Joey Arias

A fixture of New York Citys vibrant downtown performance scene for 30plus years Joey Arias is a bona fide NYC icon Arias lived and worked with legendary musician Klaus Nomi until Nomis death in 1983 However he has long since stepped out of Nomis shadow to gain fame in his own right as a performance artist cabaret singer and drag artist Arias has distinguished himself with scandalous wit sleek style and an extraordinary voice evocative of Billie Holiday yet uniquely his own Arias has performed worldwide at venues including Carnegie Hall and the Freedom Theatre in London Arias was tapped by Cirque du Soleil to originate the role of the emcee in their Las Vegas spectacular Zumanity After 6 years in that role Arias returned to New York where he became the star and cocreator of Arias With a Twist with master puppeteer Basil Twist The show was a critical and commercial hit and extended repeatedly for a total of 8 months On film he has appeared in Mondo New York Big Top Pee Wee Elvira Mistress of the Dark Wigstock The Movie Flawless and To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar among others