ShowBizRadio

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp is a story adapted by Jack Neary based on a tale from 1,001 Nights. A bored Queen demands a “good story” from her resident storyteller or face death. The teller, under great pressure, relates the tale of Aladdin and his lamp with members of the Queen’s court playing the characters in the story. Including some audience participation, this kid friendly tale was well done and is an easy way to introduce children to the world of theater.

Matt Takane played Aladdin. His high energy was necessary to keep the children engaged and the story moving along. He did this well by using big hand gestures and great facial expressions. The Narrator was played by Luke McDade. He was subdued, but managed to keep all the parts of the story moving together. He was calm, yet showed emotion (mostly fear) when the Queen threatened to remove his head if she did not like his story. The Genie, Patrick Graham, kept his character upbeat and related well to Aladdin and his mother (Katie Klopfer). Klopfer and Graham had clear tension that kept up well during their scenes together. This production allowed for audience participation at several points. There were also a few unexpected humorous bits, such as the Angry Birds tribute, and the surprise twist at the tale’s conclusion.

The costumes by Kathy Dunlap were all very bright and colorful with lots of sparkles when needed. The set made great use of the space at the Industrial strength Theater, allowing the characters to spread out and use the entire stage. The chairs, sofa and cushions were colorful and a nice touch to the set.

Aladdin and the Magical Lamp ran a little under an hour with no intermission, and was a fun, family friendly show appropriate for ages 2 to 8 or so. Our niece said she enjoyed it very much, and did enjoy meeting the cast and collecting their autographs afterwards.

Cast

• The Queen: Holly McDade
• Shahryar: Luke McDade
• Musician/Aladdin: Matt Takane
• Cook/Aladdin’s Mother: Katie Klopfer
• Jester/ The Magician: Shad Itschner
• Porter/The Genie: Patrick Graham
• Chancellor/The Grand Vizier: Andrew Lent
• Accountant/The Grand Vizier’s Son: Stuarrt Orloff
• Dancer/The Princess: Annie Begley
• General/The Sultan: Jarrett Goldfedder
• The Duchess: Melinda Goldfedder
• Tumbler/Fruit Merchant: Nikki Pope
• Ribbon Twirler/Merchant: Yvonne Ramirez
• The Rock, as itself: Agents, J&J Roberts

Production Crew

• TFYA Executive Producer: Mary Ann Hall
• Directors: Laura Fontaine & Meredith Walker
• Producer: Richard Durkin
• Stage Manager: Don Petersen
• Costume Design: Kathy Dunlap
• Sound Design: Stan Harris
• Light Design: Chris Hardy
• Set Construction: Marty Sullivan
• Set Properties: Theresa Bender and Mike Smith
• Set Painting & Assistant SM: Sabrina Begley
• Headshot Photographer: Laura Moody
• Lightboard/Soundboard: Jared Jackobson and Laura Moody
• Fight Choreographer: Kevin Robertson
• Fight Captain: Patrick Graham
• Box Office: Sandy Sullivan
• Postcard & Graphics: Virginia Kohles
• Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod

Disclaimer: Elden Street Players/Theatre for Young Audiences provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review, and we purchased one ticket at the door.