Back in 1992, Disney’s animated feature became the year’s biggest Box Office winner by earning $502 million. The VHS version, released a few months later, earned over $500 million–a record at that time. In 2011, Aladdin, The Musical opened on Broadway. Now the touring company arrived in Buffalo. Aladdin, The Musical strips down the story of Aladdin, the roguish street hustler who falls in love with Princess Jasmine. Aladdin is manipulated by the Sultan’s evil Grand Visier, Jafar, into entering the Cave of Wonders to retrieve a magic lamp. Things go wrong and Aladdin is trapped in the cave–Jafar thinks he’s dead–and Aladdin rubs the lamp and meets The Genie. The Genie offers Aladdin three wishes, but of course things go wrong there, too.
Diane and I enjoyed the singing and dancing in Aladdin, The Musical. The spectacle in the Cave of Wonders is dazzling! We loved the Magic Carpet! Plenty of kids were in the audience during the performance we attended. As we were exiting the building, we overheard a young kid say to his parents, “The Genie was the best thing!” He’s right. GRADE: B
SONG LIST:
Act I
“Overture”
“Arabian Nights” (Ashman/Rice***) – Genie & Company
“One Jump Ahead” (Rice) – Aladdin & Ensemble
“One Jump Ahead (Reprise)” (Rice) – Aladdin
“Proud of Your Boy” (Ashman*) – Aladdin
“These Palace Walls” (Beguelin**) – Jasmine & Female Attendants
“Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim” (Ashman*) – Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim, Jasmine & Ensemble
“A Million Miles Away” (Beguelin**) – Aladdin & Jasmine
“Diamond in the Rough” (Beguelin**) – Jafar, Iago, & Aladdin
“Friend Like Me” (Ashman) – Genie, Aladdin and Ensemble
Act One Finale (Friend Like Me (Reprise) (Ashman)/Proud of Your Boy (Reprise I)) (Beguelin)** – Genie & Aladdin
Act II
“Prince Ali” (Ashman) – Genie, Babkak, Omar, Kassim, & Ensemble
“A Whole New World” (Rice) – Aladdin & Jasmine
“High Adventure” (Ashman*) – Babkak, Omar, Kassim, & Ensemble
“Somebody’s Got Your Back” (Beguelin**) – Aladdin, Genie, Babkak, Omar, & Kassim
“Proud of Your Boy (Reprise II)” (Ashman) – Aladdin
“Prince Ali (Sultan Reprise)” (Beguelin**) – Sultan & Company
“Prince Ali (Jafar Reprise)” (Rice) – Jafar
Finale Ultimo (“Arabian Nights (Reprise)” (Ashman/Beguelin*) / “A Whole New World (Reprise)” (Rice)) – Company
Bows (“Friend Like Me (Reprise II)”) (Ashman) – Company
I thought the movie was OK but it was no LION KING. I have no interest in the musical, which is still running here.
Jeff, I actually prefer the animated movie to this musical version. But the show we attended was sold out.
I still have that VHS tape. I nay watched it once, and enjoyed it, but it’s not something I’d watch over and over.
Rick, I have both the VHS and Blu-ray version of Disney’s ALADDIN. This musical version is like a Twinkie.