Review: 'Aladdin' stage magic and performances dazzle while delivering story of being true to yourself

APPLETON – The opening night of “Aladdin” at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center delivered everything you expect from a Disney production. Bright costumes. Extravagant set pieces. Lively music intertwined with dance in a dizzying amount of action.

It all transformed the stage into an Arabian night of fantasy escape delighting kids from 1 to 92 during this holiday season. OK, maybe the youngest kid was about 4 and I can't confirm that anyone was 92, but people of all ages were milling about in the lobby and in line to get a photo with Genie's lamp before the show.

It's the first time "Aladdin" has played in Wisconsin. The show started about 25 minutes late due to technical difficulties but, once it got going, the performance proved to be a dazzling display of stage magic from start to finish.

Genie, played by Marcus M. Martin, opened the show in front of a curtain by setting the scene with a dash of current pop culture humor before giving way to the fictional Arabian city of Agrabah.

From there, the audience is treated to the familiar story of Aladdin, a poor young man who steals bread to survive. His journey leads him to find a genie in a lamp who grants Aladdin three wishes. Aladdin uses his wishes to try to step into the world of the city's wealthy elite and woo Princess Jasmine, who must find a prince to marry. Along the way, he discovers the importance about being true to himself and keeping his promises.

Adi Roy, who plays Aladdin, and Senzel Ahmady, who plays Jasmine, turn in solid performances as the lead character and love interest. Their duet of “A Whole New World” — sung while flying on a magic carpet — hits the high note of their roles.

Seeing them fly from one end of the stage and back and spin around while atop the carpet is truly magical — almost distractingly so for the curious who try to figure out how it appears to be actually flying.

Set designs go from simple backgrounds in the desert to crowded streets to gorgeous palace settings.

The star of set design is the cave where Aladdin finds the lamp. That, along with the accompanying rendition of “Friend Like Me,” are almost worth the price of admission by themselves.

As Aladdin enters to find the lamp for Jafar, lights slowly come up, revealing a cavern covered in sparkling gold. So. Much. Gold. It’s stunning.

After Aladdin rubs the lamp to call forth Genie, the show ramps up a notch.

Martin brings a bubbly energy and broad vocal range to the role of Genie. It's on full display as he launches into 15 minutes of singing, rapid-fire jokes and dancing for an unforgettable “Friend Like Me” performance.

During an interview with Kelli Arseneau in her preview story, Martin called the number "a marathon."

"In preparation for the role, I would sing 'Friend Like Me' on the treadmill and on the elliptical, so that I could build the stamina to get through the song eight times a week," Martin said.

Throughout the “marathon” scene, the ensemble goes through costume changes, while props and stage effects pop up before the number culminates in a gold, glittering conclusion.

As with all the ensemble song and dance scenes, no matter where you look on stage, there’s something fun to spy.

Notably missing from the cave is the magic carpet. It’s one of several differences between the movie and musical.

Aladdin’s monkey companion, Abu, and Jasmine’s protective pet tiger, Rajah, are replaced by humans.

Three female attendants stand in for Rajah. The attendants don’t chase away would-be suitors, but they deliver a few moments of levity, including one asking Prince Ali (Aladdin in disguise) if he has a brother.

Meanwhile, a trio of new human characters — Babkak (Jake Letts), Omar (Ben Chavez) and Kassim (Colt Prattes) — are Aladdin’s partners in crime. However, Aladdin and his buddies are trying to go legit by playing music. That decision is driven by the added storyline of Aladdin wanting to make his mother proud.

“Proud of Your Boy” is one of several songs added to the musical that aren’t part of the original 1992 animated film.

Though not likely to reach the popular heights of “Friend Like Me” or “A Whole New World,” one standout song features Aladdin’s friends. “High Adventure” blends humor into a fabulously choreographed chase scene that incorporates sword fights.

Letts, Chavez and Prattes bring out distinct personalities of each of Aladdin’s friends. Their performances during the second act easily make up for any of Abu's monkeyshines from the movie.

Aaron Choi generates plenty of laughs as a human version of Jafar’s wisecracking henchparrot, Iago.

Jafar (Anand Nagraj) and Iago do most of their plotting while standing in front of a curtain with minimal props. Credit to Nagraj and Choi who infuse their performances with bluster to match the intentionally cartoonish costuming and dialogue of their characters.

The final showdown between Aladdin and Jafar doesn’t have the same high-stakes action of the movie, but it has the same happy ending.

The stage performance isn't a scene-for-scene recreation of the 1992 movie. Attempting such a thing would be a foolish disaster. However, the key elements remain. All of the movie's original songs get sung. Where the show differs, the writers did a good job of enhancing the storytelling. Updated jokes and pop culture references including a medley of Disney Renaissance-era (1989-1999) songs during "Friend Like Me" also freshen up the 30-year-old movie.

Overall, the musical remains true to the spirit and themes of the animated film original that propelled it to be the top-grossing film the year it was released.

Tickets for "Aladdin" can be purchased online through Ticketmaster, by phone at 800-982-2787 or through the Fox Cities PAC ticket office in-person or by phone at 920-730-3760. The PAC ticket office is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Disney's 'Aladdin' transforms Appleton PAC into magical Arabian night