Review: Aladdin

Hey readers
It's time for my review of Aladdin.
Show number 3 of the theatre marathon! Aladdin was the first ever Broadway show I saw. Whilst I wasn't overly keen on it as I found it extremely panto-ish, I found the cast, set and costumes to all be really good. I thought I'd give the West End production a go and it really pains me to say this, but I did not like this production. I always feel really bad writing reviews of shows I didn't like, but here I go... I  found this production to be disappointing. First of all I did not particularly like Dean John Wilson as Aladdin. Aladdin is supposed to be a lovable, charismatic underdog, but I didn't feel Dean had the charisma to pull it off and to be a West End leading man. For Aladdin it is really important to have a strong leading man and I think Dean was miscast. As I said, the B.Way production was panto-ish, but at least it made up for it in other aspects. The West End cast just did not gel well with each other. Some actors were overacting panto style, others were acting normally, it just didn't work for me. There were several other cast members, who I won't name, who I just felt were either uncharismatic or too 'panto'. One complaint I've heard about the show is that several ensemble members are having trouble harmonising with each other and I would have to agree. There also seemed to be problems with choreography, with cast members being out of time with each other.  I think the sets and costumes are roughly the same as B.Way, but they just didn't seem the same. Onstage they looked really cheap and badly designed, but maybe I just can't remember the B.Way production that well. I am starting to wonder if I just went at a bad performance because even hats fell off and props malfunctioned. I am really sad that this production pushed out the wonderful Miss Saigon. I love The Lion King, Disney's other production currently playing at the Lyceum in the West End, so I was surprised that I disliked this so much. I would make exceptions for things like malfunctions props if this were previews, but it is actually a month past opening night. Felt like such a Debbie Downer writing all of that, now time for some positives about the show! Cast members who stood out were Jade Ewen as Jasmine, Trevor Dion-Nicholas as Genie and Don Gallagher as Jafar. I think Jade Ewen completely stole the show, she was the saving grace and completely outshone Dean as Aladdin. Amazing vocals, good acting and she's also a great dancer. Trevor was great and provided a lot of sparkle to the production. It was quite amazing how much energy he had. Don Gallagher was fantastic as Jafar and I thought he was on an equal level to Jonathan Freeman, who portrays Jafar on Broadway.

The featured star of Aladdin is, drum roll please... JADE EWEN!

Jade was perfect for the role and it is disappointing that the other cast members aren't on her level. She completely outshines everyone, I was really impressed by her performance. Hopefully Aladdin will be a chance for Jade to be noticed by casting directors and fingers crossed that she will be doing some more theatre soon.

Now for my final verdict on Aladdin. I give Aladdin...

I really do feel bad about writing a review of a show that wasn't to my liking. Please do not let this review put you off going to the show, you never know, you may like this production more than I did. I'd say the production is more suited to children up to the age of 8, so if you have young children I'd recommend it.

Think it should've got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should've got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer