Aladdin

Aladdin has become known as the musical which gets a standing ovation in the middle of the first act. It did it when I saw it on Broadway, and it did it last night when it opened in Brisbane. “Friend Like Me” is the number and it’s performed in a glittering and sparkling Aladdin’s cave and with its pop-culture references and an incredible rousing tap finish, it literally stops the show. You couldn’t ask for a better example of Broadway brilliance.

But that’s not all Aladdin has to offer, there’s more spectacle in the second act when Prince Ali and Princess Jasmine take a magic carpet ride around the stage singing the show’s hit song “A Whole New World” without any hidden wires. It’s an unbelievable thrilling piece of theatrical magic.

Yes, Australia has seen many pantomime productions of Aladdin through the years but none as opulently lavish as this Disney version. With its kaleidoscopic use of colour, its silks and beads, and its reported over 500,000 Swarovski crystals (I didn’t count them but the effect was stratospherically glittering), the stage was indeed an Arabian delight.

Ainsley Melham was a spunky hero. He sang, he danced, did swordfights, and he did it all displaying a decent set of six-pack abs. His first-act routine with his three off-siders, Babkak (Troy Sussman), Omar (Robert Tripolino) and Kassim (Adam-Jon Fiorentino) gave the show a massive adrenalin shot, while their second-act, “Somebody’s Got Your Back” with Genie was a great eleven-o’clock showstopper.

The Genie is a gift of a role and Gareth Jacobs turned it into a hoot, doing somersaults, vaudeville schtick, being an X-Factor host crooning some of Menken’s previous hits (“Beauty and the Beast”/“Part of my World”), and displaying impressive tap skills. It was a winning performance.

Hiba Elchikhe was a feisty new-age Jasmine, Adam Murphy wore Jafar’s black hat with glee and Aljin Abella was a popular Iago.

Alan Menken’s score, with its nod to the big-band swing of the forties, works a treat, and is bolstered by the inclusion of the cut-from-the-movie “Proud of Your Boy”, a nice emotional number for Aladdin.

Despite some jokes and lyrics being missed because of muddy sound, the production is a carbon copy of the Broadway original. It’s a great crowd pleaser and the definition of a blockbuster musical comedy.

Peter Pinne             

Photographer: Deen van Meer