Aladdin Toronto previews — Page 2

I just saw tonight's preview! For those wondering about the Song List:

ACT I
Arabian Nights - Babkak, Omar, Kassim, Company
One Jump Ahead - Aladdin, Crowd
Proud of Your Boy - Aladdin
Arabian Nights (Reprise) - Babkak, Omar, Kassim
Call Me a Princess - Jasmine, Female Attendants
Call Me a Princess (Reprise) - Jasmine
Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim - Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim
A Million Miles Away - Aladdin, Jasmine
Diamond in the Rough - Jafar, Iago, Aladdin
Friend Like Me - Genie, Company
Arabian Nights (Reprise II) - Babkak, Omar, Kassim
Act One Finale (Friend Like Me/Proud of Your Boy - Reprise) - Genie, Aladdin

ACT II
Prince Ali - Babkak, Omar, Kassim, Genie, Company
Arabian Nights (Reprise III) - Babkak, Omar, Kassim
A Whole New World - Aladdin, Jasmine
High Adventure - Babkak, Omar, Kassim
Somebody's Got Your Back - Aladdin, Genie, Babkak, Omar, Kassim
Proud of Your Boy (Reprise II) - Aladdin
Prince Ali (Reprise) - Sultan, Company, Jafar
Genie's Exit (Somebody's Got Your Back - Reprise) - Genie
Finale Ultimo (Arabian Nights - Reprise IV/A Whole New World - Reprise) - Company

And the Standby/Understudy/Swing List:

STANDBYS
For Jafar/Sultan - Merwin Foard
For Genie/Babkak - Michael James Scott

UNDERSTUDIES
For Aladdin - Joshua Dela Cruz, Trent Saunders, Bud Weber
For Jafar - Dennis Stowe
For Genie - Donald Jones, Jr.
For Jasmine - Lauryn Ciardullo, Tia Altinay
For Kassim - Jaz Sealey, Yurel Echezzareta
For Omar - Andrew Cao, Michael Mindlin
For Sultan - Dennis Stowe
For Iago - Adam Kaokept, Michael Mindlin

SWINGS
Mike Cannon, Lauryn Ciardullo, Michael Mindlin, Jennifer Rias

Is the genie blue in this production?

@CATSNYrevival, I did not follow the Seattle production so have no comparison, but I can say that I thought it felt weird that Jasmine's first song (and also her only solo besides the Reprise) was Call Me a Princess. I understood what the number was supposed to be doing, but to me it didn't really convey how Jasmine was trying to turn off her suitors. When she first enters the scene after overhearing the Sultan and the princes talking about, she dresses up all crazily and (to me at least) acts immature to get rid of them; then she suddenly does this sultry jazz song. It was an odd sudden tone shift. I just looked up 'To Be Free' and kind of wish it was still in the show, it wouldn't make me question Call Me a Princess as much. Aladdin gets a nice backstory song with Proud of Your Boy, and it would have been nice to get an honest song from Jasmine too.

Updated On: 11/3/13 at 09:37 AM

Also, I just looked up Why Me?, and I prefer Diamond in the Rough better. In the show, Jafar and Iago get in disguise to confront Aladdin, and sing the song to convince him to steal the lamp. It's quite funny (Jonathan Freeman and Don Darryl Rivera have fantastic chemistry), and advances the plot more (it introduces the notion to Aladdin that he needs to impress Jasmine with wealth and power).

@HorseTears, Here's a link to a shot I took of the head shots and names of the ensemble. The show had one of the most ethnically diverse ensembles I've seen, and it does seem there were a few people of Middle Eastern descent.




Ensemble

Updated On: 11/3/13 at 10:06 AM

To be Free would act as a nice counterpart to Call Me a Princess and would work as a reprise for Genie.

@funnyman2, completely agree on Jasmine being off balance with Aladdin. I always felt like that was one of the flaws with the movie. Jasmine isn't the hero of the film, but she still should be seen as Aladdin's equal,character wise. I just listened to "to be free" and I didn't care much for it, but it's better than "Call me a princess".

Would you say the new songs are good assets to the old ones? I really don't want to see another "Positoovity" disaster.

Could you go into detail about "Friend like me"? It's the showstopping number and it looks like from the video, they made it a tap number? Or maybe I am thinking of "Prince ALi"?

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Updated On: 11/3/13 at 11:08 AM

4 songs and a ton of reprises in Act 2. ???????

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@N@N Nate., I've already commented on Call Me a Princess (didn't like) and Diamond in the Rough (liked), and overall the rest of the songs worked fine in the show, both for entertainment and for plot purposes. Some felt kind of forced; for example, halfway through Act II seemed like an odd place to suddenly have a buddy number, which Somebody's Got Your Back is (in the context of the show, Aladdin uses his second wish to free him and his friends from being Jafar's prisoners, and after reiterating that his third wish will be used to free the Genie, they all sing the song) but it was fine. A Million Miles Away was a pretty (if not a bit derivative) duet, and I appreciated it for giving Jasmine more depth. All of the stuff with Babkak, Omar, and Kassim was hilarious, especially High Adventure (when the three decide to save Aladdin and Jasmine, then follows their pursuits as they prepare then storm the palace) which was a ton of fun.

Friend Like Me was indeed a showstopper. It became this huge sprawling number, and was adapted kind of like how Be Out Guest from Beauty and the Beast was for the stage; throughout the song the Genie would demonstrate all the different things he could do, and all these various acts of different styles would come in and out (including a few surprises that I won't ruin). The song ended with a big tap sequence, and the entire thing was fantastic.

"Friend Like Me was indeed a showstopper. It became this huge sprawling number, and was adapted kind of like how Be Out Guest from Beauty and the Beast was for the stage"

I got the biggest smile on my face. So glad to hear that, funnyman2.

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"4 songs and a ton of reprises in Act 2. ???????"

I thought this was fairly normal...?

I think we are all wondering is this more like The Lion King Mary Poppins in quality or is it like The Little Mermaid

I know its previews but if it is going to be a family hit rather than a critical hit, I will pass.