Twisted: Interview with Playwright Joel Greenhouse
“Twisted” is a new play by Joel Greenhouse; this campy musical comedy plays homage to exploitation films that were popular in the 1960s. Featuring go-go boots, demons, lust, blackmail, dancing, and more, this eccentric and enjoyable play will run from September 28 to October 15, 2023, at Theater for the New City in Manhattan.
Joel recently discussed this play and more via an exclusive interview.
Meagan Meehan (MM): How did you discover your talent for writing and what was it about plays that most interested you?
Joel Greenhouse (JG): Back in the 1970’s, I worked in quite a number of comedy groups and thought a good deal of the material given to me was mediocre. I thought I could do better and was right, and soon I began to write and perform my own material. I was introduced to theatre at a very young age and absolutely loved plays, both seeing and reading them, and it was (for me) a natural progression from writing sketch comedy to writing plays.
MM: How did you initially get interested in theater and how did you break into the industry?
JG: As I said above, I was introduced to theatre at a very young age. Every year at holiday time my family would go to New York City for a couple of days and would see Broadway shows and after the very first one, I was hooked. I did nothing but act in plays in college. I then got accepted to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and started auditioning, soon getting parts in summer stock, dinner theatre, off-off Broadway and children’s theatre.
MM: How did you come to work with Theater for the New City?
JG: Through the director of “Twisted,” Joe Battista, who worked with them in the past.
MM: This latest play is based on exploitation films from the 1960s…why did you pick that era in particular?
JG: I was always a big fan of cheesy movies from the 1960’s. That was the era when I grew up, especially horror movies. Vampire and Devil Cult movies were my favorites and “Twisted” has a little bit of both.
MM: What are some of the most outrageous and/or memorable films from this era and how much did they influence you?
JG: Anything by Ed Wood especially “Plan 9 from Outer Space.” I also loved William Castle films like “Straitjacket.” I mean Joan Crawford wielding an ax — what could be better than that? I also had a special place in my heart for bad Beach Party movies and don’t even get me started on “Hag” cinema, which was old female movie stars in horror movies. I was also influenced by every John Waters movie ever made.
MM: How long did it take you to write this piece?
JG: I wrote an early version of it over thirty years ago and it had been sitting in a drawer mostly all that time. About five years ago, I wanted to start something new, and a friend suggested I revisit that “crazy alligator play.” I looked at it with a fresh eye and rewrote it totally but kept some of the themes and characters. It took me a little over a year to write the first draft and then I began fine tuning it with some readings. If it wasn’t for the pandemic, it would have been produced two years earlier.
MM: What’s your favorite part of the play and why?
JG: Hard to say, I sit through the rehearsals and whenever these actors hit a home run that becomes my favorite part until two minutes later when someone else knocks me out.
MM: What do you hope audiences take away from this performance?
JG: That their jaws hurt from laughing.
MM: What is some of the best feedback you’ve gotten about this piece thus far?
JG: Insane, funny, and mostly “My god you’re sick.”
MM: What other projects are you working on right now and what themes might you like to explore in future works?
JG: I just want to get through this without drugs but am working on something new… but don’t want to talk about it yet.
MM: What are your ultimate goals for the future and is there anything else that you would like to mention?
JG: Keep breathing and have fun!
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To learn more, see here: https://twistedshow.com
