June 2010 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
Aida
Is the fate of musical theatre "written in the stars" or some coincidental celestial fluke? Why do some good shows flop and many other mediocrities play forever? Eleven years ago I was witness to what I was sure was destined to be one of the most spectacular flops of all time. It was the new Elton John/Tim Rice musical "Aida," which also inaugurated Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre. After disastrous tryouts in both Chicago and Atlanta (where its original title had been "Elaborate Lives"), the stars certainly did not seem to be in alignment. The high camp production seemed to be a page right out of the Bialystock and Bloom handbook for bad taste in musical theatre. And yet somehow "Aida" survived the onslaught of bad reviews and racked up a decent run on Broadway, no doubt bolstered by the Disney bank account that produced it.
"Aida" has even managed to find success in regional theatres, including two Chicagoland productions warming up this summer. The first of these is by the Starlight Theatre of Rock Valley College in Rockford, which offers four full-scale shows each running two weeks over a two month split. After getting off to a slightly shaky start with the popular Kander and Ebb "razzle dazzle" musical "Chicago," Starlight has found its footings in a grand way. Director/Producer Mike Webb's work is confident and thoroughly satisfying as it spins a beautiful silk purse from what had been a sow's ear.
Webb actually has a firmer grasp on the material than Robert Falls had on the original. He also has at his disposal a trio of leads who, unlike their Broadway and touring counterparts, all seem to be in the same show. This is an often thrilling performance both musically and vocally that makes up in talent and heart what the original offered in glitz and camp. I will say right off the bat that I have never been much of an Elton John fan, but after hearing this glorious performance I am a new believer. In both of the previous productions of "Aida" I have experienced, the overly modulated score was blasted and screamed in that irritating rock stutter style. The musical direction by Lisa Miller is superb here. Through whatever electronic gadgetry she is working with in the pit, the music sounds great and never overpowers the singers or makes them sound like "American Idol" wannabes.
Brandi Bonner is an intense and heroic Aida, the captive Nubian princess who finds herself at the center of an ill-fated love triangle. As an actress and singer, Bonner is a powerhouse and fully deserved her standing ovation on opening night. Christopher D. Brady, last summer's stalwart Leo Bloom in the Starlight's "Producers," has the opportunity to show off his incredible tenor voice as Egyptian warrior hero Radames, and he does so to soaring effect. Janet Bracken was an unusual choice for the pampered princess Amneris. She's more of a soprano than a rock belter and more mature than the character is typically played. But her voice is so warm, clear and serene that you find yourself savoring every perfectly phrased note. Truly beautiful work from all three of these superb performers.
Elton John and Tim Rice retold the Verdi opera through their own modern style. And with a book cobbled together by Linda Wolverton, Robert Falls and David Henry Hwang, it takes a fractured look at love born amidst war and hate. It comes with a modern framework of a museum housing ancient Egyptian artifacts, to fire up the classic love story. The show still retains its quota in camp. Dig those Nancy Sinatra boots on the Egyptian chorus girls, baby. That's almost inescapable in a work whose sound is distinctly contemporary pop and its story nearly as old as the Nile.
To Director Webb's credit though, the anachronisms feel no sillier than "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" or any dozen Walt Disney animated films. By focusing on the story's tragic and timeless love tale and less on Vegas style glitz, this "Aida" is far more balanced and moving. Andrea Bechert's simple multi-step set serves the production quite well, with ship sails, tents, a tomb entrance and a silhouette of the Nile giving flavor and accessory, and the lighting design by Garrett Cliff creates wonderful moods and shadows. One minor gripe is having visible stagehands moving pieces of the set on and off the stage, which is mildly distracting. Otherwise, this production is far more entertaining than I had any right to expect. And I tip my hat to the entire Starlight Theatre company for this labor of love.
"Aida" is the second production of the 2010 season at Rock Valley College's Bengt Sjostrom Starlight Theatre in Rockford. Performances are June 9-12, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. There will also be a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Saturday, June 12. The show will return for a second run later this summer, July 14-18. For more information or for tickets, please call (815) 921-2160 or visit www.rvcstarlight.com.
About Joe Stead
Joe
Stead has enjoyed a lifelong passion for the theatre, which has
involved acting, directing, producing, designing and reviewing for
the past twenty-five years. He served as founder, producer and
Artistic Director of Curtain Up Productions in Baltimore, Maryland
and Four Star Players in Tampa, Florida. Favorite productions
have included "Life With Father," "Deathtrap,"
"The Odd Couple," "The Miracle Worker,"
"Brighton Beach Memoirs," "You're A Good Man, Charlie
Brown" and "Godspell". He has also performed
leading roles in "Fiddler on the Roof," "Pippin,"
"The Phantom of the Opera," "The Front Page," and
most recently as Hucklebee in "The Fantasticks" for
Waukegan Community Players. Joe holds a degree in Commercial
Art from Tampa Technical Institute. As a critic, he has
reviewed everything from Broadway to community theatre and major
regional theatres throughout the United States including the Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C., Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey,
Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and the Asolo Theatre in
Sarasota, Florida.
Since 1998, he has been a proud resident of Chicago, the greatest theatre city in America. He served for two years as Theatre Editor for College News and Central Newspapers. He created the website Steadstyle Chicago in 2000 to showcase the city's outstanding and diverse theatre scene. Joe was proud to serve alongside a distinguished panel of theatre professionals as a judge for two seasons of Speaking Ring Theatre's "Vitality" Festival of original short plays. His most fulfilling role, in addition to reviewer and all-around theatre fanatic, was as director of the 2007 production of Peter Shaffer's "Equus" at Actors Workshop (now Redtwist) Theatre, which was nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Award Citations and won for Best Actor (Peter Oyloe).