Aladdin Previews- Page 9
Aladdin Previews
Aladdin Previews#200
Posted: 3/10/14 at 12:50amI was writing a thesis paper on Disney's impact on Times Square and the Theater industry at the time. During my research I came across a New York Times article about it. I currently can't find the article though. It was about the fact that despite selling out its final month of performances before even entering August The Little Mermaid was still closing. It went on to discuss that Disney wanted to keep the show open, but had no theater to move it into and was not sure if it would survive and be able to cover the cost of a move. It also brought up Disney's broadway economics and that Beauty and the Beast's strong weeks were barley covering their lean weeks when it closed. Unlike Tarzan the show was not bleeding money, rather it was performing like a long running tourists show following the the Disney Broadway model, packs during the spring, summer and holidays weeks and lean during the late fall and winter. Would the show have lasted another 5 years? Probably not, but it would have likely run another year or so and recouped.
Aladdin Previews#201
Posted: 3/10/14 at 7:17am
There is an article in the NY Post about the show that says:
Jafar’s evil, wise-cracking henchman made it to the stage, only as a man (played by Don Darryl Rivera) rather than a bird. The script includes a cheeky nod to the movie character, though, when Jafar shouts to the little guy, “Must you parrot everything I say?”
Is there any independent confirmation of that? I assumed Iago was still a parrot. I guess the musical doesn't make it clear if he is or not.
Aladdin Previews#202
Posted: 3/10/14 at 7:21amThe NYPost interpretation is consistent with my observation of the first preview. He isn't meant to be a parrot and that line was meant to make light of that (the audience found that line particularly funny).
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/13/06
Aladdin Previews#203
Posted: 3/10/14 at 2:19pm
Despite all the reviews and everything, I'd love to see this regardless but I'm just that type of person I guess. lol. Especially if it's Disney and Aladdin. The cast and music sound great in this new sitzprobe video:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/things-you-didnt-know-about-aladdin-jasmine-genie-and-jafar
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/07
Aladdin Previews#204
Posted: 3/10/14 at 3:37pm
"My husband said the same thing after seeing the show in Toronto. Surprised she wasn't replaced."
When this musical was first announced, a lot of people on here suggested her for Jasmine. It's too bad that she's not living up to most people's expectations. I think Melissa O'Neil, who played Eponine in the Toronto revival of 'Les Miserables' and is a pert of the Broadway revival's ensemble, would make a great Jasmine.
Aladdin Previews#205
Posted: 3/10/14 at 6:36pmIn the Toronto version I saw, there was a line at the beginning warning the audience that there were no talking animals here. But that was probably said by Babcak/Omar/Kassim, so I guess it's gone if they've been eliminated as narrators?
Aladdin Previews#206
Posted: 3/11/14 at 11:51am
The orchestra and cast sound amazing! I don't like how they're making "Prince Ali" a jazz number
ALADDIN on Broadway - The Sitzprobe
Updated On: 3/11/14 at 11:51 AM
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
Aladdin Previews#208
Posted: 3/12/14 at 10:54pm
Lyrics for Beyond these Palace Walls:
JASMINE
Suitors talk of love
But it’s an act merely meant to throw me
How can someone love me when, in fact
They don’t know me?
They want my royal treasure,
when all is said and done.
It’s time for a desperate measure
So I wonder
Why shouldn’t I fly so far from here?
I know the girl I might become here
Sad and confined
And always locked behind these palace walls
LADIES
[????] and devotion every day
And not second guess it
JASMINE
If a new emotion comes my way
LADIES
You suppress it
JASMINE
What would be your suggestion?
LADIES
Standing on your own two feet
And ask why a certain question keeps repeating
JASMINE
Why shouldn’t I fly so far from here?
I know the girl I might become here
Follow your heart or you might end up cold and callous
LADIES
Love comes to those who go and find it
If you must dream then stand behind it
JASMINE
Maybe there’s more beyond these palace walls
What if I dared?
What if I tried?
Am I prepared for what’s outside?
Why shouldn’t I fly so far from here?
Something awaits beyond these palace walls
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
Aladdin Previews#209
Posted: 3/13/14 at 9:46pm
I thought it was a pretty near top-to-bottom disaster. I'm not even sure where to start.
The book is absolutely atrocious. There's just no way to sugarcoat it. Awful, awful, awful. The jokes are so beyond terrible and the sensibility of the whole thing is way off. It's self-referential in the worst ways and I chuckled maybe twice. It also puts no real emphasis on...oh, you know...the plot. I almost felt like it assumed everyone knew the story from the film, so why even bother hitting on the plot points in a coherent and pointed way. It just kind of sailed along, with no real drive behind it. Just a lot of bad jokes.
The score from the movie is obviously phenomenal...the new songs however, while not necessarily bad, aren't up to the standards of the film score. They stick out like sore thumbs. The orchestra sounds very good. I especially liked the orchestrations for "A Whole New World."
The performances are mostly mediocre. Jacobs is a fine Aladdin, but he brings just as much charm as the next guy would to the part. He could be replaced with any chorus boy and you probably wouldn't even notice. Fine, but generic and bland. Reed was...not great. Vocally or in terms of her acting. Iglehart was certainly the best of them all, but you would have to do a lot of convincing to make me believe that he deserves a Tony for this performance. Freeman is saddled with an entirely non-threatening version of Jafar (I never once thought of him as the despicable villain he comes across as in the film) and a horrible fake beard and lazy costume design.
The rest of the costumes have the requisite glitter and pizzazz you'd expect. The sets were mostly nice, but I absolutely hated the skrims they pulled down for the scene changes. Particularly bad writing during those "let's stall while they change the sets" moments, as well.
The direction was messy, unorganized, busy, and uninspired. Uninspired is also an appropriate word for the choreography.
I liked "Friend Like Me" enough (even if it tries WAY too hard to be a crowd-pleaser), but for me the one number that stood out was "A Whole New World." At least the first half. It was beautiful and simple...up until they had to throw in the blinking lights, people flailing a sheet around under the carpet, and a rotating earth behind them.
This ranks pretty far down on my list of favorite shows this season. All it did was make me want to watch the movie. If you skip this one, you're not missing much at all.
Aladdin Previews#210
Posted: 3/13/14 at 10:31pmwhy would they remove the planets but still have the moon turn into the earth.... (ugh!)
Aladdin Previews#211
Posted: 3/13/14 at 10:31pmwhy would they remove the planets but still have the moon turn into the earth.... (ugh!)
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/17/07
Aladdin Previews#212
Posted: 3/14/14 at 12:31am
"They want my royal treasure, "
Yikes!!! Bust out the glitter and the sass.
Aladdin Previews#213
Posted: 3/15/14 at 7:16amany new updates on the show? has anyone gone to it recently?
Aladdin Previews#214
Posted: 3/15/14 at 8:10am
I am getting so nervous now for May. I really thought that Disney would have to learned this lesson by now.
At least, the directors of FROZEN are trying to get involved with the Broadway production, so it looks promising and not a let down like this.
Aladdin Previews#215
Posted: 3/15/14 at 11:10am
Personally I thought Tarzan and The Little Mermaid were equally as worthy as musicals as the other more "more successful" Disney shows. Wonderful scores, even if the majority of the music and much of the dialogue came from the original movies, engaging performances, wonderful production values.
I saw Aladdin in Toronto and strongly agree that the corny jokes could be eliminated, but just about everything else was delightful. The Lion King has sidekicks dispensing corny jokes as well.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
Aladdin Previews#216
Posted: 3/15/14 at 11:50am
The Lion King has sidekicks dispensing corny jokes as well.
Yes, but nearly every character in ALADDIN has at least one or two corny, groan-inducing jokes they need to sell. Not just the sidekicks.
Oh and I didn't even mention ALADDIN's "best friends." What a dumb, incomprehensible decision to add these three annoying roles into the story. There's just no other way to describe them. I couldn't even imagine them being the narrators, which they apparently were in Toronto. Awful.
Aladdin Previews#217
Posted: 3/15/14 at 5:29pm
I really liked them as narrators, personally. I think that, since they're no longer narrators, it will probably make a lot of their jokes awkward at best, since many of their jokes were obviously meant to break the 4th wall and poke fun at the story. Like (off the top of my head) the slow-mo running or "I don't know what's came over us!" "It's the music."
I agree with you, homeimp, on Aladdin. It was the best night in theater I've had in a long time, minus a few things that needed tweaking.
Although I do wonder why the team has tackled all these other areas in the show (to the point of making a huge change like removing the trio as narrators and adding Genie in instead!) but they don't appear to have touched the climax, which was probably the biggest problem in Toronto? I don't think it would even need overhauling, just tweaks to add in some real tension...
Aladdin Previews#218
Posted: 3/15/14 at 6:53pmIf the groaners in THE LION KING are any basis on which to pre-judge (and based on what I'm reading I think this even seems worse than that awful book), I'm not expecting to enjoy listening to anything in this show when the orchestra isn't playing.
Aladdin Previews#219
Posted: 3/15/14 at 9:05pmIt sounds like Disney is not really making any changes to the writing which seems to be the biggest problem with the show. Did they learn nothing from Tarzan and The Little Mermaid?
Aladdin Previews#220
Posted: 3/15/14 at 11:56pm
Just saw this tonight.
Can't add much more to what's been said.
It's blandly entertaining.
The standing ovation after "Friend Like Me" seems like it's started by audience plants. The number that came most to mind was "Springtime for Hitler," actually- a lengthy, self-aware comedic number with clearly defined sequences.
The show is VERY padded and feels it. The friends are completely pointless and serve no role in the plot. Even "Friend Like Me" (which IS the best number) is padded from a 3-minute sequence to one that's at least 10. But the film is so reliant on the flexibility of animation (and Robin Williams in his prime).
"A Whole New World" is impressive for a moment, and then it's two squeaky-clean actors on a swinging chaise lounge in outer space.
Honestly, just see the movie. It's tighter, more creative, has a climax that is earned, and doesn't feature a slew of bland songs. I didn't have a bad time, but I can't recommend it. It frankly has no emotional core. It's all ersatz. No real heart or magic.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
Aladdin Previews#221
Posted: 3/16/14 at 12:02am
The standing ovation after "Friend Like Me" seems like it's started by audience plants.
I had the same exact thought.
Aladdin Previews#222
Posted: 3/16/14 at 12:08amYeah. I mean, the first one to stand was a guy in the front orchestra who leapt to his feet the instant the song ended. I've never seen anyone do that after a song- and this one wasn't any more show stopping or special than, say, "Be Our Guest."
Aladdin Previews#223
Posted: 3/16/14 at 12:16amI will say that the original "Be Our Guest" at the Palace was most definitely worthy of a standing ovation. It was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen on stage.
Aladdin Previews#224
Posted: 3/16/14 at 12:22amI should also say this isn't as good as "Be Our Guest" because that number didn't have a Dancing with the Stars or game show parody.
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