General Opinions for Aida

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 3:26am

I don't know. I like it... a little. What are people's general opinions on this show? There are some really beautiful moments, like Easy as Life, but not that much 'lift' and 'excitement' that a Broadway show needs. And who else is very curious about Billy? I can't wait for the CD

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 3:35am

i loved "aida" i have seen it 4 times...my favorite aida was toni braxton.....and by the way...who is billy?

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 3:41am

Billy Elliot:

A musical that Elton John is working on

I am getting into his stuff; but I am (mostly) a Jim Steinman fan. Like I said, there are some really beautiful parts to Aida (judging only from my script and the CD of the show) but it's not all there. No offense. I still quite liked it. I never liked the concept CD though. Thank God I lost my copy in 1999 lol

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 4:18am

i liked the show... enough to see the tour four or five times about... i love the music (but i've said it before, i despise the Zoser songs)... the script is a bit weak and the dancing was horrible (in the Zoser numbers, that is because i loved Dance of the Robe)... so yeah... that's it

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 4:28am

I hate the Zoser songs too

They were even worse on the Concept CD (well, at least, Another Pyramind)

[Jwei123]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 6:36am

i. love. aida. end of story.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 9:05am

AIDA was my favourite. It had problems, but the score is amazing, the productions was gorgeous, the story made me cry every time, and the show introduced me to Adam. In a nutshell, I think that's love. I miss it.

Updated On: 3/7/05 at 09:05 AM

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 9:46am

I wish I had gone back another time, but I only saw it when my school had a field trip to see it. We had tickets in the last row of the balcony, we snuck down to the first row, but it was still pretty bad. Aida's understudy was in, too bad, but thank god Adam was still there and in. I really liked it, wish I could have been down more. Some songs are really great, and the story is nice. I proceeded to copy my music teacher's CD and listen to it all the time(before I had too many Broadway CDs). But I really liked it.

[mabel]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 9:47am

I saw Aida several times on Broaday and once on tour. With a good cast, it's a really enjoyable show...However, by the end of the shows run on Broadway (Adam/Simone's last and the closing show) I couldn't help but sit there whincing at some of the poorly delivered lines (Wow! W/o Sherie's timing, a lot of Amneris' lines before MSS were jaw-droppingly bad! And Micky Dolenz's Zozer was cringe-worthy.) It was pretty bad. I actually sat there wondering how I could have possibly seen the show so many times. I was almost embarrassed. But then I went home and listened to the OBCR and that combo of Heather, Adam, Sherie, John, and Damien brought back the spark that had made Aida such an enjoyable show when it first opened.

Just my two cents.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 9:54am

Poor casting decisions were the death of that show. Mickey Dolenz? I still don't understand why anyone thought that was okay. Adam got bored toward the end of his first run, and it showed.

Updated On: 3/7/05 at 09:54 AM

[Em-LEE]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 10:48am

Aida was the first show that I ever saw on Broadway, so it will always have a special place in my heart. As others have said, it is the show that introduced me to Adam Pascal, which in turn introduced me to RENT and Cabaret.

I love the music and the story. Sure, AIDA was a little weak in some places, and the Zoser songs did feel out of place, but it is still remains among the top 3 of my favorite Broadway shows.

[javero]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 11:20am

I saw it 4x with 3 different actresses in the titular role and 2 different actors as Radames. Yes the book had its problem spots and Zoser's songs were not particulary noteworthy, but 'Aida' was one of the most entertaining musicals staged on Broadway in recent memory. To the show's credit, it wasn't too busy with bodies flailing all over the place,a cacophony of voices, or circus acts passing for Broadway performers. It tells a story, albeit not the best constructed, that is "gettable" by the tourist set that keeps BWay afloat. Though I missed Heather Headley in that title role, I was blown away by the performances of Will Chase, Lisa Brescia, Cheyenne Jackson, Adam Pascal, and Deborah Cox towards the end of its run. In fact, before 'Aida', I had never attended a closing performance on BWay. To this day I can barely get through the OBCR track "Easy As Life" without welling up.

Updated On: 3/7/05 at 11:20 AM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 12:03pm

awwww, all of this lovin' makes me happy. I'm a sentimental, sappy idiot.

It's the only closing performance I've ever been to, too. I don't think I'll ever forget it. I can finally listen to the CD (God knows it's been long enough) but when I get to Written in the Stars I have to run and turn it off, or I start to cry.

[catstagestud]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 12:13pm

I flew from Tucson, AZ on a Saturday morning to get to see Aida before it closed. Saw it the night before and balled once they were put in the tomb. Adam and Deborah Cox's chemistry was wonderful and Lisa Brescia was outstanding. I'll agree with everyone that the Zoser songs are "blah" and the script needed work but all in all the musical is my favorite b'way show I've seen.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 12:44pm

I didn't care for it. I saw the original cast and I felt Sherie was the best thing about the show. Heather mumbled her spoken dialogue. Though I love Adam in Rent, I felt he was miscast in Aida. While the individual elements of the show were good, they did not work together well to create a clear picture of the story or concept. If you're going to make such a specific reference Ancient Egypt in the beginning and ending of a show, shouldn't something about the main body of the story be Ancient Egyptian?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 12:56pm

If you're going to make such a specific reference Ancient Egypt in the beginning and ending of a show, shouldn't something about the main body of the story be Ancient Egyptian?

Maybe it wasn't generally picked up because it's not common knowledge when people think of things that are distinctly Ancient Egyptian, but the war with Nubia was based on truth.

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 2:05pm

The first time I saw Aida, it was magical. It was one of my first Broadway shows I saw, and I remember thinking it was so amazing. The buzz in the theatre after "Gods Love Nubia" was incredible, I remember being taken to a whole other level by Heather, and her chemistry with Adam? Amazing. I loved the music and the idea, and even the dancing.

That said, it wasn't a musical that stuck with me. I saw it a few times after my first, and it didn't stay as amazing, partially because it's not a musical to see more than once really, and also, because the depth wasn't as there. It's a great story, and it has a great message even, but something about it just doesn't stay with you. Even now, I don't enjoy listening to it as much as I once did, but I still like it.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 2:59pm

What made AIDA highly enjoyable for me was Heather Headley, who delivered a remarkable, powerhouse performance and was in every way deserving of her Best Actress Tony and the heaps of praise she received.

The show itself, however, was problematic for me. There was a jarring inconsistency to the tone -- the show couldn't decide if it was a campy, colourful Disney romp or a serious and beautiful musical about slavery. Had it focused more on the latter, I believe it would have been a real gem of a show.

Except for a few glorious numbers, I found Elton John's score largely pedestrian, and I don't understand the appeal of Tim Rice. The production design was pretty, but ridiculously over-the-top and rather inappropriate for this rather somber story. The entire show was certainly an enjoyable night at the theatre, but it wasn't the most well-crafted musical, IMO. When the show focused on the real drama and pain of its characters, it really flew.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 4:33pm

I don't feel like posting a full length review so I will just say this- I loved Aida. So much. Adam is AMAZING!

[sidwich]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 4:40pm

As an Elton John album, I liked it. As a Broadway show, not so much.

Posted: 3/7/05 at 5:23pm

Saw it twice here in Chicago before it headed to Broadway. I liked it just fine, especially Heather Headley's performance which I thought was one of the finest I've seen. Adam to me, was a disappointment. Was the score out of his range or was he sick here in our Chicago winter-- either way he sounded BAD both times I saw him. I can remember hearing "A step too far" and thinking that the women so out-sung him that I was embarrassed.

Elton's score was wonderful, also, and I'd say that it was generally wodnerful with a couple waek songs, which is true of many more experienced hands, also. "Elaborate Lives" was one of my favorite B'Way numbers and was especially powerful when sung by Heather Headley.

I thought the Sets and costumes were amazing, also. All in all a nice evening in the theatre. Too bad the Anti-Disney mood on Broadway took it's toll-- it's much better than most people give it credit for.

[insomniak]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 5:38pm

EXACTLY, Wizard. Aida involves some serious topics like interracial relationships, slavery and a dysfunctional government, but it blew those things off in favor of creating a little love story. As a 'chick flick' musical, it's enjoyable but I wish it had realized its full potential. I feel like it could have been a great realistic, gritty show but it just wasn't. The historical inaccuracies also annoyed me to no end. I think I wrote a rather long post on Aida a while back that covered those things.

The music didn't quite do it for me, I like a lot of it, love a few songs and cringe at the thought of a few numbers. I feel like it needed several more drafts in order to really be effective.

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 5:49pm

I don't think it blew the more serious topics off at all. There's quite a good storyline going on surrounding the interracial relationship (which would obviously require a love story to make it work, no?) and even the effects of the slavery and the dysfunctional government. Sure, they are not the main focus point, because there needs to be a balance between them all, and the best place for that balance would be the romantic relationship between the Egyptian and the Nubian princess. There are plenty of consequences for their relationship, and they're hardly limited to being solely romantic. It does have more potential, yes, but I thought it did very well for what it was trying to do and the ideas it was using.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 6:01pm

I don't think it so much blew them off as glossed over them, because it wasn't the show's purpose to address them in an ultra-serious manner. The central love story was interracial, and yes, if the show's goal was to be very heavy (which I'd not really expect from Disney) there may have been more included about slavery and the more serious matters that were lightly addressed in the show. In that case, it'd have made sense to replaced the camp with that kind of stuff, but that just wasn't the purpose of the show. I'm too biased to really say whether that's a good or a bad thing, but I don't think it completely blew them off.

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 3/7/05 at 6:04pm

I missed it in CHI and walked past the theatre in NY without giving it a thought. Now, I have the CD and have great regrets.