I'm so glad I ended up buying tickets. I knew from The Lion King Musical (which I blogged about here, although most of the pictures are gone by now), that this was going to be amazing, but I was so unprepared for just how great it was.
Our seats were in the Dress Circle Seating, Row L, which is the first row of the second section upstairs, Seats 20 and 21. I was really confused booking tickets because at first the website shows a plan that looks like everything is on the same level, but then when you proceed, they show you a plan that shows an upstairs and downstairs section. I grabbed my tickets from The Lion King Musical, and just tried to find seats in the same area.
The seats I ended up buying were pretty great. They cost $135 each (not including postage and handling), and while it would have been great to sit in the last row of the first section upstairs, that seat (off memory) cost about $165. So I don't think it's worth paying and extra $30 for a seat that's just a few metres more in front.
The $30 you save by not buying such a seat can go towards a souvenir. In this case (as I always like to do), I bought the program for $25.
A few people have asked me how I would compare The Lion King Musical to Aladdin: The Musical, and I think they're quite different. Basically, The Lion King Musical had a lot to work off from the movie, both plot-wise and music-wise. Therefore not much was new, but the amazing thing that stood out was the costuming and the prop designs. Those were incredible and absolutely genius.
On the other hand, Aladdin: The Musical's focus isn't the costuming or set pieces. Don't get me wrong, the costumes are still amazing (and colourful and sparkly), and the set pieces were still very clever (the buildings are resizeable depending on their positioning on the stage), but it wasn't as amazing as The Lion King's standards.
What was fantastic about Aladdin was that they altered some plot elements of the film to fit the stage better, changed the dialogue, added new songs in, and just had an amazing overall performance quality. In all honesty, I was on the verge of crying at how amazing the Friend Like Me piece was. Not only was the Cave of Wonders beautiful, but the performance was so epic, and the set was just beautiful.
So The Cave of Wonders definitely had to be my favourite scene of the entire play. But, other favourites were Arabian Nights and Prince Ali.
Unfortunately A Whole New World wasn't amazing, but I think it's just because we were so spoilt by the large-scale spectacles that this toned-down and very simplistic piece paled in comparison. As it stands on its own though, it was still a great song.
Can we please just talk about the actors though? Specifically Ainsley Melham, the actor who plays Aladdin (and also one of the Hi-5 members).
He was perfect.
Not only is he good looking (and yes, even though you're sitting in the second level, his constant wearing of a vest means you won't miss out on his muscles), but damn can that boy sing.
When he is singing One Jump Ahead, he's literally running and jumping around the set dodging the guards. AND HE CAN STILL SING PERFECTLY.
I know this isn't too much from their normal dancing and singing at the same time, but you can still hear the effort in his voice, so it's super realistic that not only is he tired from all that cardio, but he's also singing well despite being tired.
They must all be so super fit, and even just little things like sitting down on an unsteady magic carpet platform and singing with such control of their voice.
Genie was great in this too. I loved how they changed his character so that it wouldn't be like Robin Williams' portrayal, since no one would ever be able to emulate him. This genie was almost like a street genie filled with sass.
A lot of the change in dialogue happened with the genie. They've included all the great uses of fourth-wall breaking and anachronisms, but they've changed it to fit this current decade, including referencing memes and even referencing Australian culture! That stuff greatly resonates with us as the viewers, since it's more relatable and personal, and you get that they're actually trying to connect with you.
Lastly, some additional random thoughts:
Overall, I cannot recommend this enough. I know it's pricey, but if you are on the fence, then it's definitely worth it! The production value is amazing, and it's a joy ride, the whole way through.
No comments:
Post a Comment