Shag With A Twist was a comedy murder-mystery designed to celebrate the unmistakable aesthetic of artist Josh Agle, better known as Shag, whose retro-hipster style encompasses those classic vintage elements of bright candy colors, beehive hairdos, Tiki kitsch, mid-century modern interiors, and cartoon-character cocktail-hour subject matter. Or, as the artist himself puts it: "My paintings are based on stylized commercial advertising…back then [it] had a sort of cubist-cartoonish look…I almost always try to paint a story…something that is happening, often sinister, and usually a bit mysterious."
The musical, which was produced in cooperation with Shag, was the brainchild of choreographer Cynthia Bradley, who explained her own inspiration thusly: "Our goal was to bring his artwork to life and to capture, in a live performance, that essence of fun and kitsch that resonates in his paintings."
Set at a 1960s Tupperware party, naturally, the hero of Shag With a Twist is a police detective who arrives at the crime scene -- a penthouse -- with his fez-wearing pet monkey, Mr. Cuddles, to discover that the murder weapon was a giant corkscrew. The show performed to mixed reviews, first in L.A. before migrating to Las Vegas, where it took up residence initially in the original Krave/Harmon Theater and then downtown in a specially transformed lounge at the Plaza. In total, it performed in Las Vegas for around nine months.
In addition to moving venues, the show also underwent some other upgrades for the Vegas audience, including more intimate lounge-style seating in the vintage-ized "Shag Showroom," together with the loss of the intermission, a new midnight curtain time, and an upping of the "sexy" quotient, which had previously been downplayed somewhat with more innuendo.
The marketing machine was able to capitalize on the American audience's new-found familiarity with some English slang, thanks to Mike Myers' 1999 hit, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, leading to plenty of potential for double-entendres in the advertising materials (see below).
In some other breaks with tradition, our understanding is that the entire plot of Shag With a Twist was related via song, dance, and mime -- no dialogue -- and, in an effort to blur the boundaries between audience and stage and generate a genuine party atmosphere, the show was a rarity in featuring an open bar, which also necessitated a 21+ age policy.
"I think Vegas is a really appropriate place for the show," Shag said at the time, "because a lot of what it deals with, and a lot of what my artwork deals with, is sort of an extreme form of hedonism, and Las Vegas is sort of the ultimate hedonistic experience."
Indeed.
While Shag With a Twist won high praise for its look (including an Ovation award for Shag himself, who designed the costumes and sets), many critics evidently felt that a sacrifice had been made to style over substance and that the swinging look was perfectly captured, but at the expense of giving the audience anything more to engage with than the aesthetic (a factor that may have been at least partially offset by the open bar).
By February, 2007, the players club at the Plaza was offering 2-for-1 tickets to Shag for new sign-ups, which was good for players but not a good sign for the show's longevity. Around this time, half-price tickets also started being offered via the bargain Tix 4 Tonight outlets around town. By May, its time was evidently up and the show closed at the Plaza; as far as we know, that was the last time it was performed publicly in its entirety.
From what we understand, the sets and costumes still exist and while they're currently in storage, they do still get to see the light of day from time to time. Cindy Bradley and her husband now own the San Pedro City Ballet in Palos Verdes and in an interview with Bradley from (we think) 2013, she indicated that they were partially reviving Shag last May as a fundraiser event for the ballet school: "We are performing excerpts from Shag With A Twist and our musical performers are a group called The Martini Kings, who play lounge music. They’re hip, cool, sixties types. That’s the theme of the party."
It's perhaps a case of a production being before its time when it comes to Shag. With the much more vibrant arts scene to be found downtown these days, a show like this might have a much better shot at success, not least as there are more venues to pick from that could comfortably house an intimate evening that sought to extend the party atmosphere off the stage and into the audience. Four Queens' Canyon Club debuted just a couple of months before Shag With a Twist's departure, and that 500-seat lounge-style room might have provided the perfect setting; likewise, the new 540-square-foot Inspire Theater, with its mid-century styling, which just debuted in the Fremont East Arts District, might have been a good home.
So, if you're a fan of the show, perhaps its time to start lobbying for a revival (and, perhaps, a little work on the plot). And yes, there was a soundtrack CD, but it's not commercially available -- we suggest checking for used copies on eBay or Amazon.com. As to wanting to get your hands on that script, such as it is, we figure your best bet is to reach out direct to the show's creator and see if a) she has a spare and b) would sanction an outside performance (which might well involve Shag's say-so, too):
Cynthia Bradley San Pedro Ballet School 1231 South Pacific Avenue San Pedro California 90731 Phone: 310.732.1861 | Fax: 310.732.1861
Good luck!
