The long-running hit parody Distorted Dizney by drag performance group Twizted Sisterz has re-awakened from the pandemic-time curse on live performances to resume its eight-year run on select Fridays at The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Originally conceived by Daniel Logan (who is no longer affiliated with the current production) in March 2012, the late-night cabaret is an outrageously funny cult favorite inspired by Disney’s iconic princesses, villains, and other familiar characters from the animated children’s classics that have been re-envisioned in an underground “Magical Queendom” for a decidedly adult high-camp-loving audience.
Performed by a troupe of four fabulous lip-syncing ‘ladies’ (current Twizted Sisterz are Brenda Dharling, Holly Dae, and Pixie Aventura, with Androgyny in December and Bootsie LeFaris in January), the 75-minute non-stop extravaganza features dazzling costumes, raucous over-the-top comedy, raunchy audience participation, high-energy dance numbers filled with dizzying swirls and the highest of high kicks, and farcical references to such pop-culture goddesses as Toni Basil, Tina Turner, Christina Aguilera, Cher, Patti LuPone, Idina Menzel, Precious, Rihanna, the Mean Girls, and more thrown into the mix.
Host Holly Dae kicks it off with a live welcome and closes with a final farewell, both in direct address, while interacting with the audience and giving everyone the important opening reminder to “Drink, drink, drink!” because “the more you drink, the more . . .” (no spoilers here; you’ll have to go to the show to get that hysterical punchline).
Group segments at the beginning, middle, and end of the show, devised by the original 2012 cast, are interspersed with a non-stop sequence of featured solo numbers crafted by each of that night’s performers, who lip-sync to the well-known recorded songs and short voice-over narratives, monologues, and dialogues, comprised of multiple sound bites pulled from the movies, TV, pop music, and even viral videos (among them, the yearning of a Little Mermaid for “the carnal benefits of being an anatomically correct woman”), with hilariously histrionic moves and expressions.
Holly told me, “I love doing all of my characters in the show, however probably the one I have the most fun with is Cruella [de Vil, from the Disney film 101 Dalmations]. I get to be kooky crazy and of course evil and it’s so much fun. My favorite thing about performing live again is just the energy that you get from an actual audience. There is an excitement that only comes from a live audience. Just being able to hear people laugh along with you means a lot.”
With its long history of sold-out performances, be sure to get your tickets for this month’s Distorted Dizney soon. And don’t forget to bring lots of tissues, because you’ll be laughing so hard that tears – along with your heavy eye make-up – will be running down your face.
Running Time: Approximately 75 minutes, without intermission.
Distorted Dizney next plays on Friday, December 17, 2021, and January 14, 2022, beginning at 10 pm, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre at West Bank Cafe, 407 West 42nd Street, downstairs. NYC. For the full upcoming schedule and tickets (priced at $22, plus a $20 per person food/beverage minimum), call (212) 352-3101, or go online. Following CDC and NYC guidelines for COVID-19 safety, everyone must show ID and accepted proof of vaccination for entry.
