AIDA & cast album - Thoughts & Opinions?

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 12:45am

I recently saw some promotional videos from Elton John/Tim Rice's Aida via Disney on Broadway's YT page, and wanted to know what people's overall opinion was on the show itself, as well as the cast album which won the Grammy a while back. Are there any kind of coffee table books on the production of the show? Haven't searched Amazon yet, but wanted to ask what BWW members thought first. Thanks!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 1:18am

First show I ever loved, one of my favorite scores and one of my favorite albums. It was the first time I ever left a show wanting to turn around and see it again immediately. I bought the album the next day, and I'm surprised I never actually wore out my copy.

Sometimes I question how much I'd like it if I had seen it later on in my theatrical education, and I'm also not sure how much I'd like another production, since so much of what wowed me was how simply dazzling the Broadway production was. But even though it can be a little cheesy at times, at the end of the day it's, IMO, a really beautiful love story (especially if you do the first and last scenes well), and even though it is flawed, it has the ability to be just breathtaking. Plus it's got a killer score, which is definitely its biggest strength. There are a few lesser songs, sure, but the good ones are SO good. Great orchestrations as well.

There is a coffee table book, yes, and I love it as well.

Updated On: 7/30/11 at 01:18 AM

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 2:52am

Someone not on BWW.com pointed out recently that, despite its running for over four years, it rarely shows up anywhere now. It's like the show just dropped off the planet and disappeared from public consciousness. For myself, I enjoyed it, but it's not exactly anything I'd rush out to see again.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 3:04am

It seems to have a fairly healthy life in summer stock and high school/college productions. Not the most popular piece, but far from being dropped off the planet.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 3:14am

Sorry, must disagree, at least on the summer stock part of your answer. I'm on the mailing list for over a hundred regional theatres, and I can count the number of times I've seen AIDA on the fingers of one hand.

[Harold Mengert]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 8:08am

A great production and would love to see it again - with the original cast. It's by far Elton's best of the 3 that have made it to Broadway, IMO. The songs stand on their own even outside of the show. Loved the concept album that was released several months before opening in NY. Saw it in Atlanta where they premiered, and it was a flawed but worthy effort. Lot's of problems with the pyramid, which was a key prop in that production. Heather Headley's performance stands as one of my top 5 all time favorites to date. Wish she would return in a new leading role!

I'm not saying it was cutting edge or Pulitzer prize worthy. But it was an absolutely enjoyable evening at the theater -very much fun AND a great love story, and most of all the songs were good songs. That's the thing about Billy Elliott that bothers me. I don't like the score - except for the the song Electricity.
Updated On: 7/30/11 at 08:08 AM

[mallardo]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 10:25am

I saw it with the original cast at the Palace theatre and found it mildly enjoyable. Only Sherie Rene Scott stood out.

I bought the OBCR and I've played it maybe twice. Not a distinguished score - to put it mildly.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 11:02am

It's easily Elton's best theatrical score.

I really enjoy the show, particularly the aforementioned score. There were a couple of clunkers (Another Pyramid, Like Father Like Son), but overall it was one really great song after another. And, when the leads were exceptionally strong singers, as they almost always were, it was a joy to listen to and watch.

I still believe that had the show been nominated for Best Musical that year, it would have easily won. The voters clearly favored it, awarding it 4 of the 5 Tonys they were nominated for and clearly favoring it over The Wild Party, The Dead, and Contact.

[Nettik]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 11:44am

I never got the opportunity to see it on Broadway. I'm also not a hue fan of the storyline, and I found the script to be really sloppy when I saw a high school production of it a few years back.

The cast album, however, is one of my favorites. Sherie Rene Scott, Heather Headley, and Adam Pascal? Yes please! I think a few of the songs are weak ("Another Pyramid," "The Past Is Another Land"), but overall the music is well-worth the listen. The belting in it never fails to give me chills.

[jawjuhh]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 11:48am

I saw this when I was fairly young, ~9, and fell in love. I'm pretty sure I saw the OBC but it was a while ago. I still listen to the OBCR all the time and I find it hard to describe how much it affects me. I would run run run to see this again on Broadway.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 4:12pm

One of my all-time favorite shows, music and story-wise. I adore Amneris.

If it was still running, I'd see it each time I visited NYC... As it was, I saw it each time I went during it's run

[Barcelona]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 9:56pm

This is one of my favorite scores! The orchestrations are absolutely gorgeous and in my opinion, it's one of the few shows where BOTH pop/rock and "traditional" styles are integrated well.

I was a little disappointed by the show itself though...while the general story is beautiful, the script is pretty weak.

There are TONS of high school/community theatre productions of this in my area...

[trentsketch]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 10:34pm

I can support the claim that high schools do this nonstop. I've seen mention of at least 10 productions in northern NJ in the past four years, including one I music directed.

As for the show itself, I love it. There are some odd pop/rock quirks in the score that take some getting used to (the key changes in some of the songs are handled in the most backwards, how many different chords can we throw in there, ways, and some of the vocal lines are just a little off in range at awkward parts from what you'd expect in a show), but it works overall. There are some breathtaking ballads in that show. Easy as Life and I Know the Truth are beyond belief when you start digging through the score. Just thinking about those songs makes me cry.
I think the book is great and the story is sincere and entertaining. The show even earns that schmaltzy prologue/epilogue at the museum by getting so much right. I'm a fan.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 10:49pm

Funny -- I don't remember seeing more than a small handful of times being done by high schools in the Boston Area.

I saw the OBC and loved it. Funny thing, I never got around to picking up a cd. Hm. Wonder why. Now I'm thinking that I want it.

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 11:47pm

I too absolutely love the score. Elaborate Lives is one of the most beautiful love songs I've heard, and few anthems are as stirring as The Gods Love Nubia. It really is a beautiful love story and an entertaining show. I never saw it in Broadway but I saw a local youth theater production that was truly astonishing. The 3 teenagers in the lead roles captured the characters so well.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/31/11 at 12:04am

I enjoyed it. There are some great songs in the score, and the show itself has an interesting story and characters. I like that the three leads are given a lot of great songs to sing that truly add depth and to their characters.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 7/31/11 at 12:32am

i love the score (except for the Zoser songs.. which were also a pain to watch staged!!! uggh that was ugly choreography)... oh and my annoyance with the cast recording is that in Enchantment Passing Through Adam Pascal sings "and gone to mow"and not tomorrow... oy that just REALLY bothers me! haha...

[musicaltheater1]

Posted: 7/31/11 at 1:03am

Saw the OBC, loved the production! The score was beautiful and the acting, top notch. I thought the score for Another Pyramid and Like Father, Like Son didn't fit. AP sounding too reggae for the theme.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/31/11 at 11:53am

I like it, but I think part of the reason it's so good is just because the story's good. "Elaborate Lives," "Every Story is a Love Story," "Written in the Stars," "Easy as Life," all beautiful songs. Zoser's songs are definitely the weak link.

Also, I still think that the opera has a better ending.

[pushdabutton]

Posted: 7/31/11 at 1:40pm

I saw this show 3 times with the original Broadway cast when it first opened and loved it. I thought Heather Headley was brilliant!

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 7/31/11 at 2:33pm

I saw the show twice, having worn through a copy of the concept recording. Some of the songs are great and some fall flat (as have been mentioned). It was certainly not the critics' darling that year, but it had some really strong components. I liked the prologue/epilogue and the scenic design (especially the river sequence). It wasn't Shakespeare or Ibsen, but it was definitely entertaining and a lot better than some recent musicals.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 7/31/11 at 3:17pm

I still think its stupid it won the Tonys for best score but didn't even get nominated for Best Musical

[jaxandmci]

Posted: 8/1/11 at 3:47pm

I saw Aida twice in 2000 with its original cast, then a touring company production a couple of years later. It's one of my all time favorites. Great score and I loved the circular story with its very clever opening and closing. Even though I saw it more than a decade ago, I still vidily remember the entire production and several of the songs (A Step Too Far, anyone?)--which is more than I can say for a lot of shows I've seen this year.

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 8/1/11 at 4:50pm

I didn't see it, but it was one of the few shows as a teenager I had begged my parents to take me to. (That clearly worked well...) I absolutely love the score (and I hate Billy Elliot's score), and I Heather Headley sounds fantastic on the OBCR.

Honestly, I think the reason it hasn't been popular with summer stock and high school/colleges is the racial casting. Just like casting a white Coalhouse or Sarah, it's ridiculous to cast a white Aida (and you need a decent size black ensemble), and I think that may reflect.

[random person 112]

Posted: 8/11/11 at 7:32am

Oh ahrealmonsters if only that were true i can speak to that not having enough african americans dosn't deter high schools at ALL. As for the racial element it's more subtext than overt but i think it does help the story immensly to have it go that way