Youth present Aladdin

Warragul Youth Theatre has presented a new calibre of production with "Aladdin Jr".

More than 30 youths from Warragul and surrounds performed the show to a packed theatre eight times last week.

The production was four years in the making, with director Teigan Bliss pitching the idea in 2019, and movement being delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In this production, longtime youth theatre performer Lily Tambassis stepped up into the role of "Jasmin" and had the opportunity to shine.

Lily showed terrific vocal control and sounded amazing in "A Whole New World" and "These Palace Walls".

Another standout performer vocally was Noa Fogarty as "Aladdin".

Noa delivered a terrific performance and worked well with Lily and Coby Fowles as "Genie".

A highlight of Noa's performance was his performance in "Proud of Your Boy", in which he won the audience over with perfect characterisation and impressive vocals.

As "Genie", Coby Fowles proved himself a triple threat. He brought an incredible amount of energy to the performance, which he tirelessly sang, danced and acted this way through - even tap-dancing a couple of times.

Ethan Richardson and Edwin Pappin as "Jafar" and "Iago" had some wonderfully villainous moments and delivered some terrific evil laughs throughout.

As "Prince Abdullah" Ethan Smith delivered some excellent comedic moments, and Lochlan Hogben was very good as Jasmin's father, the "Sultan".

Maliyah Tily, Juilet Doughty and AJ Glaister worked well together as Aladdin's friends "Kassim", "Omar" and "Babbak" and were wonderful in "High Adventure".

Lucas Demicoli was also terrif ic as "Razoul" and delivered a strong performance.

Each and every young performer stood out in their own right, and all delivered wonderful performances, no matter their role. Some other terrific characters were the "Fortune Teller", played by Cassandra Hector, the "Shop Owner" played by Joey Kiraly, the "Apple Vendor", played by Claudia Frendo, the guards, Ruben Nelson, Samar Rahimi, the beggars, played by Aisha Smith, Marissa Demicoli and Jules Perry, and the "Prince's Attendants" played by Toby Fairess and Roy Barake.

Members of the ensemble included Rachel Baker, Lucy Blackmore, Annabelle Davidson, Emily Fairess, Paige Fallon, Ella Lecher, Grace Patterson, Lillie Price, Adelaide Sayer and Maya Robinson. All were terrific.

Special mention should be given to the excellent set design, sparkly costumes and high-energy choreography.

Cast members Grace Patterson, Roy Barake, Ethan Smith, Toby Fairess (left) Marissa Demicoli, Aisha Smith, and Jules Perry as the “beggars” (bottom step) Lucy Blackmore, Lillie Price, Maya Robinson, Claudia Frendo (middle step), Ella Lecher (floor), Adelaide Sayer, Rachel Baker, Joey Kiraly as the “Show Owner” Cassandra Hector as the “Fortune Teller”.

Above: Noa Fogarty as “Aladdin”, Coby Fowles as “Genie” and Lily Tambassis as “Jasmin”. Below: Ruben Nelson, Samar Alefi, Lucas Demicoli, Annabelle Davidson, Paige Fallon and Emily Fairess as the guards.