[NEohioPAL]Berko review: AIDA (Beck Center)

[Roy Berko]

ELTON JOHN AND TIM RICE’S ‘AIDA’ WORTH SEEING AT BECK

Roy Berko
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

	
Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


Disney productions is best known for escapist
entertainment.  Elton John is known as a pop singer
and writer of emotional and schmaltzy songs.  Tim Rice
is noted for his straightforward lyrics...no
word-games here.  The trio came together  for the
blockbuster ‘THE LION KING’ which resulted in not only
an award winning film and then a stage musical, but
the best-selling recording of 1994.  Sir Elton
received his first Oscar for that score.  

The trio came together again in 2000 for the musical,
‘ELTON JOHN AND TIM RICE’S AIDA:  THE TIMELESS LOVE
STORY,’ better known as ‘AIDA.’    ‘AIDA’--sound
familiar?  Yes, there is a Verdi opera by the same
name.  And the Broadway version, now on stage at Beck
Center, is the same story, with a slightly
cotton-candied ending, but entirely new music...pop
music!

The story of ‘AIDA’ is a love triangle of loyalty and
betrayal.  Radames, an Egyptian captain, captures a
group of Nubian women while on a scouting expedition
into that country.  Among the women is Aida, the
daughter of the King of Nubia.  Radames finds himself
enamored  with her and in order to spare her from a
life of hard labor, he gives his new slave to his
future bride, the Egyptian princess Amneris. 
Eventually, Aida finds herself torn between her duty
to her countrymen, her impossible love for Radames,
and her growing friendship with Amneris. 

As Sir Elton says of the tale,  "It's a beautiful,
complex love story, where bigotry and hatred are swept
out the window, and love, compassion, forgiveness, and
understanding triumph. In this day and age, I'm a
great believer in the human spirit triumphing over
evil in any way." 

The Broadway show opened on March 23, 2000 and closed
on September 5, 2004, running for 1852 performance.

Those who think of opera as a scary proposition need
not worry about this pop version of the classic tale. 
The show is neither deep nor profound.  Its a light,
soap-opera.  The show’s strength and appeal rests on
the Elton John-Tim Rice score.   There is country
music, a little Rock and Roll, some Caribbean beat
sounds, and lush and lovely ballads.

Beck’s production, under the capable direction of
Scott Spence, starts slowly, but builds effectively. 
Working with a huge cast, he has paced the show well. 
The voices are fine, the visual elements are excellent
and the choreography creative.

Colleen Longshaw, the cast’s only equity performer,
acts and sings the role of Aida proficiently.  She
doesn’t have the charisma for holding an audience
mesmerized, but in this cast of mostly high school and
college students, she stands out.

Ian Atwood, who was so outstanding last year in Beck’s
production of ‘MISS SAIGON’ again displays a strong
and well-keyed voice as Radames.  He doesn’t have the
desirable “bigger than life” image, but he carries off
the role more than adequately.

Carlos Cruz, as the Nubian slave Mereb, sings well and
displays excellent stage presence and acting skills. 
Laurel Held-Posey, as Amneris, needed a little sharper
initial attack, but grew nicely as the production
progressed.  She has a fine singing voice.

The choral sounds were excellent and the orchestra,
under Larry Goodpaster’s direction, not only played
well, but wisely backed up rather than drowning out
the performers.

The production’s musical highlights included:  “How I
Know You,” “Elaborate Lives,” and “A Step Too Far.” 
The “Dance of the Robe” was a production high point.

The multi-Times Tribute’s Theatre Award winning
choreographer, Martin Cespedes, was his usual creative
self.   Working with few real dancers, he was able to
invent routines that allowed for a lot of walking and
movement in time to music.  He incorporated into the
choreography traditional Egyptian motions and poses
that appear on the country’s ancient pottery.

Don McBride’s set design was extremely functional and
creative.  His use of triangle and pyramid shapes
carried out the proper visual images.  Unfortunately,
the same cannot be said for the costuming.  For some
unexplainable reason the costumes had no central
theme.  Modern dress mixed with Asian, Egyptian and
African styles and fabrics.  A fashion show which was
intended to show off Aida’s sewing skills was a mock
modern day runway show with hats and styles that often
had no bearing on the script’s themes.  The
inconsistency was highlighted by the clothing used for
the climactic dual death scene when Aida is sent to
her demise in a contemporary black sheath while
Radames is wearing a Nehru styled suit.  Why?

The light design and execution was also problematic. 
Lead singers were often in the shadows due to uneven
flooding and the trouble of the spotlight operators
following and setting the images.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   Though not a perfect production,
Beck’s AIDA is yet another of the Center’s continued
level of raising the bar for local theatre musical
productions.  It is worth seeing.

ELTON JOHN AND TIME RICE’S ‘AIDA’ runs through August
14 at The Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood.  For
ticket information call 216-521-2540.

Beck’s 2005-2006 season again illustrates the
organization’s commitment to presenting challenging
scripts.  Included are:  ‘URINETOWN,’ ‘DISNEY’S BEAUTY
AND THE BEAST,’ ‘THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK,’ ‘THE FULL
MONTY,’ ‘LIES AND LEGEND- THE MUSIC OF HARRY CHAPIN,’
‘TOP DOG/UNDERDOG,’ ‘T.I.D.Y,’ ‘MRS. WARREN’S
PROFESSION,’ and “A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE.’


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com