I attended a show at Forests part in St. Louis that turned out to be the best show I have ever attended in my lifetime. Graced by an outstanding band and a number of remarkable performers, the show was held on a huge stage with the performers putting on impressive outfits. I was further impressed by the musical people who played fantastic songs. The show, as I learnt, was called Aladdin; a premiere production of the Disney’s Aladdin produced by The Muny production of Disney which is the third production of the new stage musical ever to be produced in the world. Apparently, the show was adapted from the dearly loved animated feature, Disney’s Aladdin and presented fantastic movie character as well as all songs from the movie’s Oscar winning score, in addition to some of Menken/Ashman songs that were recovered from the early drafts of the film and have never been heard before. According to many people who watched the movie, this new full-length version of Aladdin was fresh, very entertaining and hilarious.
Aladdin was played by Robin de Jesus while the Genie was played by John Tartaglia (both Jesus and Tartaglia Tony® Nominees). Omar and Iago were played by Jason Graae and Curtis Holbrook respectively while Eddie Korbich acted as Babkak. Further, the role of Jasmine and Kassim, Sultan, and Jafar were taken by Francis Jue, Samantha Massell, Ken Page and Thom Sesma respectively. Gary Griffin is known to be the director of Disney’s Aladdin with Alex Sanchez being the choreographer. According to the organizers, the performances were slated for the period between 5th and 13th of July with tickets selling for $10, $25, $50 or $75. Accompanied by a friend, I attended the show on the last weekend having bought two tickets at $10 each. The performance commenced at 8:15 pm and lasted until 10:35pm. Present at the show were different kinds of people from diverse backgrounds and families; the show was attended by males, females, whites, blacks, adults and children. The show commenced with three people sitting on three camels with a musical background that was very exciting to everyone in attendance. The manner in which these people integrated with the song was very memorable. Even though I am a Saudi, I really felt at home while watching this show that is notably loved by kids and adults alike. The role that the music played in this show could not be overlooked as the audience sang along emotionally and in a positive way. One could easily tell that people were very happy and impressed from the way they were laughing. One of the songs sang during the show was “Arabian Nights” (Lyric: Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place, Where the caravan camels roam Where it's flat and immense, and the heat is intense, It's barbaric, but hey, it's home
Also sang was a song called titled “Friends Like Me” with the following famous lyric;
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves
Scheherezad-ie had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves
You got a brand of magic never fails
You got some power in your corner now
Some heavy ammunition in your camp
You got some punch, pizzazz, yahoo and how
See all you gotta do is rub that lamp
And I'll say
The far-famed “Prince Ali” was also sung, and I can vividly recall people singing along- “Hey you! Let us through! It's a bright new star! Oh Come! Be the first on your block to meet his eye!”
I must admit that the show had nothing to dislike. I cannot easily compare Aladdin with other movies but I can strongly recommend the movie to other people since I am sure that they will truly enjoy it, especially the music.
