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<\/p>\nHave you ever looked at a work of art and thought, \u201cHmm, that would make a great musical\u201d?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s kind of what Cindy Bradley, the artistic director of the San Pedro City Ballet, thought when she first saw the 1960s mod world of Southern California artist Josh \u201cShag\u201d Agle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I would do one piece and maybe get some original music to go with it and have Shag do a backdrop or the costumes or something,\u201d Bradley said. \u201cBut after he said yes, all of these ideas started coming to me about how it could be a story; it could be a musical; it could be an entire show with lots of characters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her creation, \u201cShag with a Twist\u201d is a Broadway-style musical inspired by Shag\u2019s artwork. It will be performed on Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Grand Annex Music Hall in San Pedro.<\/p>\n
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A scene from \u201cShag With a Twist,\u201d a Broadway-style musical, inspired by the artwork of Shag. (Photo courtesy of Jeanine Hill)\n<\/p>\n
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An example of Shag\u2019s art, \u201cVinegar Girl,\u201d Shag, 2002. (Photo courtesy of Shag)\n<\/p>\n
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A scene from \u201cShag With a Twist,\u201d a Broadway-style musical, inspired by the artwork of Shag. (Photo courtesy of Jeanine Hill)\n<\/p>\n
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A scene from \u201cShag With a Twist,\u201d a Broadway-style musical, inspired by the artwork of Shag. (Photo courtesy of Jeanine Hill)\n<\/p>\n
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A scene from \u201cShag With a Twist,\u201d a Broadway-style musical, inspired by the artwork of Shag. (Photo courtesy of Jeanine Hill)\n<\/p>\n
Expand<\/a><\/p>\n The show is a campy and immersive murder mystery set at a 1960s Tupperware party, complete with cocktails, dancing, outrageous costumes \u2014 and a monkey in a fez.<\/p>\n \u201cMy biggest goal was for Shag to come to the show and think that I had done it, that I had brought (his work) to life,\u201d said Bradley, adding that she still feels \u201cstar-struck\u201d when she sees Shag in person. \u201cWell, he immediately told me that it was a success in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n For those unfamiliar with Shag (as I was before putting together this column), apparently: \u201cHe\u2019s super famous.\u201d<\/p>\n At least, that\u2019s what Bradley assured me during our Zoom call last week.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a super-fan,\u201d she said. \u201cBut he has many, many fans. And loyal, too.\u201d<\/p>\n A Southern California artist since the 1980s, Shag has a popular gallery in Palm Springs and throngs of dedicated, tiki-loving fans across the state who have helped turn recent performances of \u201cShag with a Twist\u201d into sellouts.<\/p>\n His art is a throwback to 1960s martini-sipping party culture: all beehive hairdos, swoop bangs and orange-checkered suit jackets. It\u2019s \u201cJetsons\u201d chic meets retro spy cartoons.<\/p>\n Fun fact: In 2004, Shag was hired by MGM to create the iconic mid-century modern art for the 40th anniversary of \u201cPink Panther.\u201d<\/p>\n With all that flamboyance, style and fabulousness, Bradley decided that Shag\u2019s painted world was a perfect fit for the stage.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not all about the aesthetic. Look closely at Shag\u2019s art and you\u2019ll see a story: Stylish party guests have mysterious smirks on their faces. Mustached men peek slyly from behind corners. Women walk with leopards on leashes.<\/p>\n It\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess what\u2019s going on. But the colorful, stylized scenes feel every bit as Palm Springs as the towering skinny palms lining its avenues.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at any of Shag\u2019s paintings, there\u2019s always a story,\u201d Bradley said. \u201cDifferent people interpret it in different ways. But you can see something there, and it\u2019s fun and quirky and sexy and really makes you feel good.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s what I wanted to do with the show.\u201d<\/p>\n It was more than 20 years ago when Bradley first tracked down the artist and pitched the idea to bring his art to life.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was all Cindy\u2019s doing, actually,\u201d Shag said. \u201cShe came up with this concept, and she stalked me for a little bit until I said, \u2018Yes, I\u2019ll meet with you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t immediately on board, however.<\/p>\n \u201cShe gave me this proposal, which seemed just huge and overblown, you know?\u201d Shag said. \u201cJust the number of people in the cast and the amount of money it was going to take to build these costumes and sets.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, this is never going to happen,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd then she called me up a little later and said, \u2018OK, I got my funding.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The pair worked together. Bradley wrote the story and lyrics while Shag designed the sets, props and costumes. Composers C\u00e9sar Benitez and Chris Lang created the music.<\/p>\n \u201cShag with a Twist\u201d premiered at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in 2005, winning an Ovation Award for costume design and earning eight Lester Horton Award nominations before going on to an extended run in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n Critics described it as a \u201cwonderfully loopy world,\u201d praising its \u201cwildly witty costumes and hair\u201d and \u201cenergetic choreography.\u201d The website TheaterMania later wrote that the Las Vegas production \u201cserves up camp, cocktails, groovy music and stunningly colorful visuals.\u201d<\/p>\n Since then, the show has remained Bradley\u2019s passion project, alongside her work as artistic director of the San Pedro City Ballet, where she is best known for discovering the legendary Misty Copeland at age 13 through the company\u2019s outreach program. (Copeland went on to become the first Black woman to serve as a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre.)<\/p>\n In 2024, \u201cShag with a Twist\u201d was revived in Palm Springs as part of the city\u2019s annual Modernism Week. It also played in Torrance at the James Armstrong Theater.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s become its own thing. It\u2019s like an entity beyond me,\u201d said Shag, who got his alias by combining the last two letters of his first name with the first two letters of his last name. \u201cIt\u2019s like, I was there when it was birthed as a baby, and now it\u2019s a grown-up. Or maybe it\u2019s a 7-year-old, and can walk on its own and tie its own shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t seen the show yet, but it certainly looks fun.<\/p>\n Promotional materials call it \u201c\u2019Rocky Horror\u2019 meets \u2018The Jetsons,\u2019\u201d no doubt referring to the odd blend of retro hair swoops and A-line mini skirts mixed with campy audience participation.<\/p>\n The story follows guests at a Tupperware party gone horribly (and hilariously) wrong. The party, however, quickly takes a turn when someone ends up dead. A bumbling police officer and his monkey sidekick set out to solve the crime.<\/p>\n The story, Bradley has said, was inspired by her parents\u2019 cocktail parties in the \u201960s.<\/p>\n Those parties, of course, had no murders. And there were no wacky guests, hat-wearing monkeys or conjoined twins attached at the tops of their beehives. But you get the point.<\/p>\n The show is an immersive affair. Audience members are encouraged to dress the part, so slide on the go-go boots, tease the hair high and rock your best tiki chic.<\/p>\n The 150-seat Grand Annex has a cabaret-style setup, with tables up front and general seating behind them, so guests can sip their drinks while watching the story unfold.<\/p>\n And if you\u2019re still not quite sure what to expect, Shag himself offered his own description:<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I\u2019m just going to coin a word right now and say \u2018shag-tastic.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Shag with a Twist\u2019<\/p>\n When: 7:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3.<\/p>\n Where: The Grand Annex Music Hall, 434 W. Sixth St., San Pedro.<\/p>\n Cost: $55 and up (available at EventBrite<\/a>).<\/p>\n