Broadway’s North American tour of “Aladdin” has begun its tenure at the Boston Opera House, so this is my call-out to bring your kids and bring your wife to this Arabian night.
What was great about the show was its versatility in being a production that has family features and could sustain a mature audience at the same time. The “kiddie humor” was courtesy of the actors meant to replace their animal originals (Zach Bencal, Philippe Arroyo and Jed Feder instead of Aladdin’s right-hand monkey Abu and Jay Paranada as sass-parrot Iago), while pop culture and current event references kept the older crowd intrigued.
The plot closely follows that of the original Disney film, with exceptions being made for the scenes that even the best theatrics would have a hard time replicating (for example, the grand finale scene with Genie Jafar is condensed into about three minutes, sans Jasmine being trapped in an hourglass). Though I do give major props for pulling off the magic carpet -- suspended from the ceiling, it flew around a nearly blacked-out, “starry” stage and looked downright magical.
Since you’re not distracted by comparing who-did-what and what-happened-when, you can really focus on what’s important to this show: the costumes and Michael James Scott.
Naturally, “Aladdin” provides many an opportunity to go all out on costuming. Jasmine’s (Isabelle McCalla) signature blue get-up was glittering (though it was nothing compared to the princess costume of the little girl sitting in front of me), and the general Arabian ensemble looked both accurate and eye-catching.
Also, Aladdin remained as shirtless as he was when I first laid eyes on him as an animated hunk in the late 90s. Praise be, Clinton Greenspan.
Speaking of Jasmine, why isn’t she hailed as one of the great feminist princesses? We talk up “Frozen” and “Brave” for eliciting such independent women who don’t need no man, but what about Jasmine?
Sure, “Aladdin” still relies heavily on the marriage-to-a-prince storyline, but are we forgetting that this story makes the man chase the girl? Enlightening.
And lest we forget the iconic, “I am not a prize to be won.” (!!!)
Maybe this concept isn’t news to some people, but I’m just sayin’. Give Jasmine her pedestal!
But as great as Jasmine is for females everywhere, let’s talk about Scott: His incarnation of the Genie is flawless. You can tell he lets his personality shine through his character, and please, give the man a Tony just for his near-10-minute performance of “Friend Like Me.” Sprinkled with a Disney medley, a Christina Aguilera “Genie in a Bottle” riff and enough range to cover the Grand Canyon, Scott’s performance is this production’s shining star.
He even opened the show with the “Arabian Nights” tune, but not before whipping a Sox hat out of his pocket, citing a little pre-show shopping. Big Papi would approve.
I gotta say, for being trapped in a lamp for 10,000-plus years, Genie’s got a decent grasp on the modern world -- this is obvious when he follows Aladdin out of the Cave of Wonders proclaiming, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”
I wouldn’t have pegged “Aladdin” for a Broadway show, but the costuming speaks for itself and complete with a breakout star or two, it’s a 10/10 recommendation.