When it came to set design, the musical used their small space to their advantage with creativity. The lighting encompassed a wide set of colours, gold and blue and pink, as well as going dim when the scene required it. The costuming for the whole musical was captivating, and the ensemble was as dazzlingly costumed as the main cast, sparkling in bright colours that coordinated with the lighting of the scenes they were in. They were practiced and confident as they spun around the stage, defying gravity and fluidly dancing with props like scarves, feathers and umbrellas. This is where the ensemble of the musical really shone. The musical’s breathtaking score, composed by Alan Menken, added something special to moments like in the number after “These Palace Walls.” There was a beautiful moment halfway through the song as the music changed from upbeat to slow romantic strings, found in the main melody in “These Palace Walls”, when Aladdin and Jasmine were thrown together to dance and meet for the first time before being pulled away.Ī musical is all about the singing and the score - but what’s sometimes even more important is the dancing. And of course, there was “A Whole New World”, the most unforgettable song from Aladdin and as magical as it is in the original film, with Aladdin and Jasmine on their magic carpet suspended in mid-air.
Ahmady’s voice in “These Palace Walls” was lovely and clear as a bell, while the cast’s rendition of “Prince Ali” was jubilant and memorable. But the singing, by every performer, was simply exquisite.
Occasionally, the dialogue of the musical missed the mark - I found the humour of Aladdin’s friends and Jafar’s henchman Iago to fall flat. The crowd received his performance with bright laughter and a deafening round of applause after his big number “Friend Like Me”. Martin adapted his dialogue for the Calgary performance by mentioning poutine and Beaver Tails, and even donning a cowboy hat. Martin’s portrayal of the Genie, who brought a larger than life energy to the role. The crowd favourite was undoubtedly Marcus M. Both Roy and Ahmady being people of colour, as compared to the majority of the first Broadway cast being white, made their performances all the more special.
On stage, her stunning, glittering turquoise replication of Jasmine’s classic outfit was impossible to look away from. Roy matched the occasionally overconfident but sweet-eyed heroism of Aladdin’s character, while Ahmady’s righteous determination as Jasmine was mesmerizing to watch. One of the most memorable things about Aladdin is its romance and musical leads Adi Roy and Senzel Ahmady, respectively playing Aladdin and Jasmine, who both knock it out of the park with their swoon-worthy chemistry. There are a few changes from the movie, but overall, the musical stayed true to the original film with the added embellishments of sparkling costumes, gorgeous set design and showstopping musical numbers. The musical adapts the movie, which adapted the original folk tale from A Tale of a Thousand and One Arabian Nights. The tale of Aladdin is a widely-known one, in which street urchin Aladdin discovers a magic lamp from which a genie emerges to grant him three wishes, allowing Aladdin to disguise himself as a prince to win the hand of Princess Jasmine while battling the villainous Jafar. The limited run of the musical was shown in Calgary from July 18-23. Opening night of Disney’s Aladdin, presented by Broadway Across Canada, saw the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium filled with a packed crowd of attendees.
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