Emcee has arrived!!!
Okay. Let me preface this by saying that AIDA is my FAVORITE musical. That said, I appologize in advance for my biases, and for any tears that may appear in this post, seeing as I only have five short weeks left with the show.
AIDA, as BlueWizard said, is a retelling of Verdi's opera, but the main difference in the storyline lies in where the story begins. The opera begins with Aida and Radames already in love, while the musical concentrates on HOW they fell in love.
I'll try to give you a short (spoiler-free) synopsis. PM me if you want more than this:
Aida is captured as a slave when Egypt and Nubia are at war. She's captured by Radames, who is engaged to the Pharoah's daughter, Amneris. Radames sees something special in Aida, and decides to give her to Amneris as a gift. Amneris and Aida become close friends, though they still do have a slave-to-mistress relationship. Amneris does not know that Aida is the Nubian Princess, but knows that somehow, Aida can understand everything she is going through. Radames starts out very self-absorbed and downright shallow. As he gets to know Aida, her strength and devotion to her people puts him to shame. He sees in her everything he wishes he could be, and falls in love with her. Amneris ends up sort of in the middle, because of her connection to both of them. There are a few side storylines (that of Aida being reunited with her people, and that of Radames' father trying to poison the Pharoah, for example) but that's the main plot. Like I said, if you want more detail (which will likely result in spoilers) send me a PM.
PLEASE do yourself a favor and go see it before it closes. It's a beautiful love story. The book can be a bit weak at times, but the score is incredible. It's the kind of show that will make you laugh, cry and give you chills. The cast is uber-talented (here's where I plug for my baby... Adam Pascal is a godsend. He's just wonderful). The sets, costumes and lighting are great, too... It's an amazing show. Please go see it... don't miss out.
A work of art is an invitation to love.
Updated On: 7/29/04 at 08:28 PM