Broadway Theater Review: Aladdin

James Monroe Iglehart. Photo: Cylla von Tiedemann

Aladdin is a Spectacle That Sparkles on Many Levels
By Lauren Yarger
Disney rubs its magic lamp and comes up with another satisfying makes another leap from film to stage with the Broadway musical Aladdin. 

Up front, I need to say this won’t be a real review, because I was hit with the flu the evening I was scheduled to see this and only made it until intermission before I really needed to head home. I was disappointed, because I was enjoying the show – and far more than I expected to.

"Aladdin" was a new animated film when my kids were little enough to be looking forward to the latest of that genre. It was fun, especially given the antics of Robin Williams who voiced the genie. The story was the usual Disney princess-meets-boy and the score (by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice), while pleasant, doesn’t stand out like its predecessors for Beauty and the Beast and The  Little Mermaid. 

Beauty and Lion King were Disney’s earliest and arguably, most successful attempts to turn film magic into stage gold. Lion King still packs them in on Broadway and Beauty is making tours. Mermaid sunk fast on stage and Tarzan got tossed out of the jungle in record time. Newsies was a big hit because there apparently are a lot of fans of the film and a lot of people who like to watch 20-something news "boys" tumble and flip without ceasing, but the score is totally forgettable and the book is weak.

So a stage version of Aladdin wasn’t high on my want-to-see list, but this larger-than-life, stunning visual production that sparkles on many levels really is a treat (at least I can attest to the first act being so….)

Adam Jacobs stars as the street rat who gets three wishes from the lamp genie (James Monroe Iglehart) and falls in love with Princess Jasmine (Courtney Reed). The quite handsome youth has a dreamy voice to match his looks. Iglehart goes to town and has a lot of fun, quickly making his genie its own and putting to rest any comparisons to Williams (thought he is hard to understand sometimes). Reed looks like a, well, Disney princess, and is spunky (if very buxom in the cleavage-revealing costumes).

Taking the ordinary story and turning it into a "wow" production is Director Casey Nicholaw, who choreographs some show-stopping numbers (fight choreography is by J. Allen Suddeth) including many special effects (with technical supervision by Geoffrey Quart/Hudson Theatrical Associates David Benken) and illusions designed by Jim Steinmeyer. “A Friend Like Me” truly brought down the house with its never-ending supply of entertainment, tap dancing and energy.

Nicholaw, in a stroke of genius, casts Jonathan Freeman, who did the voice in the movie, as the evil Jafar, who plots against Princess Jasmine and Aladdin in hopes of securing the throne for himself.

The real stars of the show are the sets (designed by Bob Crowley and lighted by the always excellent Natasha Katz) and costumes designed by Gregg Barnes, enhanced by hair design by Josh Marquette and makeup design by Milagros Medina-Cerdeira. They are stunning. A Persian carpet sets the mood as the main curtain. Peacocks in the proscenium and grapes in the beautifully restored New Amsetrdam Theatre’s plaster motifs blend naturally into the Arabian Nights setting. Intricate carving is incorporated into scenic design.

And those costumes! Each one is breathtaking, full of jewels and sparkling detail.

I also liked the book by Chad Beguelin, who also writes additional lyrics. The basic story is there, but is finessed for the stage. He wisely morphs an animal character, Iago – a wise-cracking parrot in the movie – into a comical sidekick human (played by Don Darryl Rivera) – a move the creators of Shrek the musical should have employed when bringing Donkey to the stage, for example. Even the hokey jokes work here.

Best of all, there were LOTS of little kids in the audience. Maybe when I’m fully recovered, I’ll head back to the New Amsterdam and catch the second act (during which the magic carpet ride takes place). If it’s anything like the first, Disney’s ability to make magic on stage again might have materialized out of the smoke.

Aladdin sparkles at the New Amsetrdam, 214 west 42nd St., NYC. http://aladdinthemusical.com/.

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