ALADDIN Broadway At The Paramount April 24th through April 28th, 2024 Opening Night Review
ALADDIN
Book by: Chad Beguelin
Music by: Alan Menken
Lyrics by: Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, and Chad Beguelin
Directed and choreographed by: Casey Nicholaw
Premera Blue Cross Broadway At The Paramount
Seattle, WA
Review: Wednesday April 24, 2024
Opening night of the Disney classic, “Aladdin”, carried on the tradition of quality entertainment for the young and young at heart. The national touring version swooped into the Paramount Theater last evening for a (basically) sold-out run of performances through this Sunday.
As one would expect, there were many children present at the show. It’s always interesting how a decades old 2D animated film can reach beyond the generations of its time. I suppose that’s why it’s called a classic.
Anyone familiar with the film knows that the role of the Genie (originally voiced by the late, great Mr. Robin Williams) stole the show upon release. His trademark hyper crazed approach to the character made the Genie an instant fan favorite.
For the musical version, all eyes were on the roll of the Genie (played by Marcus M. Martin in his national tour debut). His performance was so very spot on in his own unique way. He was loud, gregarious, funny, sincere, and he had the audience in the palm of his hand. The show started off only “ok” in my eyes but once his storyline was fully introduced (with potentially the best number in the entire show), things elevated quickly.
It was impossible to not like his character. What a performance!!
Another stand out was Jafar (played by Anand Nagraj). His imposing size and booming voice was right on the money for the much hated antagonist.
Aladdin (played by Adi Roy) and Princess Jasmine (played by Senzel Ahmady) carried the bulk of the show with solid performances. Their duet of “A Whole New World” while riding the magic carpet was definitely a highlight of the show.
The special effects, lighting, and staging for the most part brought the world of Aladdin to life. And when it worked, it worked really well. I had children all around me that were in awe of what they were seeing on stage.
If I had to nitpick something it would be the character of Iago (played by Aaron Choi). His performance was solid, nothing wrong there. But, the overall presentation of his character needs tweaking in my opinion. The comedic lines he had fell flat much of the time and his outfit was not what I was expecting for the iconic character originally voiced by the late Mr. Gilbert Gottfried in the film.
Overall, “Aladdin” is another success for Broadway at The Paramount.
“Aladdin” runs through Sunday April 28th. The entire run is basically sold out at this point. There were only a few scattered singles as of this writing with the usual reseller tickets as well. As always, any third party ticket resellers outside of Ticketmaster are buy at your own risk.
Book by: Chad Beguelin
Music by: Alan Menken
Lyrics by: Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, and Chad Beguelin
Directed and choreographed by: Casey Nicholaw
Premera Blue Cross Broadway At The Paramount
Seattle, WA
Review: Wednesday April 24, 2024
(Marcus M. Martin Genie and Company Aladdin Tour Photo: Deen van Meer. (c) Disney)
Opening night of the Disney classic, “Aladdin”, carried on the tradition of quality entertainment for the young and young at heart. The national touring version swooped into the Paramount Theater last evening for a (basically) sold-out run of performances through this Sunday.
As one would expect, there were many children present at the show. It’s always interesting how a decades old 2D animated film can reach beyond the generations of its time. I suppose that’s why it’s called a classic.
Anyone familiar with the film knows that the role of the Genie (originally voiced by the late, great Mr. Robin Williams) stole the show upon release. His trademark hyper crazed approach to the character made the Genie an instant fan favorite.
For the musical version, all eyes were on the roll of the Genie (played by Marcus M. Martin in his national tour debut). His performance was so very spot on in his own unique way. He was loud, gregarious, funny, sincere, and he had the audience in the palm of his hand. The show started off only “ok” in my eyes but once his storyline was fully introduced (with potentially the best number in the entire show), things elevated quickly.
It was impossible to not like his character. What a performance!!
Another stand out was Jafar (played by Anand Nagraj). His imposing size and booming voice was right on the money for the much hated antagonist.
((Anand Nagraj as Jafar and Aaron Choi as Iago. Aladdin Tour. Photo: Deen-van-Meer. (c) Disney))
Aladdin (played by Adi Roy) and Princess Jasmine (played by Senzel Ahmady) carried the bulk of the show with solid performances. Their duet of “A Whole New World” while riding the magic carpet was definitely a highlight of the show.
The special effects, lighting, and staging for the most part brought the world of Aladdin to life. And when it worked, it worked really well. I had children all around me that were in awe of what they were seeing on stage.
If I had to nitpick something it would be the character of Iago (played by Aaron Choi). His performance was solid, nothing wrong there. But, the overall presentation of his character needs tweaking in my opinion. The comedic lines he had fell flat much of the time and his outfit was not what I was expecting for the iconic character originally voiced by the late Mr. Gilbert Gottfried in the film.
Overall, “Aladdin” is another success for Broadway at The Paramount.
“Aladdin” runs through Sunday April 28th. The entire run is basically sold out at this point. There were only a few scattered singles as of this writing with the usual reseller tickets as well. As always, any third party ticket resellers outside of Ticketmaster are buy at your own risk.
To avoid missing out on shows in the future, please check out the upcoming 2024/2025 season: HERE!
Best,
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts Media
Connect with Eclectic Arts Media: Social Media Links and Email Here
Best,
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts Media
Connect with Eclectic Arts Media: Social Media Links and Email Here
(Senzel Ahmady as Jasmine and Company. Aladdin Tour. Photo: Deen van Meer. (c) Disney.))
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