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BrumHour saw Disney’s Aladdin at the invite of Birmingham Hippodrome.
For Brum Radio’s Interval Theatre, actors Desmonda Cathabel and Angelo Paragoso talk about their roles in this touring production. Listen here:
By Dave Massey x.com/BrumHour
Review: Disney’s Aladdin at Birmingham Hippodrome
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”Fantastic”
Directed by Casey Nicholaw, Music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, lyrics and book by Chad Beguelin
Street boy Aladdin (Gavin Adams) finds himself blending with the rich and wealthy when he meets Jasmine (Desmonda Cathabel), a Princess, in a local market, but Jafar (Adam Strong) and Iago (Angelo Paragoso) have other plans for him. He is the chosen one who can rescue a lamp containing a Genie (Yeukayi Ushe).
This a slick adaptation of the well-known Disney film (films?) featuring plenty of songs from the 1992 film plus several others originally cut from the 1992 film. Still in firmly place are A Whole New World, Friend Like Me and Prince Ali.
Audiences seemed to adore this production with moments throughout receiving loud applause, and sprinkled with plenty of on stage Disney magic, including but not limited to a fantastic magic carpet ride, and several great quick-change costumes. The sets too are excellent with some fast-moving moments.
There are plenty of scene stealers grabbing my attention Angelo Paragoso‘s Iago is the biggest scene stealer here. There are solid performances from our leads too. Desmonda Cathabel‘s strong independent Jasmine and Gavin Adams‘ wishful hero Aladdin are great leads. Yeukayi Ushe is excellent as Genie with many laugh-out loud moments. Adam Strong is a fearsome villain as Jafar.
My only real issue is the accents, which either fall into British villain and American hero styles rather than something which reflects the Middle East culture on stage. This is something an audience in the West End or Broadway might not notice as much but on a UK Tour plummy accents stick out.
A fantastic adventure, Disney’s Aladdin is at Birmingham Hippodrome until 3rd November 2024. Book tickets here: birminghamhippodrome.com/calendar/disneys-aladdin.
