When I heard that Aladdin The Hit Broadway Musical was making its stop in Singapore, I was feeling a little skeptical about whether the kids would enjoy it as much as they did for the films. I mean, after all, one was a cute animated 'cartoon' movie that all kids love and the other was a Hollywood one which boasted mind-blowing CGI and special effects. A live musical with lots of dancing and singing, would they really enjoy it as much?
Nonetheless, I decided to give it a go and the girls and I went on a mother-and-daughters date on National Day at the martinee of Aladdin. Gosh, barely after the show started, I realised my doubts couldn't be more unfounded because the first scene of the Thieves Market in Agrabah and the "Arabian Nights" performance already took our breaths, especially mine, away.
W-O-W.
Facts you might not know about Aladdin:
- Singapore is the only stop in Asia and the final stop for the tour
- This spectacular production boasts 337 glittering costumes which feature 1,225 different fabrics, 712 different styles of beads and almost 500,000 Swarovski crystals
- 40 tonnes of exotic flying scenery and 60 tonnes of automation and staging has been transferred to Singapore in more than 30, 40’ sea containers to recreate the fantasy city of Agrabah
- 120 pieces of gold come together to form the Cave of Wonders
- The cast consists of 34 people between 20 –50 years of age who are primarily from Australia, New Zealand, United States of America and Canada
Take a look behind the scene and see how everything was set up to perfection.
Now talking about the cast, the principal cast features Gareth Jacobs as Genie, Graeme Isaako as Aladdin and Shubshri Kandiah as Jasmine. While my girls unanimously said that their favorite was Princess Jasmine because she "sang well, looked very pretty and wore beautiful dresses", I was more impressed by Aladdin and the Genie who were both so natural in their roles and had great camaraderie between them. Aladdin displayed great vocals, danced well and portrayed the role of the quick-witted, smart and caring protagonist perfectly. As for the Genie, he was the highlight of the show and everyone in the audience was utterly impressed by him and looked forward to his scenes. I kind of suppose he had the highest bars set before him, after all, the previous Genies we know of are none other than Robin Williams and Will Smith - both are highly acclaimed, professional and top-notch actors. So, it was indeed impressive to see how Gareth Jacobs managed to match, or even surpass, those bars and he did a truly fabulous job at capturing our hearts. You guys are phenomenal!
Credit: BASE Entertainment Asia
Credit: BASE Entertainment Asia
We were truly awed by the magnificent sets, extensive props and lavish costumes at every scene. I can only imagine how much work has been put in for all this magic to come alive with our eyes. The level of detail is truly amazing and impressive. The backdrops were exquisite and beautiful, the cast was skilled and efficient in changing into their costumes within seconds, and there were even special effects that made everyone gasp - yup, the best one had to be the magic carpet, which actually FLIES.If I had to choose my two favorite scenes, it would be the glittery Cave of Wonders which was filled with everything shiny and gold, and the Magic Carpet which rose up and flew into the twinkly stars right before our eyes. The Genie was superb in delivering the song "Friend Like Me" which was highly entertaining and made the audience guffaw - there were even magic tricks too, much to the kids' delight. The one song that brought tears to my eyes was "A Whole New World" and I didn't think I would feel this touched, but I did. That scene was pure magic. I've always loved gazing at stars in the moonlit sky and this was the closest, most realistic set I've seen in any show so far. Coupled with the romance in the air and the wondrous magic carpet, so many of my childhood memories were evoked at that very moment and I couldn't help but feel so sentimental for those few minutes.
Credit: BASE Entertainment Asia
Credit: BASE Entertainment Asia
The show is held in Sands Theatre in MBS which consists of three levels - the Stalls, Dress Circle and Grand Circle. I would recommend that you get the Stall seats - even the side ones are okay too - so that you can get a good view of the effects and look at the cast straight on rather than top down. We've tried sitting in the Grand Circle before for previous shows and this time round, we were seated in the B reserves (light purple) in the Stalls which makes a HUGE difference in the view and subsequently the enjoyment level of the entire musical.
The duration of the show is approximately 150 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission. It is recommended for children above 6 years of age and all guests will require a ticket to enter, regardless of age. I was quite glad that I didn't bring the 3-year-old along because I don't think he would have enjoyed it as much as we did, plus the show is quite long so he would likely get fidgety in the midst too. As for my 6-year-old and 9-year-old, they totally loved the show! Okay, we had an incident where the little sister dropped her central incisor halfway and started bleeding. Yup, such a 'good' timing. Still, it didn't deter us from watching the whole show and enjoying every moment of it. We cheered so loudly when it ended and part of me wished that it could go on even longer.
There are a couple of phototaking spots outside the theater so don't miss them when you are there. It was so crowded and the queues were long before the show so my advice is for you to take pictures during the interval instead. Don't wait till the show ends because the queues would be even longer! Did I mention that the theater was almost full at our show? Yup, that's how popular Aladdin is and now that everyone is raving about it, you have to hurry if you still wish to get the tickets and catch it before the tour ends for good.
Don't just take my word for it, watch some snippets of the show below and hear what celebrities have to say about it too.
This was definitely a memorable and highly enjoyable mother-and-daughters date we had and I'm so thankful we had the chance to watch this spectacular show together. The girls can't stop singing "A Whole New World" - they know the lyrics of the whole song already! - and I know we will look back upon this day and remember all these fond memories of this epic musical. Go catch it soon and let me know if you love it as much as we do!
Aladdin
Event Date
Sun, 21 Jul - Sun, 1 Sep 2019
Tue - Fri: 7.30pm
Sat: 2pm & 7.30pm
Sun: 1pm & 6.30pm
Venue
Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands
Ticket pricing
From $68 onwards
To book your tickets, go to https://ticket.marinabaysands.com/mbs/booking/aladdin0919.
For more show details, go to https://baseentertainment.com.sg/shows/aladdin/.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored collaboration with BASE Entertainment Asia. We received a pair of complimentary tickets in writing this review. All opinions are my own.