Aladdin Toronto previews- Page 4

[N2N Nate.]

Posted: 11/4/13 at 1:14pm

You have seen the Pre-Broadway tryout?

[finebydesign]

Posted: 11/4/13 at 3:11pm

Bob Crowley has designed a completely different set for the Toronto production. I think it was mentioned in press release the new set would be suited for a Broadway show, rather than the tryout. Apparently the show curtain is spectacular.

The costume designer is the however the same.

[funnyman2]

Posted: 11/4/13 at 3:41pm

@RumTumJM, I don't recall the pyro itself being excessively loud, but some confetti canons go off at the end of Friend Like Me with a very audible 'bang!'

@bwayphreak234, I enjoyed the set very much. The one aspect I liked the most was that there are multiple components to the village/marketplace set that move, turn and reorient to establish different settings. They also have 'towers' that can grow out of them to add height. Other settings consisted of various pieces and backdrops that fly/slide in and out. They also make use of the curtain (which splits in the middle) to do some 'split screen' effects.

@Wildcard, the Cave of Wonders is a facade that is revealed when the curtain rises towards the end of Diamond in the Rough (Jafar, Iago and Aladdin have been performing downstage after the curtain falls to allow the set change). When Aladdin enters the Cave through its mouth, the facade splits in two and the halves slide off either side to reveal the interior.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 11/4/13 at 4:07pm

The theme park production also utilizes several stunt doubles.

[PastorErnst]

Posted: 11/4/13 at 5:22pm

@JohnyBroadway There is a Aladdin stunt double used during the "One Jump Ahead" scene.

Maybe someone can help me since I still can't decide... Is Iago supposed to be a parrot or a human in the show?

Updated On: 11/4/13 at 05:22 PM

[NmadaSpamm]

Posted: 11/4/13 at 5:27pm

Pastor , If its no Lion King or Mary Poppins is Disney aiming to be mediocre ?
I was hoping it would be better than The Lion King but if it already has a lot of work to do I am officially worried and scared for them.

[funnyman2]

Posted: 11/4/13 at 5:36pm

@PastorErnst, I took Iago as being portrayed as a human as opposed to a parrot. His costume doesn't suggest anything birdlike, and everyone else seemed to treat him as a person. Jafar has a line to the effect of 'Must you always be parroting everything I say?', which I saw as a small inside joke.

[NmadaSpamm]

Posted: 11/4/13 at 5:39pm

So its all style no substance ????

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 11/4/13 at 6:09pm

Holy crap bucket $127.50 for a preview ticket!

[NmadaSpamm]

Posted: 11/4/13 at 6:18pm

F*CK that is a lot

[kyl3fong2]

Posted: 11/5/13 at 9:51am

does the magic carpet fly over the audience? like how mary poppins flies out at the end? or is it only flying on stage?

if i remember correctly, i read somewhere that the magic carpet didn't fly in the seattle production...is that right?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/5/13 at 5:16pm

^Wouldn't it be kind of silly if the carpet flew out over the audience? People sitting in the orchestra section would look up and see nothing but carpet. They wouldn't be able to see the actors.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/5/13 at 5:34pm

^ That's pretty much what happens at the California Adventure show.

I sat in the balcony both times, which is the best place for it. You can check a bunch of videos on YouTube that recorded the show. Anytime someone sat in the orchestra, when they get to A Whole New World, the camcorders pan around and basically see nothing. Some of them point up, but they're looking at the dark underside of the flying carpet, so it doesn't register at all.

From the balcony (check those videos out, too), it looks terrific. It's done very well.

[zepka102]

Posted: 11/5/13 at 6:18pm

Very excited to see this Saturday afternoon. I'll report back as soon as I can on my thoughts. Loved Mary Poppins, enjoyed Little Mermaid and Tarzan but saw their flaws, and Lion King is, well, Lion King. Same with Beauty and the Beast. I'm very curious to see where this one fits on the scale.

[N2N Nate.]

Posted: 11/5/13 at 7:25pm

"So its all style no substance ????"

Did Aladdin really have that much substance to begin with? I mean, it's no Hunchback or Lion King.

[funnyman2]

Posted: 11/6/13 at 12:57am

@kyl3fong2, the carpet does not fly out over the audience, but it is all over that stage. High and low, upstage and downstage, even turning around instead of just facing one direction. It really is magical.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 11/6/13 at 1:51am

I actually think Aladdin is a more sincere film than Lion King.

[idinalover2]

Posted: 11/6/13 at 6:52am

I think The Lion King's Scenic elements, songs and Costumes were amazing and the Direction was good. I am wondering if Aladdin has these elements or is suffering from Tarzan Disease. I do think that the book of Ragtime was better than TLK. I do think the whole package worked for the lion king is it the same here or does Aladdin not have a chance at the Tonys.

Updated On: 11/6/13 at 06:52 AM

[zepka102]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 8:30pm

Home from today's matinee. After my drive home, I think I've sorted out my thoughts.

I was very back and forth throughout. There are elements that are fantastic and others that are not. The sets and costumes really are top-notch. I especially love the Cave of Wonders, outside and inside. Costumes were very sparkly, but not to the point of being distracting.

Adam Jacobs is quite good as Aladdin. I love his voice and it fits the songs perfectly. Being a huge ITH fan, I love Courtney Reed. Vocally, excellent, but I wanted her to kick up the enthusiasm. She's playing Jasmine, what should be a great role. Maybe the size of the auditorium made it feel a bit lost, but she could definitely improve the more she plays it. Jonathan Freeman IS Jafar. It's great to hear his voice again in this role. James Monroe Inglehart plays the Genie as I expected, which is fine. I wasn't a fan of this characterization of Iago. He's too slapstick sidekick, and it felt like that was a role created for the youngest audience members to enjoy.

The HARDEST part for me was the three friends. They go back and forth between friends of Aladdin and narrators that come out between too many set changes to tell us what's going on. That's too many "Arabian Nights Reprises." Anytime they come out, the action seems to come to a dead halt. Their scenes are completely unnecessary. Their song about going on an adventure while storming the palace just felt like a waste of time. I know they originally wanted them in the movie, but I'm glad they were cut. The musical would benefit from some snips involving them.

The flying carpet sequence looks fantastic. We had a 45-minute intermission because of a mechanical error, and I suppose it involved the carpet. We had some stage hands partially hidden at the start of the sequence. However, as it took off, it looked great. Now, they need to go back to the original orchestrations for "A Whole New World." The way it sounds in the show now makes the song feel insignificant. I appreciate them trying something different, but it's too subdued.

Overall, it's not bad. It just needs some snips and tightening up. Shorten the opening ("Arabian Nights" is about one chorus and dance sequence too long). Spruce up the book with more lines from the movie to improve where the books lacks.

One phrase came to mind the whole show: "punch it up." It could be a great production.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 9:16pm

It sounds the same as Charlie, by the time Wonka arrives at the end of the first act, you no longer care.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 9:48pm

The photos I have seen of the curtain on Instagram are underwhelming. I really hope they change that before broadway.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 11:26pm

Eh, I think the carpet should come out over the audience. Mary Poppins flew. Spiderman flies. I'd expect this to fly too. It seems kind of underwhelming for it not to.

And didn't we learn in Spiderman that a "greek chorus" narrating never works? It's Aladdin. 99.9% of the world knows the story by now. We don't need to be narrated. If they're covering up scene changes, then they need to come up with a more creative solution.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 11:33pm

"And didn't we learn in Spiderman that a "greek chorus" narrating never works?"

Never? I think a certain trio going by the names of Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon would have a word or two to say about that.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 11:48pm

Oh for sure, but they weren't narrating in this sense. Like "Oh, this just happened." They were more like a sounding board.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 11:56pm

The carpet could still fly over the audience, but it won't likely happen until it enters previews in New York. The kind of work they would need to put into the theatre itself to make it work, work right, and work safe for the actors might not be something their out of town theatre permitted nor were they willing to risk in the space.

As amazing an effect as the carpet in the theme park show is, they have had issues with it that actually downed the carpet for a year and a half. You can search youtube (Aladdin Carpet Malfunction) and see the show when the carpet flipped upside down mid flight and the actors were left hanging helpless upside down. The poor actress playing Jasmine crying and yelling for help as the theme park guests hung around to video tape it.

When it comes to New York, that is Disney's theatre that they can do whatever they please with it. They likely already have been working on something. Have had a lot of time from when Poppins closed until Aladdin will be rolling in.