into the storyline. The songs range
from silly (Think “Robin Sucks”) to
tear-jerking (like “The Way I Do”).
The three new faces in the production
include Robert Manion (the “fan-turned-friend”), Alex Paul, and Rachael Soglin.
They all individually fit in very well with the rest of the Starkid actors. I
look forward to hopefully seeing more of them in the future.
Dylan Saunders plays the main part of
Jafar in this show. He gets to show his comedic timing and the emotion he can put
into a part. He gives a very powerful performance and if you've ever seen a
Starkid show before, you know that has a particularly good voice.
Other great performances come from
original Starkids such as Joe Walker, Lauren Lopez, Jaime- Lyn Beatty, Jim Povolo and recent members such as Meredith Stepien,
Jeff Blim and Denise Donovan
Twisted was written by Eric Khan Gale
and Matt and Nick Lang. Music by AJ
Holmes and lyrics by Kaley McMahon. It is directed by Brian Holden. They all
did an excellent job in bringing this show together.
Overall the show was very touching
and hilarious at the same time. It has a great storyline, great actors and it
is topped of with brilliant humour.
For Starkid fans, Dylan has always been a favourite due to his strong singing voice. The name of the album is 'Confluence'. I pre-ordered it recently and so today I was finally able to listen to it for the first time. It was everything I had hoped for and even more; a mix of song styles, great lyrics and catchy tunes. If you haven't bought confluence yet it is available on iTunes - you won't regret it!
