I owned a Jasmine costume when I was young and wore it often. I say that now so there is a level of understanding that my love for Disney’s Aladdin runs deep.
Caroline Smith’s Aladdin: the Panto, which opened on Nov. 19 at St. Jacobs County Playhouse, paid homage to both Disney and to the original Aladdin story.
It’s a story of a young peasant coerced by an evil sorcerer to retrieve a magic lamp from an enchanted cave.
After the sorcerer attempts to double-cross him, Aladdin keeps the lamp for himself and discovers it houses a powerful genie. With the help of Genie’s three wishes, Aladdin tries to win the heart of Princess Jasmine and defeat the evil sorcerer.
The play is directed and choreographed by David Connolly, a familiar face at Drayton Entertainment.
You could say there was a modern twist to the play, but that would be an understatement. There was more than a generous helping of contemporary music and references. And, well, watching Justin Bott as Abanazza rap and beatbox was the cherry on top.
It was apparent Connolly wanted to tell the tale of old yet weave many modern elements into it – from references (selfies, for example) to music (Taylor Swift) to character traits (Aladdin’s teen attitude).
At first, I was skeptic about the cellphone and GPS props, but Connolly made it work.
James McKnight was equally goofy and charismatic in his role of Aladdin and captured the hearts of the audience, not just Jasmine. The princess, played by sassy and sweet Kimberly-Ann Truong was the perfect Jasmine for this play.
McKnight and Truong had obvious chemistry on stage and while the audience missed out on hearing A Whole New World we were enraptured with another ‘90s gem during the iconic magic carpet ride.
While Marcus Nance was the perfect commanding and grandiose Sultan, there was a missing father-daughter connection between the duo that would have been remedied if they called each other “father/ daughter” instead of “Princess/Sultan”.
Keith Savage as the cheeky Widow Twanky had me in stitches from the “mild suggestive innuendo” that was perfectly clean for children but hilarious for adults.
Tim Porter playing the youthful character of Wishy-Washy, Stephanie Pitsiladis as the rock and roll Genie of the Lamp, and Lindsey Frazier as the elusive Genie of the Ring brought together the magic of the production.
Ashley Arnett, Rachel Clark, Sam DiGuieseppe, Jason Frano, Nicholas Nesbitt and Christine Watson made up the ensemble, which filled the stage with wonderful choreography.
They were joined by the children’s chorus, which was an integral part of the production.
Rachel Berchtold impressed with costume design that has jaw-dropping detail. The colourful and glamorous patterns were an ode to the Disney version while putting her own stamp on it. Many of the main characters went though several costume changes.
The costumes, treasure of a set by Jean-Claude Olivier and the amazing props and lighting provided finishing touches.
Do not be worried about the panto being too childish, as I had prejudged it to be, there is something for everyone here and I left feeling as happy as I did when I first saw the movie all those years ago.
Aladdin: The Panto runs until Dec. 20 but tickets are 90 per cent sold out, so don’t wait to see it. Tickets are $42 plus HST for adults and $25 plus HST for youth under 20.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.stjacobscountryplayhouse.com or by calling the box office at 519-747-7788.
