Trimmed-down ‘Aladdin’ still sparkles
Maybe it’s the spirit of optimism that tends to triumph over cynicism at the start of a new year, but I found myself grinning like the kiddos around me as Aladdin and Jasmine’s magic carpet took off Wednesday night over the Walt Disney Theater stage at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando.
The musical “Aladdin,” based on Disney’s 1992 hit film, is back on tour and back in Orlando, where it last played in 2020, shortly before the COVID-19 entertainment shutdown. This tour is scaled back a bit from the last go-round, a common occurrence as shows age, so their sets will be able to fit into smaller theaters that otherwise would miss out on the production.
I worried that a musical based on a cartoon needed all the size it could get to make an impact, but it turns out my concerns were unfounded. This “Aladdin,” buoyed by a particularly strong cast, is full of all-ages fun from start to finish.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised that “Aladdin” holds up, even in a slightly smaller staging. It’s a delightfully sturdily constructed show, from the pacing in which something happens in virtually every scene to entertain the little ones while the plot keeps progressing, to the catchy additional songs, which received opening-night cheers nearly as loud as those for the beloved hits.
Those familiar Disney hits include “A Whole New World,” performed during a truly dazzling magic-carpet flight, and “Friend Like Me,” the show-stopping Genie number, which delights with a magic trick and tap-dance finale. If the tale isn’t quite as old as time, well, I’m sure most of you know it. Orphan Aladdin falls in love with rebellious Princess Jasmine and uses wishes from a Genie to woo her — while Jafar, adviser to the princess’s father, tries to seize power for himself. In the end, lessons are learned about being true to oneself, keeping promises, the value of friendship and that the guy with the flashiest car — or carpet — probably is going to get the girl.
OK, I’m kidding about that last one. Kind of.
But this cast does an outstanding job of walking all the fine lines a cartoon movie musical creates: Paying homage to the original characters while inserting their own personalities, playing the roles sincerely but bringing a knowing twinkle to the cartoon origin of what’s going on, and most intangibly not just using the nostalgia the audience has for the original film — but building something new and magical with the theatergoers’ happy memories.
Adi Roy is cheerfully determined as the title character, while Senzel Ahmady has a smoldering strength as Jasmine. Marcus M. Martin trades some of the more manic energy of some Genie portrayers for a welcome avuncular warmth.
Anard Nagraj has the perfect imposing presence and poisonous velvety voice for evil Jafar, with Aaron Choi earning laughs as his squawking henchman, Iago. Opening night saw dance and fight captain Edward Cuellar, a former Walt Disney World performer, playing the role of Kassim, one of Aladdin’s pals, with swashbuckling panache.
True, in some places, the performers feel over-directed in their movement, and occasionally, the smaller set reveals its flaws (an early chase of Aladdin is, let’s say, repetitive). But when you see the actors throw themselves into director Casey Nicholaw’s choreography, which neatly combines Middle Eastern, India’s Bollywood and other Asian influences befitting the story’s origin, you feel the joy that suffuses this highly entertaining production.
‘ALADDIN’
Length: 2:20, including intermission
Where: Walt Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave. in Orlando When: Through Jan. 7 Cost: $35 and up Info: drphillipscenter.org