The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
The genie is magic
With actor’s tremendously fun performance and show’s overall visual punch, ‘Disney’s Aladdin’ an entertaining wish granted
Can your eyes get too full?
If so, it may happen during “Disney’s Aladdin,” the North American tour of which is on stage at the KeyBank State Theatre at Playhouse Square.
From the magnificent scenic design to the dazzling costumes to the vivid lighting that help makes it all pop, this show is, to say the least, a visual feast.
Seriously, we’re talking eye calories galore.
Thankfully, though, it is more than some pretty thing. Adapted from 1992 animated hit “Aladdin,” “Disney’s Aladdin” is an extremely likeable show, one chock full of broad humor and terrifically choreographed musical numbers if not a tale with great depth or anything much to say.
If you’ve seen the animated feature — which boasts a beloved performance by the late Robin Williams as the wish-granting Genie — you know the general beats of this story.
Aladdin (Clinton Greenspan) is a penniless “street rat,” who runs a bunch of not-that-lucrative hustles with pals Babkak (Zach Bencal), Omar (Philippe Arroyo) and Kassim (Jed Feder) in the fictional Middle-Eastern city of Agrabah. (Sorry, there’s no sign of Aladdin’s monkey pal, Abu, from the film.)
The prime site of these cons, the local market, is where Aladdin meets a young woman who captivates him. She takes a liking to him, too, and little does he know she is the nation’s princess, Jasmine (Isabelle McCalla). As they enjoy a brief window of time together, he expresses feeling trapped by his low station in life, and she, in a roundabout way expresses feeling like a prisoner in her much more luxurious existence.
You see, she is being forced by her father, the Sultan (Jerald Vincent, who, in limited opportunities shows he may just be the best singer in the cast) to marry a prince, albeit one of her choosing. So far, the parade of royal jerks has been quite uninspiring.
Meanwhile, the Sultan’s Grand Vizier, Jafar (Jonathan Weir), is scheming to keep Jasmine from entering into a royal engagement so he can try to seize power. The cobra sceptertoting villain tells his evillaughing minion, Iago (Jay Paranada) — a person in the stage show as opposed to the parrot from the cartoon — that the answer may lie in the Cave of Wonders. Problem is, only a “diamond in the rough” may enter.
Fortunately for Jafar, that person turns out to be Aladdin. Unfortunately for the schemer. Aladdin doesn’t return from the cave after retrieving a special object, as instructed. Instead, he stays — and releases a magic Genie (Michael James Scott) from a lamp. The real fun of “Disney’s Aladdin” starts after the genie emerges, promising Aladdin three wishes — wishes that, despite some restrictions, could help him win the right to be with Jasmine.
So good is the entrance of the Genie here — against the most-striking of the impressive sets designed by Bob Crowley — that you almost second-guess the choice to have the Genie be part of the show’s fun, exposition-packed opening number, “Arabian Nights.” Even with a previous taste of the Genie, however, Scott’s performance in “Friend Like Me” is an absolute delight, complete with a mid-number “Thank you, Cleveland! Thank you very much!” from the actor during a recent performance that was absolutely eaten up from the crowd.
And how could you not eat up what is being cooked up by Scott, who originated the role in the Australian production of the show? It’s certainly possible he borrows a bit from James Monroe Iglehart, who won a Tony Award for his portrayal of the character on Broadway, but this vamping, flamboyant tour de force feels a far cry from what Williams did with the character.
Unfortunately, Greenspan and McCalla feel sort of ordinary by comparison. They’re both very talented — even through McCalla’s voice doesn’t feel quite right for this show’s songs — but you leave the theater thoroughly dazzled by the supporting character that they don’t stand out.
As a result, songs for Aladdin (“Proud of Your Boy”) and the pair (“A Million Miles Away”) are fine — they are, after all, the work of the talented team of Alan Menken (music) and Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin (lyrics) — but not truly memorable in this production.
Another number that delights, on the other hand, is the big, Act II-opening “Prince Ali,” with the Genie, Aladdin’s pals and the ensemble.
With a book by Chad Beguelin, “Disney’s Aladdin” is never dull. References to everything from “Dancing With the Stars” to other well-known Disney tales are really fun.
The story further explores the theme of being trapped with the fact the Genie again will be confined to the lamp once Aladdin’s three wishes are up — unless the young man makes a truly selfless gesture — but that’s about as deep as things get here.
Back to the visuals, the Arabian-inspired costumes by Gregg Barnes — we’re talking a ton of hats, sequin-heavy tops and baggy pants — are very impressive. And the costume changes come at rapid-fire pace at times. It’s really impressive.
The show is simply a marvel of execution. With all the cool stage trickery involved, a magic carpet ride taken by Aladdin and Jasmine will remind you visually of a memorable moment in the 2016 film “La La Land.”
So take a ride with Aladdin, Jasmine and, last but not least, the Genie. You won’t regret it.