ARIAS WITH A TWIST STARRING JOEY ARIAS RETURNS FOR LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

SEPTEMBER 14 – OCTOBER 16, 2011 AT ABRONS ARTS CENTER

Abrons Arts Center and Barbara Busackino have announced that the critical and popular hit Arias with a Twist will return for a limited encore engagement Wednesday, September 14 – Sunday, October 16 with an official opening night set for Sunday, September 18. This bigger-than-life cabinet of curiosities was created by seductive songstress Joey Arias, who stars, and Basil Twist, who directs and designs.

Arias with a Twist had its world premiere at HERE Arts Center on June 19, 2008 and played an 8-month, critically-acclaimed, extended, sold-out run. Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote, “Eat your heart out, Madonna. The chanteuses who play Madison Square Garden and football stadiums have never experienced the imaginative heights of spectacle with which Basil Twist surrounds Joey Arias.” The show then played an international tour including stops in Los Angeles, Stockholm & Paris

This updated version of the original deliriously madcap fantasy once again features the soaring song stylings of demented diva Joey Arias surrounded by an eye-popping theatrical extravaganza conjured by a team of puppeteers under the direction of Basil Twist. Channeling lurid celluloid dreams, macabre nightmares and bizarre premonitions, the adventure begins with an alien abduction and concludes with a stupendous Busby Berkeley-esque finale. Along the way, the throaty chanteuse belts out pop, rock and jazz standards – in addition to some original tunes by Alex Gifford – as Twist and company work their magic with vintage marionettes, anatomically correct puppets and fantastical scenic elements.

Arias with a Twist features costumes designed by renowned fashion and fragrance designer Thierry Manfred Mugler. The lighting design is by Ayumu “Poe” Saegusa, sound design is by Greg Duffin and video design is by Daniel Brodie. Arias with a Twist combines projected animation, exquisite puppetry and ingenious stagecraft for an exhilarating and unprecedented theatrical spectacle not to be missed.

The hit sensation Arias with a Twist, created by Basil Twist and Joey Arias, will return for a limited encore engagement at the Abrons Arts Center (466 Grand Street, between Pitt Street and Bialystoker Street) for four-weeks from Wednesday, September 14 – Sunday, October 16. The performance schedule is as follows: Wednesday – Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 8pm and 10:30pm; Sunday at 7pm. Tickets, ranging from $25- $65, are available online at www.AbronsArtsCenter.org, or by phoning (212) 352-3101. For more information, please visit www.AriasWithATwist.com