#126
Posted: 3/30/14 at 10:42pm
^ Courtney Reed has gotten mixed to negative reviews as Jasmine. What did you think of her?
ALADDIN Reviews — Page 6
#127
Posted: 3/30/14 at 10:58pm
I loved her. I think her character needs improving, but I think she does the part given to her well. I read some negative reviews of her singing, but to me she sounded spot-on. Couldve used some more development in the book though.
#128
Posted: 4/3/14 at 3:45pm
@ wskrs4, you are not the only one, and I'm glad to see you feel similarly to me. Granted, I initially thought my distaste for the show was just due to being pissed off about BOTH Adam & James not being in the Saturday 8PM show only 9 days after officially opening, but I think even with those two in, I would have left feeling a bit underwhelmed. Now, that said, I do think Joshua Dela Cruz as Aladdin's understudy was a very poor choice. He sang just fine, but he does not look older than 16, and when standing next to Courtney Reed's Jasmine, that's a huge problem since she looks that much more mature. I was and still am very disappointed that I missed James, but Michael James Scott was a fine replacement. I might not have known it wasn't James right away if I hadn't read the Playbill beforehand. But Joshua just was not Aladdin to me. So that didn't help matters.
I thought a lot of the sets were disappointing, and not just the cave of wonders. For a big budget Disney production, some of it felt (and looked) very cheap. Completely agree as well that parts of it were rushed. I especially thought the conclusion and part with Jafar was way too speedy. Annoyingly so. And then other parts dragged.
I loved most of the songs though. I'm a sucker for tap sequences, so "Friend Like Me" was my favorite. But I also really enjoyed "Prince Ali." And unlike you, I did really enjoy Aladdin's friends. But I couldn't help but wish either Kassim or Omar had been Aladdin's understudy...but oh well.
Best parts for me were Jafar and Iago's scenes together. But overall, I was not taken to a whole new world from this production.
I thought a lot of the sets were disappointing, and not just the cave of wonders. For a big budget Disney production, some of it felt (and looked) very cheap. Completely agree as well that parts of it were rushed. I especially thought the conclusion and part with Jafar was way too speedy. Annoyingly so. And then other parts dragged.
I loved most of the songs though. I'm a sucker for tap sequences, so "Friend Like Me" was my favorite. But I also really enjoyed "Prince Ali." And unlike you, I did really enjoy Aladdin's friends. But I couldn't help but wish either Kassim or Omar had been Aladdin's understudy...but oh well.
Best parts for me were Jafar and Iago's scenes together. But overall, I was not taken to a whole new world from this production.
#129
Posted: 4/3/14 at 3:55pm
"I initially thought my distaste for the show was just due to being pissed off about BOTH Adam & James not being in the Saturday 8PM show only 9 days after officially opening"
Err, weren't they out sick? It's not like they were off shooting Law & order: SVU or something they have control over....
It sounds like you're mentioning this to indicate that at one point you thought this was the reason you didn't enjoy the show, but you're over it now. Except for the fact that it still reads like you're a tad miffed.
Err, weren't they out sick? It's not like they were off shooting Law & order: SVU or something they have control over....
It sounds like you're mentioning this to indicate that at one point you thought this was the reason you didn't enjoy the show, but you're over it now. Except for the fact that it still reads like you're a tad miffed.
Updated On: 4/3/14 at 03:55 PM
#130
Posted: 4/14/14 at 10:28am
#131
Posted: 5/22/14 at 1:06pm
Sorry - did a full search and couldn't find a thread specifically to talk about the show so I figured I'd post here about questions I had as well as comments. Any input/answers are very much appreciated
1. I saw Lauryn Ciardullo as Jasmine. Is Courtney Reed out often or did I happen to catch a rare night where she was out? I thought with Aladdin being nominated most, if not all, of the cast would come in to work at least the few weeks leading up to the Tonys due to voters. Was really looking forward to seeing her, but, Lauryn was great.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
2. So, after Aladdin gets the lamp and whatnot and I think it was after he touched a piece of jewelry he shouldn't have, the theater rumbles, the lion cave thing gets angry and the lights go out. The lights stayed out for at least a minute and many audience members then said "uh oh" as well as "what just happened?" - does this typically happen for that length of time or was this a stage mishap? It seemed like a very long time for the show to be in the dark and many audience members were getting antsy.
3. Regarding the Genie - James Monrow Iglehart was WONDERFUL and received a thunderous applause which was followed by a standing ovation after friend like me. I'm wondering, theres a scene during friend like me where he shoots his finger over at some gold lamp shade looking set pieces and they fall due to his 'magic'. There are 4 of these and the first lamp shade didn't fall, then he pointed at the second and there was a person inside who appeared, followed by the 3rd and 4th. So my question about this is - another stage mishap? Did the lamp shade on the first person not fall properly or does this always happen? looked strange symmetrically since it wasn't even.
I sat in the mezzanine, row BB seats 6-12 and we had such a great view! My only complaint is that there was a woman with her [probaly 4 year old] daughter and the grandmother sitting in front of us and my poor parents had the little girl and the grandmother in front of them and the little girl kept standing up, leaning against the rail [ guess the sight line isn't good from front row if you're short] and the grandmother kept leaning forward too. The grandmother condoned it, the mother kept telling her to sit down at first but after a while gave up. I guess these things can be expected at "kid" shows but it just sucked because it was very distracting for my parents who were sitting directly behind them; made it very difficult for them to see since they kept leaning against the rails and not sitting back!
1. I saw Lauryn Ciardullo as Jasmine. Is Courtney Reed out often or did I happen to catch a rare night where she was out? I thought with Aladdin being nominated most, if not all, of the cast would come in to work at least the few weeks leading up to the Tonys due to voters. Was really looking forward to seeing her, but, Lauryn was great.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
2. So, after Aladdin gets the lamp and whatnot and I think it was after he touched a piece of jewelry he shouldn't have, the theater rumbles, the lion cave thing gets angry and the lights go out. The lights stayed out for at least a minute and many audience members then said "uh oh" as well as "what just happened?" - does this typically happen for that length of time or was this a stage mishap? It seemed like a very long time for the show to be in the dark and many audience members were getting antsy.
3. Regarding the Genie - James Monrow Iglehart was WONDERFUL and received a thunderous applause which was followed by a standing ovation after friend like me. I'm wondering, theres a scene during friend like me where he shoots his finger over at some gold lamp shade looking set pieces and they fall due to his 'magic'. There are 4 of these and the first lamp shade didn't fall, then he pointed at the second and there was a person inside who appeared, followed by the 3rd and 4th. So my question about this is - another stage mishap? Did the lamp shade on the first person not fall properly or does this always happen? looked strange symmetrically since it wasn't even.
I sat in the mezzanine, row BB seats 6-12 and we had such a great view! My only complaint is that there was a woman with her [probaly 4 year old] daughter and the grandmother sitting in front of us and my poor parents had the little girl and the grandmother in front of them and the little girl kept standing up, leaning against the rail [ guess the sight line isn't good from front row if you're short] and the grandmother kept leaning forward too. The grandmother condoned it, the mother kept telling her to sit down at first but after a while gave up. I guess these things can be expected at "kid" shows but it just sucked because it was very distracting for my parents who were sitting directly behind them; made it very difficult for them to see since they kept leaning against the rails and not sitting back!
#132
Posted: 5/23/14 at 9:12am
Nope, the lights were not supposed to go out liek that hah. Same with the hat. Looks like you saw a "rough night" for production. Im jealous actually, it adds something different to to the experience.
#133
Posted: 5/23/14 at 9:31am
Nope, the lights were not supposed to go out liek that hah
Are you sure? The light went out for us when Aladdin took the necklace too.
Anyway, Aladdin was FANTASTIC! It was just so beautiful with the sets, costumes, orchestrations etc. It was so much fun and I was smiling through out. I liked the three thieves, who were hilarious! A Whole New World was so beautiful. Everyone in the audience went insane when they started to fly.
The actors were perfectly matched. I don’t get the Courtney Cox hate, I thought she was great as Jasmine. Don as Iago was HILIARIOUS! Iago as a human actually worked fine with cute references as him, being a parrot. It was a huge treat, seeing Jonathan as Jafar! He was a huge highlight.
And of course: James M. Iglehart as the Genie. He was absolutely PHONEMAIL (Spelling, I know). The whole place gave him a standing ovation for FRIEND, which was spectacular. I think the book has too many catchphrases for the Genie, but James was great at those. There was also a huge applause at his entrance.
At the stage door, everyone was late because of a Q&A, but my dad has a big hospital appointment for a surgery, so we had to leave early. Thankfully, as we were going to leave, both James and Adam came out. They were both nice and gracious.
And actually, some kids really wanted to meet the Genie and Aladdin, but they had to go home. There were an army of kids (who were poorly behaved LITERALLY like 20 of them) and they were like attacking poor Don, who is so tiny. And James was literally like when he got out, “Hey, where are the kids?
Oh, they’re gone 
” So, the bus driver waited all this time, so they can meet him and James went to the bus to see the kids. I presumed Adam went too. But, sadly we had to go after those 2, so I missed Jonathan.
And as a bonus, Thomas Schumacher stood RIGHT next to me before the show. But, he was talking to someone, so I couldn’t say hi. I shouldn't said hi anyway.
Are you sure? The light went out for us when Aladdin took the necklace too.
Anyway, Aladdin was FANTASTIC! It was just so beautiful with the sets, costumes, orchestrations etc. It was so much fun and I was smiling through out. I liked the three thieves, who were hilarious! A Whole New World was so beautiful. Everyone in the audience went insane when they started to fly.
The actors were perfectly matched. I don’t get the Courtney Cox hate, I thought she was great as Jasmine. Don as Iago was HILIARIOUS! Iago as a human actually worked fine with cute references as him, being a parrot. It was a huge treat, seeing Jonathan as Jafar! He was a huge highlight.
And of course: James M. Iglehart as the Genie. He was absolutely PHONEMAIL (Spelling, I know). The whole place gave him a standing ovation for FRIEND, which was spectacular. I think the book has too many catchphrases for the Genie, but James was great at those. There was also a huge applause at his entrance.
At the stage door, everyone was late because of a Q&A, but my dad has a big hospital appointment for a surgery, so we had to leave early. Thankfully, as we were going to leave, both James and Adam came out. They were both nice and gracious.
And actually, some kids really wanted to meet the Genie and Aladdin, but they had to go home. There were an army of kids (who were poorly behaved LITERALLY like 20 of them) and they were like attacking poor Don, who is so tiny. And James was literally like when he got out, “Hey, where are the kids?
Oh, they’re gone ” So, the bus driver waited all this time, so they can meet him and James went to the bus to see the kids. I presumed Adam went too. But, sadly we had to go after those 2, so I missed Jonathan. And as a bonus, Thomas Schumacher stood RIGHT next to me before the show. But, he was talking to someone, so I couldn’t say hi. I shouldn't said hi anyway.
Updated On: 5/23/14 at 09:31 AM
#134
Posted: 5/23/14 at 9:43am
disneybroadwayfan22 - yes the lights went out, it's clear they go out every show, but it seemed like an unusually long period of time for it to happen when I saw the show. like at least a minute they were dark, could have been as long as two minutes, it was enough time for people to ask "whats going on" etc.
Thanks AK72090 for your input - i do love seeing stage mishaps, as weird as that sounds - makes it even more magical since it's live theater. i just wasn't sure if they were mishaps or not since it was my first time seeing the show! :)
Thanks AK72090 for your input - i do love seeing stage mishaps, as weird as that sounds - makes it even more magical since it's live theater. i just wasn't sure if they were mishaps or not since it was my first time seeing the show! :)
#135
Posted: 5/23/14 at 9:46am
^^Yeah, I know they meant to go out. But, it seemed like your performance had to have glitch. My lights going out were like 5 seconds, not 2 minutes.
#136
Posted: 11/9/14 at 2:41pm
I've always had a few mixed feelings about Disney on Broadway.
I'm a California boy who grew up at Disneyland, and spent ten years as a Cast Member. My love for things Disney is no secret to anyone who knows me.
But when I heard they were going to Broadway, I couldn't help but think, here we go. They'll bring their gobs of money and produce a bunch of shows that are flashy and expensive. Signs of the new Disney "corporate"-mind set.
And that's what they've done. And have been very successful…largely.
Even as a Disney fan I was a little critical. I was used to a different type of Broadway experience when visiting New York. And seeing an extravagant version of shows that were already being done at Disneyland, I just wasn't that excited.
But I've started to warm to the idea though now.
As far as Aladdin goes, I saw it in July. I thought it was a very good production.
But then, it should've been.
Disney has a bazillion dollars. They should have the best sets, the best costumes, the best effects. They also have access to whatever talent they want. And they delivered (for the most part).
I thought the dude who played Aladdin was especially good. But again, we're talking Disney muscle here. I'm sure it didn't take much to find a hot guy with a good voice, and a big toothy smile to cast. That's the character though. Every Aladdin I knew at Disneyland was cute, and had a big toothy smile. That was the prereq.
I also thought the Genie was good, but while I may not be of the majority in opinion, I wasn't floored by him. Like the Jasmine character (who I actually wasn't impressed with), there are plenty of people who could play that role well.
In fact, I saw a performance of Aladdin at Disneyland's California Adventure that was pretty darned good. The Genie was fantastic, and IMO the woman playing Jasmine had a better voice than this woman on Broadway. Considering it was a "park" musical, they did a very good job, including having the carpet fly over the audience.
My friend and I, as former Disneyland Cast Members, wanted to see how it was done on Broadway.
And even though I can be a little cynical about Disney on Broadway (despite my admitted love for Disney), it was very good.
I'm a California boy who grew up at Disneyland, and spent ten years as a Cast Member. My love for things Disney is no secret to anyone who knows me.
But when I heard they were going to Broadway, I couldn't help but think, here we go. They'll bring their gobs of money and produce a bunch of shows that are flashy and expensive. Signs of the new Disney "corporate"-mind set.
And that's what they've done. And have been very successful…largely.
Even as a Disney fan I was a little critical. I was used to a different type of Broadway experience when visiting New York. And seeing an extravagant version of shows that were already being done at Disneyland, I just wasn't that excited.
But I've started to warm to the idea though now.
As far as Aladdin goes, I saw it in July. I thought it was a very good production.
But then, it should've been.
Disney has a bazillion dollars. They should have the best sets, the best costumes, the best effects. They also have access to whatever talent they want. And they delivered (for the most part).
I thought the dude who played Aladdin was especially good. But again, we're talking Disney muscle here. I'm sure it didn't take much to find a hot guy with a good voice, and a big toothy smile to cast. That's the character though. Every Aladdin I knew at Disneyland was cute, and had a big toothy smile. That was the prereq.
I also thought the Genie was good, but while I may not be of the majority in opinion, I wasn't floored by him. Like the Jasmine character (who I actually wasn't impressed with), there are plenty of people who could play that role well.
In fact, I saw a performance of Aladdin at Disneyland's California Adventure that was pretty darned good. The Genie was fantastic, and IMO the woman playing Jasmine had a better voice than this woman on Broadway. Considering it was a "park" musical, they did a very good job, including having the carpet fly over the audience.
My friend and I, as former Disneyland Cast Members, wanted to see how it was done on Broadway.
And even though I can be a little cynical about Disney on Broadway (despite my admitted love for Disney), it was very good.
#137
Posted: 5/5/24 at 4:26pm
I'm going to see Aladdin for the first time next weekend. Has anyone seen it lately and have opinions on the production/current cast? I've heard it's not great and the audiences are terrible so just trying to prepare myself lol. I'm taking my 5 year old nephew (his first Broadway show) so I'm excited no matter what :)
#138
Posted: 5/5/24 at 7:12pm
I saw it recently and was pleasantly surprised by the performances. My show didn’t have a weak link in the cast. But yes, expect the audience to be a bit much, and for the entrance/exit/intermission stuff to be chaotic.
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