My Evil Twin

A genre-bending new theater work makes its world premiere at The Foundry this June.

My Evil Twin is an intimate musical starring identical twin opera singers Jim and John Demler – as Jim and John Demler. Funny, poignant, and adventurous, My Evil Twin exposes tenderness and vulnerability beneath masculine bravado as the twins tell the story of their lives in words and song. It is a tribute to sibling love.

The gorgeous songs are by Eric Sawyer. They span styles from pop to Broadway to art song to opera, and give the twins the chance to unleash their virtuosic basso voices with madcap energy and deep emotion. The witty, fast-moving book, by Harley Erdman, was developed in rehearsal with the twins themselves and with director Ron Bashford. The result is a polished, exquisite, entertaining and totally out-of-the-box new kind of musical.

Sawyer, Erdman, and Bashford got the idea for the piece working while on The Scarlet Professor (2017), which won the America Prize for opera. John played the villainous Detective Reagan in the workshop version of the show, while Jim played the same role in the final production.

Jim, who has sung many roles around the world and teaches at Boston University, says he is grateful for “the opportunity of a lifetime to perform alongside my talented yet somewhat less attractive identical twin.” Pittsfield-based John, who has sung many roles around the world and will be familiar to Berkshire audiences, says he is grateful for “the opportunity of a lifetime to perform alongside my talented yet somewhat less attractive identical twin.”

This show runs 75 minutes.

Doors/ Bar Open: 7 PM

Tickets: $25