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Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier is the seventh original online musical from Team StarKid. The show is a parody of the story of the 1992 Disney film Aladdin, written in the style of Wicked, which retells a popular story from the villain's point of view. The musical was performed July 4–28, 2013, at Greenhouse Theater Center in Chicago, Illinois. and was released on YouTube on November 27, 2013.

Summary[]

Hop on your flying carpet, because this musical parody retells the classic tale of Aladdin... from the villain's point of view! Long ago in a Magic Kingdom, one misunderstood Royal Vizier will go on a quest to save his city from its bumbling sultan, an invading prince, and the most notorious thief to ever live! With the help of the Kingdom's free-spirited, teenage Princess, the Vizier must find a magical lamp containing a wish-granting Djinn (who's really funny, by the way) and defeat the city's most-wanted criminal... Aladdin! This musical adventure celebrates and lovingly pokes fun at everyone's favorite series of hand-drawn, animated films.

Synopsis[]

Act I[]

Ja'far, the Royal Vizier, walks through the Magic Kingdom while conversing with the villagers, who blame him for all of their problems ("Dream a Little Harder"). The Captain of the Guard informs Ja'far that a thief named Aladdin recently terrorized the populace, leaving a lot of people dead. Aladdin has also humiliated the visiting Prince Achmed of Pixar (pronounced PEEK-zahr), whom Ja'far has brought for diplomatic reasons. Aladdin then appears, gloating that he lives by taking whatever he wants ("I Steal Everything").

Ja'far returns to the palace but is greeted by an angry Prince Achmed, upon whom the Princess has sicced her pet tiger. Insulted, Prince Achmed declares war on the Magic Kingdom. Ja'far berates the Princess for her carelessness, while she naïvely longs for a life of freedom ("Everything and More").

Ja'far finds out that the Sultan had ordered the execution of the "2D department" and wrecks his room. In the ruckus, he finds a golden necklace that reminds him of his past ("Sands of Time"). In a flashback, Ja'far is loved by the villagers and teaches them to follow "The Golden Rule". On his first day on the job as Assistant Royal Vizier, Ja'far discovers that the Royal Vizier and his court are corrupt and only care about money ("The Golden Rule (Evil Reprise)"). His mood is lifted when palace storyteller Scheherazade tells him the story of the Tiger Head Cave, which contains an oil lamp housing a wish-granting Djinn. Ja'far and Scheherazade fall in love and marry ("A Thousand and One Nights"). The Sultan later becomes attracted to Scheherazade and claims her as his wife. She gives Ja'far her scarab necklace and vows that they will be reunited one day. Back in the present, Ja'far decides to seek out the Tiger Head Cave and the wish-granting Djinn ("If I Believed").

The Princess meets Aladdin and is entranced by his free lifestyle and lack of respect for royalty, although she is oblivious to his sexual advances. He then talks about his past and how he became an orphan ("Orphaned At Thirty-Three"). Before they can kiss, they are caught by the royal guards, who throw Aladdin in prison and take the Princess home.

Ja'far bails Aladdin out of jail and has him go to the Tiger Head Cave to retrieve the Djinn's lamp. The Princess, Aladdin, and Ja'far all reflect on what they want most: a happy ending ("Happy Ending"). When Aladdin exits the Tiger Head Cave and discovers the secret of the lamp, he decides to take it for himself.

Act II[]

Prince Achmed returns to the kingdom of Pixar and despairs that he will only be remembered as a "throwaway joke" ("No One Remembers Achmed"). Believing that destroying the Princess' kingdom will win her affections, he and his soldiers march to war.

Back in the Magic Kingdom, Ja'far tries to warn the Princess about Aladdin. The Captain tells them that a wealthy stranger is leading a parade through the market, leaving a lot of people dead. Aladdin, disguised as a wealthy foreign prince, visits the Princess, who sees through his disguise immediately. Aladdin takes the Princess on a magic carpet ride and unsuccessfully tries to convince her to take off her clothes ("Take Off Your Clothes"). The Princess asks him to marry her, and he reluctantly agrees.

Ja'far is framed for being a sorcerer and escapes, while also stealing the lamp from Aladdin. He imagines being visited by characters from Scheherazade‘s tales, who are represented by other Disney villains. The villains claim that they are not really evil - they are portrayed as villains because their stories (with the exception of Cruella De Vil's) have become twisted ("Twisted"). Ja'far accepts that he has to take the "twisted" path. After releasing the Djinn (who only speaks in movie quotes), he uses his first wish from the lamp to make himself Sultan and the second to make himself a powerful sorcerer. Aladdin takes the Princess hostage and reveals a darker, more sinister split-personality, revealing that he himself murdered his parents when they attempted to force him out of their house to find a job. Ja'far then realizes that the Princess is his daughter, since the Sultan lost the use of his penis years ago due to inversion, and that the princess was born the same day Scheherazade was taken from him. Aladdin agrees to release the Princess in exchange for the lamp, but before Ja'far hands it over, he uses his final wish to free the Djinn and take its place in the lamp.

Ja'far gives the lamp to the Princess, believing her youth and passion make her the only one who can use the lamp's power to its fullest potential ("The Power In Me"). The Princess wishes to bring a peaceful end to the war with Pixar, and for the kingdom to have a Sultan that will make it the happiest place on Earth once again. Finally, she wishes for Ja'far's happiness. News arrives of the Sultan's death and of a final declaration he had signed before dying, which named the Princess the new Sultan. Achmed's troops arrive in the throne room, and the Princess offers to buy the entirety of Pixar with Ali Baba's treasure, which was discovered during the battle. Finally, The Princess acts upon her previously mentioned desire to make everyone in the Kingdom a Princess as well and all leave the throne room happy, wondering what has become of Ja'far.

Trapped in the lamp forever, Ja'far resigns himself to his fate when he is suddenly greeted by Scheherazade, brought back to life by the Princess' last wish. She explains that the lamp exists outside of time and space, explaining the Djinn's ability to quote movies of the future, (which is portrayed to the point of farce during his appearances). Through the lamp's future vision, Ja'far sees Aladdin, shown as the old, fat antique dealer of the original movie, reframing the story to make himself the hero and Ja'far the villain until he is eventually murdered by a thief over a loaf of bread. Ja'far then asks Scheherazade how their story ends. Scheherazade replies that it doesn't end, and they kiss ("Finale / A Thousand And One Nights Reprise").

Development[]

Twisted was developed as an idea in discussion between Nick Lang and Eric Kahn Gale. It was initially not intended to be marketed as a 'StarKid' show as StarKid intended for A Very Potter Senior Year to be the final StarKid show. However, Eric Kahn Gale created the Kickstarter page for Twisted under the name "Starkid Productions", resulting in the company continuing. Twisted was announced on March 23, 2013 via the kickstarter announcement trailer and the Kickstarter campaign was launched the same day. The campaign raised $142,564 between 3,544 backers.[1]

The musical was performed July 4–28, 2013, at the Greenhouse Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. On March 17, 2014, the show was performed abridged in two sold-out concerts at 54 Below, with composer A. J. Holmes playing Ja'far and Andrea Ross playing the Princess. The production included an introduction by StarKid co-founder Darren Criss.[2][3][4]

Cast[]

Actor (*) Character
Jaime Lyn Beatty Ursula
Ensemble
Jeff Blim Aladdin
Denise Donovan Bird
Cruella De Vil
Ensemble
Nick Gage Sultan
The Djinn
Scar
Lauren Lopez Monkey
Maleficent
Ensemble
Robert Manion Gaston
Abdul
Baful
Ensemble
Alex Paul Captain Hook
Ensemble
Jim Povolo Captain of the Royal Guard
Dylan Saunders Ja'far
Rachael Soglin Princess
Meredith Stepien Sherrezade
Joe Walker Prince Achmed
Former Royal Vizier

(*) Bold names denote the actor's onstage Starkid debut

Band[]

Name Position
Justin Fischer Keyboard 1
Marta Johnson Keyboard 2
Michael Hart Guitar/Bass
Nick Anderson Drums
Molly Rife Violin
David Orlicz Flute/Clarinet/Sax
Devon Perry Keyboard 2 Sub

Creative Team[]

Name Position
Nick Lang Book
Matt Lang
Eric Kahn Gale
A.J. Holmes Music
Kaley McMahon Lyrics
Andrew Fox Orchestration
Brian Holden Director
Justin Fischer Music Direction
James Tolbert Choreography
Joe Moses Fight Choreography
Jama McMahon Set
Emily Thomas
June Saito Costume Design
Yonit Olshan Assistant Costume
Sarah Petty Lighting Design
Mark Swiderski Sound Design
Gordon Granger Technical Direction
Julie Ballard Master Electrician
Angela Kiessel Stage Manager
Lana McKinnon Hair and Makeup
Ruby Summers Assistant Stage Manager
Kavin Chung
Jess Dumbroff Wardrobe Supervisor
Jade Ingardona Marketing
Jen Lang Graphic Design
Teia Smith
Russ Walko Puppets

Songs[]

Act 1 Song Sung By Duration
Dream a Little Harder Ja'far and Company 5:34
I Steal Everything Aladdin and Company 3:07
Everything and More Princess 3:49
Sands of Time/The Golden Rule Ja'far and Company 4:40
The Golden Rule (Evil Reprise) Royal Viziers 1:21
The Scarab N/A 0:26
A Thousand and One Nights Ja'far and Sherrezade 4:04
The Sultan's Fanfare N/A 0:15
If I Believed Ja'far 1:57
Orphaned At Thirty-Three Aladdin 3:18
Happy Ending Ja'far, Princess and Aladdin 3:44
Act 2 No One Remembers Achmed Achmed and Company 3:39
Take Off Your Clothes Aladdin and Princess 2:50
Twisted Ja'far, Ursula, Scar, Cruella De Vil, Gaston and Captain Hook 6:51
The Power In Me Princess and Ja'far 4:09
A Thousand And One Nights (Reprise) Company 0:38
1001 Nights (Pop Version) Britney Coleman and Carlos Valdes 2:22

Recording[]

A cast recording of the production was released on November 28, 2013 on digital platforms. The recording included all songs (except "A Song is a Dick in Sheep's Clothing") as well as two instrumental cues, "Sultan's Fanfare" and "The Scarab."[5] The musical's cast recording debuted at No. 63 on the American iTunes Top 100 albums chart.[6]

A karaoke album was released on November 28, 2013, exclusively on iTunes.[7]

An EP of bonus studio recordings and demos entitled Twisted: Twisted was released on December 4, 2013. The album was produced by Andrew Fox, Michael Hart, and Stacks of Wax Productions, and featured Andrea Ross, Britney Coleman, Carlos Valdes, and Cluster.[8] In addition to multiple demos, it also features a punk version of "Everything and More" performed by Andrea Moss, a cover of "The Golden Rule" performed by a cappella group Cluster, and Pop/R&B versions of "Take Off Your Clothes" and "A Thousand and One Nights."

Critical Reception[]

Twisted received positive reviews.

On Hypable, Danielle Zimmerman called it "smart, lively, and just outright hilarious."[9]

On IMDb, Twisted has a rating of 8.7/10 with more than 800 voters.[10]

Trivia[]

  • The official recording includes Jim Povolo corpsing when Rachael tells xem "No high five"
  • During the last show, Lauren accidentally leaned on a light switch during "And how does our story end", which caused the lights to go on during "It doesn't"
  • Brian describes being harder on Meredith than the other actors because they were dating, to avoid the appearance of playing favorites
  • The trailer's announcer is voiced by Jonathan Freeman, Jafar's original actor who's also played him on Broadway[11]


References[]

Team StarKid Musicals
A Very Potter Musical
2009
A Very Potter Sequel
2010
A Very Potter Senior Year
2012
Me and My Dick
2009
Starship
2011
Holy Musical B@man!
2012
Twisted
2013
Ani: A Parody
2014
The Trail to Oregon!
2014
Firebringer
2016
The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals
2018
Black Friday
2019
Nerdy Prudes Must Die
2023
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