Aladdin
Milton Keynes Theatre
25th April 2024
Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ was one of the key movies during the company’s “golden renaissance” period of the late 80s and early 90s that really brought the “house of mouse” back to top of its game. Following ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘Beauty & The Beast’, the film’s visuals, humour, vocal talents and soundtrack remain a joy to this day, and grant it a special place in many generations’ hearts. Its adaptation to stage was always inevitable, with Disney hoping to recreate the success of their productions of ‘Beauty & The Beast’ and of course the mighty ‘Lion King’. ‘Aladdin’ as a musical first hit UK stages back in 2016, but if you weren’t one of the 2 million people who saw it during its 3-year West End run, now’s your chance. The musical magic carpet ride has been touring the country since late 2023, and lands this week at Milton Keynes Theatre, running through to 19th May 2024.
Putting a new spin on a tale as old as time (wrong show), ‘Aladdin’ tells of a young “street urchin” (played by Gavin Adams), who lives by his wits on the tough streets of Agrabah. The kingdom is ruled by a naïve Sultan (Jo Servi), who is being unwittingly manipulated by his ruthless advisor Jafar (Adam Strong), wanting the kingdom for himself. Jafar seeks an ancient lamp that will give him everything he needs to rule, but he needs Aladdin to retrieve it. When he does, Aladdin discovers the lamp contains a wish-granting Genie (Yeukayi Ushe) and becomes his master, using wishes to make himself a prince so that he can marry the Sultan’s daughter Jasmine (Desmonda Cathabel), unaware of Jafar’s much darker plans.
Musically, ‘Aladdin’ has always been a winner (it won an Oscar after all), and hearing it played out live is wonderful. All of Alan Menken’s songs from the film are here, plus others that were originally cut but now restored in the musical to honour the late Howard Ashman. Additional new tunes from book-writer Chad Beguelin are also included, which arguably aren’t quite as strong as the Ashman & Rice compositions and feel a little bit “fillery” in order to sustain the 2.5 hour running time, but still enjoyable. Beguelin’s book largely remains faithful to the film, giving us a few new characters (namely Aladdin’s mates Babkak, Omar and Kasim, who again were in the original film script but later replaced by Abu the monkey). Director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw delivers a fun and enjoyable journey through Agrabah, full of bold vibrant colour, and energy, and captures that Disney magic that we know and love. It’s a beautiful show to look at, with some stunningly intricate set design (Bob Crowley) and striking lighting (Natasha Katz). Gregg Barnes’ costume design is also wonderful, evoking the beauty of the Middle East and giving us a rainbow of colour to look at. Key moments from the story are delivered effectively (particularly the magic carpet ride), although the ending is understandably reworked due to Impracticalities of working with giant demon snakes. With the story of ‘Aladdin’ often done as pantomimes across the country each year, the production does suffer from occasionally feeling less of a “Broadway show” than it should. Generally this stems from the depiction of Jafar and decisions around lighting and transitions involving him, he doesn’t feel as sinister as he should, more often eliciting an urge to gently boo him in a good-natured way.
Gavin Adams makes a likeable if somewhat insipid lead, getting the job done but delivering little personality to the character, seeming more comfortable as a singer than an actor. Desmonda Cathabel outshines him as Jasmine, radiating inner strength and desire to make her own decisions about her life, and gives a great performance here. She may have lost out on the recent ‘Mamma Mia’ search, but she really shows what she’s made of and proves that she’ll go on to far better things in the future. Yeukayi Ushe unsurprisingly steals the show as the Genie, giving a unique portrayal that side-steps the late Robin Williams completely and offers a new take that totally works. Genuinely funny with personality for days, Ushe is a delight to watch. Angelo Paragoso also does well as awkward henchman Iago (no longer a parrot), full of silly jokes and quirky mannerisms which little ones will love. Adam Strong’s Jafar is less effective that it should be, with Strong hampered by the panto-style direction and unable to really deliver the sinister edge that the show needs. Jafar’s demise is also clumsily-delivered (through no fault of Strong), and again it just adds to the overall disappointment in the interpretation of one of the greatest Disney villains.
Bright, colourful fun for all ages, ‘Aladdin’ will take you on a magic carpet ride and give you a dose of serotonin-fuelled nostalgia. Great songs, high production values, and some endearing underlying messages make this a great heart-warming experience, and a reminder of just how good Disney can be.
‘Aladdin’ runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Sunday 19th May 2024, before continuing on its UK tour.
Performance runtime 2 hours 25 minutes including interval.
