Hallie Parker (Aneesa Folds, left) and Annie James (Russell Daniels) were separated at birth but years later, at summer camp, they realize they are, in fact, ginger twins, in Kevin Zak’s parody of The Parent Trap, Ginger Twinsies.
Ginger Twinsies is a parody of the 1998 film The Parent Trap, itself a reboot of the 1961 film of the same name. Although the parody focuses on the 1998 Lindsay Lohan version, both films share a completely ridiculous storyline that allows a child actor to play two characters. So many coincidences and lapses in logic boggle the rational mind. Therefore, Ginger Twinsies, written and directed by Kevin Zak, has carte blanche to unmercifully mock its source material. It is 80 minutes of high-energy hijinks, slapstick, sight gags, wordplay, and enough 1990s trivia to be its own Trivial Pursuit category.
Unhappy campers (from left to right: Lakisha May, Matthew Wilkas, and Russell Daniels) are victims of an unbelievable prank.
The plot centers on two girls, Annie (Russell Daniels) and Hallie (Aneesa Folds), who meet at Walden summer camp in the Northeast and realize they are twin sisters. Annie lives in London with the twins’ mother, Elizabeth (Lakisha May), and Hallie in Napa Valley, California, with their father, Nick (Matthew Wilkas). Both girls want to meet the parent they didn’t know they shared. They decide to switch identities and get their parents, who have been separated and out of contact for 11 years, back together. It’s a great plan—until they learn their father is about to marry Meredith (Phillip Taratula), an evil gold digger, who vows, “First thing I do is ship that two-faced brat off to boarding school.”
The girls trick their parents into meeting in Napa Valley. The twins convince their parents to go on a family camping trip but their mother suggests that Meredith join the girls and their father. Meredith reluctantly agrees only to have the twins subject her to tales of roaming wild animals and to demonic torture. Exasperated, Meredith gives the father an ultimatum—the twins or me. The father chooses the twins and everyone lives happily ever after. The perfect Disney ending.
Hallie meets her mother Elizabeth James (Lakisha May).
There is so much in the story that is ripe for parody. For instance, twins separated at birth meeting at the same summer camp; parents not communicating for 11 years; pranks elaborate enough to require Teamsters to move furniture onto a bungalow roof; each parent employing a gay-adjacent sidekick; and both parents enjoying fabulous lifestyles as well-known professionals while being completely unaware of each other’s success. Is the switched-identity trope really a source of hilarity or just mild bemusement? In this parody, definitely the former.
Ginger Twinsies even suggests that the parents are truly horrible people, despite their unctuous preciousness in the original film. Much mockery is made of the fact that the 1998 movie was written and directed by Nancy Meyers and that everything is oh-so-precious (except for Meredith, the evil gold digger). In this version of the story, Meredith asks whether she is really the villain in this love triangle. She makes a strong case that the parents are, in fact, clueless and horrid.
Zak smartly recognizes that not everyone has seen the original film, so he cleverly references other 1990s switched-identity stories. For instance, Jamie Lee Curtis makes an appearance to plug the upcoming film Freakier Friday—another Lindsay Lohan double-role tour de force—and encourages the twins to seek revenge to overcome their “trowma.” Zak also sends up other icons and films: Shirley MacLaine, Demi Moore, Julianne Moore, the creature from The Substance, and—oddly—Virginia Woolf all pop in for a laugh.
Hallie, a card shark, shows the company a winning hand. Photographs by Matthew Murphy.
The cast of comedians bustles with talent as they take on multiple roles: Daniels and Folds are Annie and Hallie, respectively, but each also portray another camper at Walden; Jimmy Ray Bennett is Martin, Annie’s butler, plus Grandpapa, a photographer, Shirley MacLaine, a concierge, and others; Lakisha May is both Elizabeth, the twins’ mother, and a camper; Grace Reiter is Chessy, Hallie’s nanny, the Trolley Witch, and others; Phillip Taratula is “evil” Meredith, Tie-Dye Girl, Virginia Woolf, and Demi Moore from The Substance; Matthew Wilkas is Nick, the twins’ dad, and a camper; and Mitch Wood is Lizard, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mr. Napkin Head, Aunt Vicki, Towel Girl, Julianne Moore, and many other roles. All the performers are extraordinary.
The scenic design by Beowulf Boritt and direction by Zak serve as the perfect antithesis to Nancy Meyers’s measured and beige style. From hand-lettered camp signage to a cardboard cityscape of San Francisco, the staging ping-pongs easily from London to Napa Valley, keeping pace with the frantic action. A tip of the hat to Wilberth Gonzalez for the costume design that cleverly captures 1990s style in all its colorful glory.
Ginger Twinsies runs through Oct. 26 at the Orpheum Theatre (126 2nd Ave). Performances are Monday through Thursday at 7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit gingertwinsies.com.
Playwright and Director: Kevin Zak
Scenic Design: Beowulf Boritt
Costume Design: Wilberth Gonzalez
Lighting Design: Bradley King
Sound Design: Joshua D. Reid
Hair, Wig, & Makeup Design: Krystal Belleza & Will Vicari
