Aladdin Previews — Page 2

I loved the friends, personally. I think they add a comedic dynamic that hit almost every note when I saw the Toronto previews. Although I wonder how much removing them as narrators has affected their presence in the show.

I think the climax could be improved with just relatively small tweaks, mainly having to do with the rest of the cast's reaction to Jafar. When I saw the show they just kind of... stood there without much of a reaction and, as an audience member, it killed any sort of tension the climax had.

It really needed something to slow it down and build tension. Maybe something like adding dialogue that forces the wedding party to bow before Jafar or having the Sultan's guards switch sides in a more obvious way, showing that Jafar really *is* the Sultan and that this has dire consequences; or giving "sorcerer" Jafar some magic to work with--maybe have sorcerer Jafar unmask Aladdin with 'magic' aka costume work similar to Jafar's costume changes, then the reprise? etc.

"Yup they sure were serious about those changes they were going to implement."

Ehh, considering that they have made some significant changes to the show from the first Toronto previews until now, I don't think it's fair to say they weren't serious about implementing changes. They might not be the changes some people wanted or expected, but I think it's clear they are willing to actually work on the show.

"So this is it: we're now critically reviewing invited dress rehearsals on the internet. Nothing is sacred. The theatre is dead."

LOL! Right because a themepark show on Broadway is sacred.


SPOILERS

Concerning the anti-climatic ending. Disney has always had this problem when dealing with plots that involve killing off a villain. The business at the end of these films just doesn't work on stage. It's the worst part of every Disney show. Aida had a laughable sword scene. Tarzan had the worst ending ever, I don't think the audience knew it was "over" until the curtain call. Beauty and Lion King may get a pass for spectacle but it was still really corny. They also had large spectacle finales.

I also think the climax is the weakest part in Book of Mormon. That said, I thought it was smart-er to resolve the matter with some very funny jokes.

At least with Mary Poppins you get a suitable no-kill climax.

Seeing it Friday night. I hope it's not Tarzan! I prefer more like Beauty & The Beast which was a great Broadway production in my humble opinion.

Or they can make the ending about something else.

"I would love to see a costume quick-change for Jafar in the end like Dreamgirls, Cinderella or Drowsy Chaperone once he becomes the genie. "

There is. He has three (I think it was Sultan, All Powerful Sorcerer, then Genie) quick costume changes in the scene. They looked cool but they really need to slow down the scene to give Jafar more bite.

There are no dumb rules here.

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When I saw this in Toronto, I really enjoyed this, a lot better than The Little Mermaid, Aida and Tarzan, but fully short on being as good or better than Mary Poppins, The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast. I agree that James Monroe Iglehart is superb and must be a shoe in for a Tony for best featured actor, however Aladdin does lack that 'wow' moment.

Strike my comment that these boards are lightly monitored. They apparently deleted the crap out of that spooky Andrew Keener Bolger in his underwear thread.

Looks like it's completely been deleted. What exactly was inappropriate about it?

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South Fl Marc - that's an incredibly general, very disrespectful comment. People on Broadway work just as hard as anyone else and just because you have a problem with the "regurgitation" of cartoon characters onto the stage doesn't mean everyone else has to be put under your arrogant, broad presumption.

Anyway - let's go talk about AKB somewhere else because this is a thread about Aladdin previews. If you were that curious you should've read it earlier.

Updated On: 2/26/14 at 09:53 PM

So we in Middle America Deserve Crap Theatre???!!

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stop stop stop, **** cant there be one thread on this board without unnecessary drama!