I might be late to the party, but I’ve finally seen Aladdin on West End! I was a little heartbroken when Disney replaced the show at the Hyperion in DCA, so when it was announced that it was coming to London, I knew it would be worth seeing. Matthew bought the tickets for my birthday months ago, and I’ve been patiently waiting and avoiding spoilers like no tomorrow in preparation for last weekend when I stepped foot into the Prince Edward Theatre!
‘Come for the houmous, stay for the floor show’
Something that made me really happy from the outset was the theatre itself. While I do love a big theatre, the Prince Edward seemed a lot more intimate, and the view from our seats was brilliant.
I’m a huge musical theatre fan, so there’s nothing I love more than that moment when the bands starts playing the opening number, and the compilation of classic Aladdin songs got me so excited for what was coming, and then the Genie appeared and the show began!
I should have known that the show would contain more songs than what’s in the animated classic, but they took me a little by surprise! If I’m being totally honest, I found them a bit hit and miss – I loved Babkak, Omar, Aladdin and Kassim and High Adventure, while Proud of Your Boy and These Palace Walls were a little bit meh, although that may be just due to not being able to hear the words particularly well!
That being said, I tend to measure how good the music is based on my goosebumps, and I had them right from the get go! Of course, the whole Friend Like Me scene was without a doubt the best number of the whole show, with Trevor Dion Nicholas absolutely blowing the whole audience away! I loved all the inside jokes, the Disney parodies and amazing dance numbers, and it had me in stitches at the same time as my jaw being on the floor.
‘Even the poor people look fabulous’
From the outset, the staging and the costumes blew me away. There was so much detail and everything was so sparkly and bright without being overwhelming, and the Cave of Wonders.. WOW. Also, can we talk about that magic carpet? Literally all I’ve done since seeing it is come up with theories for how that thing worked because OH MY GOSH.
Really, I just can’t stop raving about how good this show was, it was well worth the wait! It was witty and full of magic and everything hoped it would be and more, and I cannot recommend going to see it enough!
Lottie Does 