Disney's Aladdin Jr.

Part story teller, part peddler and wholly excellent vocals, the production got off to a cracking start with the deep baritone vocals of Chris Richie as he ‘set the scene’ for the very vocal audience who had clapped along in tempo during the overture music. We were introduced to the main characters one by one by the four charming ‘belly dancer’ costumed ‘narrators’ as Princess Jasmine (performed in this show by Danni Yeo – Meghan Nicholson in other shows) was introduced to the citizens of Agrabah by her father the Sultan (Paul Mariner) in the village square. Aladdin (Stu Martin) accompanied by his monkey (Ricky Lundy) meets Jasmine, each envious of the other’s lifestyle before the evil Jafar (played with suitable contemptuousness by Mark Clegg) has him thrown into jail by his royal guards led by Rasoul (Mathew Lowery). Of course Aladdin finds the magic lamp and discovers the Genie – resplendent in sky blue costume and make up – played with life-worn sarcasm and boundless energy by Shaun Crosby. The song “Friend like Me” performed by the Genie and company (including a set of ‘mini-me’ Genies) in the big, all singing, all dancing finale number was a suitable end to this very short first act.

There are moments in a production that stand out and one such moment was the entrance by a baby ‘elephant’ on which Aladdin arrived back into Agrabah after finding his fame and fortune. The ‘elephant’ was much more lifelike than I’d expected and walked with a realistic gait and animatronics movement. The ‘flying carpet’ (played in its human form by Jessica Green) which the two main principals ‘rode’ through the air whilst singing the well know “A Whole New World” was also a moment of awe inspiring wonder for the many youngsters in the audience. In the end the evil Jafar and his equally sarcastic parrot Iago (Nathan Clegg) got his comeuppance through his greed and ruthless ambition – but not before (for me) the highlight of the show - the duo of real father and son performing the humorous “Why Me?”

Sound and technical wizardry were good; as were the seamless scene change. Costumes were fine and full company numbers were spectacular although the chorus didn’t have a great deal to do. A good night’s entertainment enjoyed by all – well done.

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