All of the problems related from this first preview are the same comments that were made during the Toronto run. If things weren't changed since Toronto, it's not going to happen. This is Little Mermaid 2.0.
The three friends make the most referential jokes, likely because they were originally narrators who broke the fourth wall. Did they definitely scrap this, people who just saw the first Broadway preview?
Wasn't LITTLE MERMAID 2.0 also TARZAN 2.0? Oh! So many duds, who can remember them all?
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
In Toronto the 3 friends would narrate and sing (Arabian Nights over and over) downstage of the curtain while the set was being changed. What has replaced this?
The GOOD: Freeman = fun to see. Jacobs = winning as Aladdin/great voice (LOVE "Proud of Your Boy" - audio is online... listen to it), Inglehart = works hard and crowd loved. The song "Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kasim" (Seattle vid online - infectious), "Somebody's Got Your Back" and a few others. "Friend Like Me" pulled out all the stops...
The BAD: Jasmine, Jasmine, Jasmine... No spark. Wife and I both questioned whether she'd make it to NYC - and apparently others on board already feel the same. The Magic Carpet = literally better/more advanced at the shortened Disneyland Aladdin show (vid online)... The opening number - hopefully changed for NYC - which was so great/mood-setting from the film - "Arabian Nights" - was a forced/contrived in Toronto... OH - and the overall staging... I was NOT impressed. Hopefully, that's changed and Casey's golden touch is shining through(?)
overall, the show was so-so at best... Lame-ish... For recent Disney - liked the visually-striking Tarzan better and BatB and Mary are masterpieces compared to this, at least in Toronto form.
Casey doesn't seem the best director for a "spectacle" type show. Book of Mormon is lacking in the visual department. As was "Drowsy." Hm.... I wish they had picked a better, more visionary director.
Song list Arabian Nights One Jump Ahead Proud Of Your Boy These Palace Walls Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim A Million Miles Away Diamond in the Rough Friend Like Me Act One Finale
Prince Ali A Whole New World High Adventure Somebody's Got Your Back Proud Of Your Boy Reprise II Prince Ali Reprise Finale Ultimo Arabian Nights Reprise/ A Whole New World Reprise
I saw the show tonight. Great seats from Rear mezzanine.
The show is big, and looks great. Stunning costumes, an Friend Like Me is just incredible. Most Broadway shows wish they could have a number with half of an impact that this one does.
Courtney Reed is making a terrible impression. Every note was off pitch, and her line readings were totally flat. Those harmonies with Adam Jacobs? Well they weren't harmonies.
Adam on the other hand is really coming out a star here. Warm, funny, and in great voice the audience really loved him, and rightfully so.
The magic carpet ride. Can we talk about what is going on below the carpet onstage? Why did it have to be so distracting?!! SPOILER let's remove those colorful planets ASAP.
There is no real conflict in the story, and I really think Jafar needs to be a better character. The conflict at the end dissipates faster than it was set up.
Overall I appreciated how old fashioned the show was. The tap in Friend Like Me, the very little use of projections, and a large ensemble, its nice to see a show not relying entirely on graphics for once! It could be better, probably should be better, but I will take it for what it is right now.
Blaxx- Ha, well I would have been harsher if I had disliked it more. I try to let my tone reflect my feelings and there was plenty to like in Aladdin, so although I still had reservations and issues, there was no need to be mean.
If you want mean look up Soul Doctor, Time To Kill and Bronx Bombers! :)
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
Yeah, I mean Aladdin is nowhere in the same realm as Soul Doctor or First Date. It was far, far from painful, so I'll reserve the bitchery for a show that deserves it, haha.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
It's good to see positive reports of Jonathan Freeman. I know he's got a lot of talent on stage, so I was hoping his casting wouldn't prove just to be a novelty or cutesy idea.
Pleasant to a point, with a surprisingly good number of laughs, but it runs down as it runs along. The songs aren't much; the sets and costumes are attractive. I felt the magic carpet ride lacked the requisite magic. I guess the same could be said for the entire show really, which is why I don't foresee it having the same bust-out success as the Disney mega-hits. It's likable enough entertainment, though.
And let's hear it for family entertainment like Aladdin, not even so much for what it provides, but for what it safeguards us from. We know we can go to a show like this and can sit back and relax with the assurance that at least for 2+ hours we won't be subjected to a grimacing wuss wailing his angst on a guitar or a ten year old whining prepubescent longing for a delivery woman in jeans.