Twisted (musical)

Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier is a musical with music by A. J. Holmes, lyrics by Kaley McMahon, and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Eric Kahn Gale. It was produced by StarKid Productions.

A revisionist parody of the 1992 film Aladdin, the musical tells the film's story from the point of view of the film's villain, Jafar (spelled "Ja'far" in all official materials), in a nod to the musical Wicked, which told the familiar story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the point of view of The Wicked Witch of the West. In addition to Aladdin and Wicked, the musical also parodies several other Disney films and stage musicals, as well as the history of The Walt Disney Company.

Twisted opened in Chicago's Greenhouse Theatre on July 4, 2013, and closed on July 28, 2013, as part of a limited run. The original production was directed by Brian Holden. The group put the entire musical up on YouTube on November 27, 2013. The musical's cast recording debuted at No. 63 on the American iTunes Top 100 albums chart.

Prologue
Sherrezade introduces the audience to a Magic Kingdom (an analogue of The Walt Disney Company) that prospered for many years thanks to its commitment to "the two Ds: duty and devotion". Following a period of prosperity, the Kingdom fell into the hands of a corrupt sultan and entered a dark age. The only man who can rescue the Kingdom is the misunderstood royal vizier Ja'far.

Act I
Ja'far walks the streets of the Kingdom while the citizens jeer him. While Ja'far tries his best to be a sensible and scientific planner, the citizens prefer to wish for their unrealistic dreams to come true and blame Ja'far for all their problems ("Dream a Little Harder"). Ja'far is informed by the captain of the guards that while attempting to pursue a thief who stole a loaf of bread, several men were injured or killed, and furthermore that the thief insulted visiting dignitary Prince Achmed. The selfish, shiftless and callous thief, Aladdin, explains his philosophy that everything in the world is his to steal ("I Steal Everything").

Ja'far returns to the palace but is greeted by Achmed; the ruler of the Kingdom of Pik-Zahr, angered by the Princess setting her pet tiger upon him. 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").

Distraught to learn of his 2Ds department's sacking, Ja'far wrecks his room. He finds a scarab necklace that reminds him of the past when he was beloved by the citizens ("Sands of Time"). In an extended flashback, Ja'far teaches them about "The Golden Rule" of always treating others the way one wishes to be treated. On arriving at the vizier's palace for his first day as an assistant, Ja'far discovers that the vizier and his court are corrupt and only care about money ("The Golden Rule (Evil Reprise)"). Ja'far wonders if he will ever effect real change without the Sultan's audience. His mood is lifted when he meets the palace storyteller Sherrezade, who tells him stories including the Tiger Head Cave, which among other riches contains an oil lamp housing a wish-granting Djinn. Despite his skepticism of the stories, they fall in love and marry ("A Thousand and One Nights"). Months pass, and the Sultan finally gives Ja'far an audience; Sherrezade accompanies him. The Sultan, a babbling fool who tells the court he inverted his penis, is immediately taken with Sherrezade and claims her as his concubine. Sherrezade gives Ja'far the scarab necklace and vows that they will be reunited one day. In the present, Ja'far sadly notes that she died in childbirth before they could reunite. Though not fully convinced of the power of magic, Ja'far decides to seek out the Tiger Head Cave and the wish-granting Djinn ("If I Believed").

Meanwhile, the Princess meets Aladdin and is entranced by his free lifestyle and lack of respect for royalty, oblivious to his sexual advances. Aladdin explains how he never had a chance to become a valuable member of society since he was "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 releases Aladdin on the condition he retrieves the Djinn's lamp from the Tiger Head Cave, claiming it to be an ordinary lamp. He also promises that Aladdin can keep all the other treasures he finds. The Princess, Aladdin, and Ja'far reflect on what they want most ("Happy Ending") before Aladdin exits the Tiger Head Cave and flees with the lamp, having discovered the Djinn, while Ja'far watches.

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

Ja'far has a heart-to-heart with the Princess about her future as a leader. Ja'far tries to warn her about Aladdin's true intentions but is called away when The Captain tells them that an unknown wealthy prince is leading a parade through the market, causing untold mayhem and injury. The prince visits the Princess, who immediately recognizes him as Aladdin. He nevertheless manages to convince her that the prince is his true persona. He takes the Princess on a magic carpet ride and unsuccessfully tries to convince her to have sex ("Take Off Your Clothes"). The Princess realizes that Aladdin's claimed great armies could help against Achmed's invasion. She proposes marriage, which Aladdin lustfully accepts.

The Sultan introduces his future son-in-law, Aladdin, to Ja'far, who impatiently explains that Aladdin is not an actual prince. Aladdin manages to convince the Sultan that Ja'far is a sorcerer who is using hypnosis, prompting the Sultan to sentence Ja'far to death. Ja'far grabs the lamp and escapes. Alone with the lamp, Ja'far is visited by various Disney villains from Sherrezade's tales. They claim they are not evil and that their stories have become "twisted" throughout the years. Ja'far accepts that he has to take the "twisted" path himself, or his sacrifices will have been for nothing, and uses the lamp ("Twisted").

Prince Achmed invades, and Aladdin and his army are nowhere to be found. Achmed calls for the head of the Sultan, and Ja'far, having used his first wish to become the Sultan, enters. He releases the Djinn, who speaks entirely in movie quotes, incomprehensible to Ja'far, and uses his second wish to make himself a powerful sorcerer. The Princess finally realizes that Aladdin is a fraud. Aladdin takes the Princess hostage, and as Ja'far pleads with him to release her, he realizes that the Princess is his own daughter. Aladdin reveals a darker, more sinister split-personality who murdered his parents when they attempted to force him out of their house to find a job. Ja'far agrees to hand over the lamp in exchange for the Princess, but before Ja'far hands it over, he uses his final wish to free the Djinn and take its place in the lamp.

Now a Djinn himself, 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 Princess wishes to bring a peaceful end to the war with Pik-Zahr, and for the Kingdom to have a Sultan that will make it prosper again. Finally, she wishes Ja'far happiness, and they part ways ("The Power In Me"). News arrives that the Sultan has died, naming the Princess the majority stockholder and sole ruler of the Kingdom. Achmed's troops arrive in the throne room, and the Princess buys the entirety of Pik-Zahr with Ali Baba's treasure, discovered during the battle.

In the lamp, Ja'far resigns himself to his fate when he is greeted by Sherrezade, brought back to life by the Princess's last wish. She explains that the lamp exists outside of time and space, which is how the Djinn had knowledge of movies from the future. Ja'far sees that Aladdin will become a Peddler who spends his days telling a warped version of the story. The couple then live happily ever after ("Finale / A Thousand And One Nights Reprise").

Musical numbers

 * Act I
 * "Dream a Little Harder" – Ja'far and Ensemble
 * "I Steal Everything" – Aladdin and Ensemble
 * "Everything and More" – Princess
 * "Sands of Time" – Ja'far
 * "The Golden Rule" – Ja'far and Ensemble
 * "The Golden Rule (Evil Reprise)" – Vizier and Ensemble
 * "A Thousand and One Nights" – Sherrezade and Ja'far
 * "If I Believed" – Ja'far
 * "Orphaned at Thirty-Three" – Aladdin
 * "Happy Ending" – Ja'far, Aladdin, and Princess


 * Act II
 * "No One Remembers Achmed" – Prince Achmed and Ensemble
 * "Take off Your Clothes" – Aladdin and Princess
 * "Twisted" – Ja'far and Ensemble
 * "The Power in Me" – Princess and Ja'far
 * "Finale (A Thousand and One Nights Reprise)" – Company

The official video of the original production ends with a faux-pop remix of "A Thousand and One Nights" performed by StarKid contributors Carlos Valdes and Britney Coleman.

Development
Twisted was funded entirely via a Kickstarter campaign launched by creators Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Eric Kahn Gale. The campaign opened with a fundraising goal of $35,000 and ended up raising $142,564.

Productions
The musical was performed July 4–28, 2013, at the Greenhouse Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. The group put the entire musical up on YouTube on November 27, 2013. The recording has since received over 7.8 million views as of October 2023.

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.

Recordings
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".

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

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. 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".

Reviews
Twisted received positive reviews.

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

On IMDb, Twisted has a rating of 8.7/10 with more than 900 voters.