Liverpool Empire have taken a break from presenting a panto this Christmas season but instead have scored something of a coup, by becoming the final venue for the first UK tour of Disney’s Aladdin.
The show was born in 2011 in Seattle, received a big makeover for its 2023 Toronto revival, and then went on to take Broadway and the West End by storm, with over 2 million people seeing the show in London’s Prince Edward Theatre alone. This is the first time the show has toured the UK, and it has visited 12 venues over 14 months, having opened in Edinburgh in October 2023.
Adapted from Disney’s animated film, with a book by Chad Beguelin, the show features the music of Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Beguelin. Stage adaptations of films often disappoint audiences by having to drop the original screen music due to rights management but, as this is a Disney show based on a Disney movie, you get the whole shebang and, as a bonus, additional musical material not included in the film version.
Bob Crowley’s set designs have an opulence and lustre that turn the whole show into a Cave of Wonders, with Greg Barnes’ costumes matching the setting in colour and detail. Sumptuously lit by Natasha Katz, the overall effect is genuinely magical and a feast for the eyes. Whilst there is certainly something panto-esque about the way that scenes played in front of painted drop curtains are used to cover larger set changes behind, the quality of the artwork is off the scale.
Pulling in master illusion designer Jim Steinmeyer to create stage effects alongside Jeremy Charnick is a canny move, and pays off in some exceptional moments of deception. You will have to go a long way to find such a believable magic carpet ride as appears in this show. The creative team, under the direction of Casey Nicholaw and Kella Panay, present something that has all the magic of a live performance combined with the slick visuals of the cinema.
Jill Green has assembled a tremendously talented young cast, and whilst Aladdin is listed to be played by Gavin Adams, making his professional debut in this tour, he was replaced on press night by understudy Kerry Spark who, like Adams, trained at London’s Royal Academy of Music, as did their co-star Desmonda Cathabel, who plays Jasmine. Cathabel and Spark make a great pairing as the story’s central couple, and both give excellent physical and vocal performances, with a standout moment for Spark being Aladdin’s ‘Proud of Your Boy’.
As with the film version however, the runaway star is the Genie, played here by Yeukayi Ushe. With extensive experience in several high profile West End and Touring shows, Ushe works the audience masterfully, getting maximum mileage out of the humour in the script, which includes several cheeky textual and musical references to other Disney and non-Disney works.
The large and very strong supporting cast features some fine performances too, among which Adam Strong, Angelo Paragoso and Jo Servi must get a mention for their characterisations of Jafar, Iago and the Sultan.
All this is accompanied by a substantial and fine sounding pit orchestra, under the musical direction of David Rose, and while some of the vocals are occasionally swamped by the volume of the accompaniment, the overall sound design is excellent, as you might expect from a company with such high production values.
It might not be a panto, but Aladdin is of course a very familiar story in panto-land, and the glitz, colour and wit of this production is a perfect fit for the season. The company clearly intend to close this tour in style, and it plays at the Empire until 5th January with tickets available here.
Star rating: 4½ stars
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| Yeukayi Ushe and Ensemble - Picture by Deen Van Meer |
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| Members of the cast of Aladdin - Picture by Deen Van Meer |
This review was originally written for publication by Good News Liverpool
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