Aladdin - Prince Edward Theatre

This is just tacky and not a patch on what it should and could have been.

I am clearly not the target audience for this show. Just had this conversation with a programme seller.

Me: Just the programme please, not the souvenier brochure.
Her: You don't get the free magnet with just the programme.
Me (staring at her blankly): Um...that's fine...I just want to know who all the cast are.

Ha! Its Disney - I'm sure they are told to up sell...Im surprised they didn't try to con you into buying the genie doll

Went to see this recently. I know I'm really late here but I won't let that hold me back; gonna give my 2 cents even to any empty room.

I've not been to a Disney play like this before and am probably older than the target audience (saw the film with my parents in the cinema), but I really enjoyed it. It had something of a naff, panto feel in parts, but it was joyous, inventive, and fun. Plus some of the special effects were really incredible.

The crowd was mostly school kids, and at the start there seemed to be a near constant rustle of crisp packets. However, I think it's great that they seemed to really enjoy it so much; whooping at all the right moments, and booing Jafar when he came out to take his bow.

As populist and simple as it might be, I can't help but feel this is the perfect kind of show to get children excited about going to the theatre.

To be fair to this show I don't think it's attempting to be Sondheim and 'A Friend Like Me' has got more dazzle and pizzazz than some other productions manage in a whole show.

I really enjoyed Dean John Wilson's pecs the show when I saw it. 'Prince Ali' was pretty fabulous as well. Oh and 'One Jump Ahead' too.

Actually, I didn't really enjoy it at all. I loved it!

I when I saw it , I thought it was by far the weakest of the Disney shows I have seen. A very lacklustre score and really poor production values. It certainly looked as if they had done it on the cheap.

Saw this tonight. So, I thought I was going to love it. It's not my type of theatre at all, really, but Aladdin is my favourite Disney movie, Jafar my favourite Disney character (odd, I know), I love Eurovision (like, I even watch all the National Finals from around Europe) so I was extremely excited to see Jade Ewan and I'm a Disney addict (even have a Disneyland Paris annual pass to prove it!). I hated it.

So, Jade Ewan. I feel awful for saying this, actually, but it was genuinely one of the worst vocal performances I've ever seen in my entire life. These Palace Walls was honestly a car crash. during the note at the end, I was cringing and you could hear murmurings in the rows behind me. There was even a delay in the applauses after the song. I thought, maybe, she couldn't hear herself. I was close enough that I could see that her eyes were darting around the stage like crazy and she honestly looked panicked. 

Sets are great. Genie was great (had the u/s). Carpet was amazing. The writing, however, is just so off. I got the impression that the writers knew it was pretty bad, so it's been propped up by great sets and cheap jokes to get laughs.

Obviously when I say great sets I'm referring pretty much exclusively to The Cave of Wonders (which to be fair, is pretty spectacular). 

Saw Lauren in the role a year or so ago - she really is very good, streets ahead of Jade.

I saw this tonight mainly to tick this one off the list. And I’m pretty irritated we lost Miss Saigon to this.

Firstly, the positives:
Trevor is fab as the Genie - the show comes alive when he’s on stage. Friend Like Me is a fabulous production number and kicks the show up into the gear it needs to be in.
Whole New World was good - the carpet is very impressive - I spotted how it was done at the last second but it didn’t spoil it.
Audience was a lot better behaved than I expected - I thought it’d be like a Saturday afternoon at the Lion King but the two young school groups were very well behaved.

However.
Who on earth cast Jade Ewan in this show? I don’t hate on people if I can help it, but her first song, I’ve got no idea what it was even called or about, because I didn’t understand a word she sang. Nothing to do with mic or sound levels, she just sang really weirdly, and continued to do so. She was just incredibly weak - it was one of the worst leading lady performances I’ve watched (not Sarah Harding bad I give you).
Sorry, I don’t like being mean, but it irritated me to the point of being cross - there are plenty of people who could do that better. This show doesn’t need a z list ‘name’ in it - Aladdin sells itself.

I’d give it a generous 3 stars - there was some good moments, but overall it’s an expensive pantomime that’s not done as well as it should have been.

Just been to today’s extra matinee (second ever visit, first was early in the run).

Got a day seat about 12:30, centre circle row B, which would have been a premium seat otherwise, for £20. Couple in front of me were buying day seats as well. Seemed fairly full but not sold out. Excellent full stage view and the magic carpet looked really impressive, think they might have improved the effect. A nice theatre with decent size seats as well.

Was whisked I’m so couldn’t see the cast board but looked like the main leads were on. I didn’t get a sense of energy, but the crowd was very subdued as well, with barely a laugh at any of the jokes.

Somehow this just doesn’t feel as big a show as it should do, although it has a few excellent scenes and some neat effects. But certainly watchable. Definitely worth trying the day seat queue if you’re about on a quiet looking day.