Sunday, November 12, 2017

Musical in the City - Aladdin

Aladdin - Poster bw
Aladdin is based on one of my favorite fairy tales when I was a child and Disney turned it into a movie when I was a teenager and then it turned into a Broadway show a couple of years ago. This is why I was very excited when I heard Aladdin The Musical was coming to San Francisco.

It didn't disappoint. It is one of my all time favorite Broadway shows!



I got a text from Mijo asking me if he could interest me in seeing Aladdin that evening. I said yes. The show just premiered the night before so it was only going to be the show's second night that evening. I was super excited that I even left the office early so I can go home and drop off my work bag and laptop and maybe change outfit.
Aladdin - Market St crowd

Lots of people were waiting by Market St. when Mijo and I got to Orpheum Theatre. Seeing the crowd this way added more energy and excitement into my already enthusiastic state.
Aladdin - Market St Poster

 Inside, there was an area for photo-op with a golden lamp and Aladdin poster. The people line up seemed like they didn't mind the long queue. I finally found a bunch of people who are more excited to see the show than I am, I thought to myself.
Aladdin - Photo op

I got the following tidbits from the show's program which I found very educational and gave me an idea how lavish and creative the production truly is - there are 111 moving lights and 173 conventional lights, 38 tons of flying scenery, 342 in 26 different shops worked on the costumes, 2039 different fabric and trims used in the costumes from different countries, 337 costumes and 161 custom made shoes, 102 costume changes taking place in less than 1 minute, 8644 Swarovski rhinestones on each man's gold finale costume and Jasmine's wedding dress weighs 32 pounds because of the crystal beading. 

Whew! Those information made me feel like taking a peek into the ins and out of the production. I can just imagine the design process put into each and every step of the production. 
  Aladdin - Programme

The explosive scenes that followed were just pure energy and entertainment. The singing and acting and dialogues were superb. I also noticed that the actors and actresses were working really hard because I could see the actors sweating after a couple of scenes. How they can sing and sound as pure as bell even after physically challenging scenes I do not understand.
Aladdin - Merchandise

Everyone was fantastic! Kudos to Anthony Murphy as Genie, Jonathan Weir as Jafar, Reggie De Leon as Iago, Adam Jacobs as Aladdin and Isabelle McCalla as Jasmine, Zach Bencal as Babkak, Philippe Arroyo as Omar, Mike Longo as Kassim, JC Montgomery as Sultan, and the entire ensemble and cast and crew. You guys were all amazing!
Aladdin - Orpheum Theatre Market St

I don't want to give everything away but watch out for the scene "Friend Like Me". Of course, everyone was waiting for the scene "A Whole New World" and it did not disappoint.

Just like in fairy tales, the story must end.  Mijo and I stepped out of the Orpheum Theatre into the Civic Center BART station happy and entertained. 

Aladdin is playing through January 7, 2018 at the Orpheum Theatre.

~rl

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