On Friday night this past week, I went to see Aladdin on Broadway. My friend and I were seated in the nose-bleed seats, which still cost a pretty penny, so be forewarned: you may as well spend a bit more and get halfway decent seats at least. What follows is my short review, but keep in mind my close proximity to the actual ceiling of this extra-large, 1700-seat theatre as you read this.
First things first, this is a kids' show even more so than any other Disney production to date. Where Mary Poppins brings out the kid in all of us, Aladdin reminds us we're not the kids it's playing to, the ones giggling all around the theatre at the jokes, especially those told by Iago, the man replacing the parrot from the animated movie (who just plays a sidekick, not a parrot).
Genie is phenomenal, very funny and very talented (Tony winner for the role, James Monroe Iglehart), and everyone else is wonderful, as are the sets and the dancing. But it just felt (and again, it could be my seat location) more like a show you'd see at a Disney theme park or on a cruise line than what I expect a Broadway production to be.
All of that said? The magic carpet alone was worth half the price of admission. I still don't know what I saw on Friday night, that's how incredible the technology was! That one prop, that one scene, was just Disney magic like I'd never seen before. Though the magic carpet moved up, down, sideways and every which way, with Aladdin and Jasmine on it, I couldn't see any strings or ropes anywhere. (And yeah, I was far back, but still!!!)
Great show, nothing bad about it, just not my preferred style.
It was a completely sold-out performance, by the way, with about 20 people waiting on a cancellation line, so buy your tickets well in advance if you plan to see it.
-Sean
Aladdin
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Aladdin
"Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it." -Edward Albee
Re: Aladdin
I saw "Aladdin" on March 12. My main reasons for going to see it were: 1) I've never seen it on stage or the movie version and figured it must be pretty good considering how many other people have seen it, 2) I was familiar with a number of the songs in the show and really like them, especially "Friend Like Me," "Proud of Your Boy," and "Prince Ali," and 3) Giuseppe Bausilio - former Billy Elliot on Broadway - is in the show and I've always enjoyed his performances as well as getting to know him and his family over the past few years.
My thoughts on the show would be pretty much a carbon copy of the review (above) posted by Sean almost two years ago. It was a very classy production with lots of talent both on stage and in the areas of technical achievements. But it did seem geared more towards short attention spans what with all the fast line delivery and dialogue often said in funny and loud voices. I thought the show made a wise choice in not trying to find a Robin Williams clone to play the Genie, as James Monroe Iglehart put his own stamp on the role. It was easy to see why he won the Tony award after seeing his performance. There was an article about him in the Playbill magazine titled "The Hardest Working Genie in Show Business" which seemed very appropriate after seeing the energy he put into the part. He earns his paycheck for "Friend Like Me" alone, after seeing all that he put into that scene. Not surprisingly, it got the loudest and longest ovation of any musical number I've seen in a long time. Very well deserved.
The magic carpet ride was quite amazing, as Sean said. I was fortunate enough to have seats on the 3rd row from the stage, but even then I had to strain to see the wires that were used to hold up the carpet during the number "A Whole New World." They appeared to be thin, black wires which blended seamlessly into the background of the black sky and twinkling lights. The two leads - Adam Jacobs (Aladdin) and his love interest, played by Courtney Reed (Jasmine) were very well cast and had nice singing voices. Giuseppe was a member of the ensemble and was able to show off his dancing skills in several scenes. He only had one line, but displayed his usual stage presence with energy and enthusiasm.
My thoughts on the show would be pretty much a carbon copy of the review (above) posted by Sean almost two years ago. It was a very classy production with lots of talent both on stage and in the areas of technical achievements. But it did seem geared more towards short attention spans what with all the fast line delivery and dialogue often said in funny and loud voices. I thought the show made a wise choice in not trying to find a Robin Williams clone to play the Genie, as James Monroe Iglehart put his own stamp on the role. It was easy to see why he won the Tony award after seeing his performance. There was an article about him in the Playbill magazine titled "The Hardest Working Genie in Show Business" which seemed very appropriate after seeing the energy he put into the part. He earns his paycheck for "Friend Like Me" alone, after seeing all that he put into that scene. Not surprisingly, it got the loudest and longest ovation of any musical number I've seen in a long time. Very well deserved.
The magic carpet ride was quite amazing, as Sean said. I was fortunate enough to have seats on the 3rd row from the stage, but even then I had to strain to see the wires that were used to hold up the carpet during the number "A Whole New World." They appeared to be thin, black wires which blended seamlessly into the background of the black sky and twinkling lights. The two leads - Adam Jacobs (Aladdin) and his love interest, played by Courtney Reed (Jasmine) were very well cast and had nice singing voices. Giuseppe was a member of the ensemble and was able to show off his dancing skills in several scenes. He only had one line, but displayed his usual stage presence with energy and enthusiasm.