Tag: aladdin

Broadway | Aladdin

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland
Aladdin on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre

Aladdin

Playing at New Amsterdam Theatre

Musical or play? Musical

Lottery or Rush Tickets? Digital Lottery available through Broadway Direct

What I Paid: $83.00

Official Website: https://aladdinthemusical.com/

Disney’s ALADDIN is a dazzling and extravagant showcase of special effects — including a flying magic carpet during “A Whole New World” — as well as glittering-gold costumes and art deco-style sets that mirror the grandeur of a Busby Berkeley musical. One of Broadway’s most popular musical comedies, the show opened at the legendary New Amsterdam Theatre on March 20, 2014, and has since broken numerous house records (grossing over $500 million on Broadway). Eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken composed the show’s music. The lyrics are by two-time Oscar winner Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid), as well as three-time Tony Award and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice and six-time Tony Award nominee Chad Beguelin. The book is by Beguelin and direction/choreography is by two-time Tony Award-winner Casey Nicholaw.   

REVIEW

Aladdin has been a Disney staple on Broadway since 2014. As a huge fan of the animated classic, I’ve always wanted to see this show. I attended for the first time in October, and overall really enjoyed this family friendly performance. I purchased tickets from TKTS the day before the show for the Sunday matinee, and got 50% off for Orchestra Left on the aisle. We had an excellent view of all the action! Unless you are going with a large group that wants to sit together, I highly recommend getting tickets last minute, as Aladdin is regularly available at TKTS.

The show itself is based on the movie Aladdin, but has some notable changes. I was disappointed that there was Abu and Rajah! were cut from the musical. Instead, Aladdin has a group of three human friends that have a substantial role in the show. Similarly, Iago is a human sidekick to Jafar rather than a parrot. The music is also a bit different. There are songs we know and love from the movie, with the addition of new songs written specifically for the stage show, and a few that were cut from the film as well. Despite these changes, the overall story remains the same, and is filled with Disney magic.

My absolute favorite character is Genie, currently being played by Michael James Scott. Genie honestly carries the show. He is hilarious, has great rapport with the audience, and his stage presence is fantastic. Scott’s performance in Friend Like Me truly stole the show! The other cast members were all talented, and had wonderful performances, but Genie really stands out amongst the performers.

Moreover, I was surprised with all of the different elements present in Aladdin. There are big dance numbers (including a tap dance!), ballads, extravagant costumes, special effects, and more. There are also funny moments where other Disney movies and television shows are referenced. Disney can use its vast intellectual property library to its advantage! I like that Aladdin can incorporate so much into one performance, making the show enjoyable to a wide audience.

I did want to touch on audience behavior for a bit in this post. I’ve heard a lot about bad behavior on Broadway since theaters re-opened after the COVID-19 closures. Luckily, while I have heard a lot of cell phones ringing during shows this year, I haven’t experienced anyone else acting too poorly. Unfortunately, the audience behavior at Aladdin was the worst I’ve encountered. I was worried about all of the children in the audience being disruptive during this Sunday matinee. However, the adults were the culprits! People sitting behind me were singing, adults ran into the aisles to pick up streamers for their kids mid-song, but the worst offenders were taking photos and videos during the show. As soon as A Whole New World began, the phones came out from multiple directions. The ushers did a fantastic job of shutting this down as soon as possible, but it was very distracting. I was disappointed that my favorite song of the show was tainted because of others. Parents, set a good example for your children and show them how to properly behave at a Broadway show!

Aladdin on Broadway Review

Now that I’m off that soapbox, I will conclude my thoughts on Aladdin by saying that I overall enjoyed it! Aladdin tends to have a mediocre reputation in the online Broadway communities, but I think that’s because the excitement surrounding the show has worn off since it’s been running for nearly a decade. That being said, I think Aladdin is a great option if you are looking for a family friendly show with a lot of classic Broadway elements. The show is fun, heartwarming, and based on a story that many of us love from our childhoods. I am glad I finally got to see it!

Book Review | Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Published by Aladdin on September 1, 2000

Genres: Middle Grade, Historial Fiction, Survival

Pages: 272

Format: Paperback

Source: Purchased

Goodreads: ★★★★★

It’s late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn’t get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun her family’s coffee shop, located far from the mosquito-infested river, and Mattie’s concerns of fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of growing her family’s small business into a thriving enterprise. But when the fever begins to strike closer to home, Mattie’s struggle to build a new life must give way to a new fight-the fight to stay alive.

REVIEW

Growing up I was a regular at my local library, and one book that I specifically remember checking out on more than one occasion is Fever 1793. It wasn’t until recent years that I discovered it is written by the same author of the acclaimed young adult contemporary Speak – a book I didn’t love despite the hype surrounding it. I’ve been wanting to reread Fever 1793 ever since that discovery, and when I found a used copy at the Strand for $1 I just had to pick it up.

Fever 1793 is the story of young Mattie Cook, a teenager growing up in Philadelphia and helping her widowed mother run a coffeehouse. The story opens with one of Mattie’s childhood friends suddenly dying from the yellow fever, which erupts into a full epidemic throughout her city. Readers follow Mattie as she attempts to escape the disease by leaving Philadelphia for the countryside with her beloved grandfather. Of course, things do not go as planned.

I am very impressed with how deep and emotional Fever 1793 is, especially for a middle grade novel. I grew to love each and every character, and found myself reaching for the tissues on more than one occasion. Mattie is an excellent first-person narrator, and while some of the dialogue in the book can be considered corny by today’s standards, the language stays true to the time period.

In the same way, it is clear the author did substantial research on yellow fever in order to write a historical fiction novel quite focused on the history.  I really liked how each chapter opened with a quotation from primary source material, whether it be a book from the 18th century or a letter from a politician of the time. It added a lot of credibility to the story, and also made the fictional characters seem more real. I also thought it was smart that the novel concluded with a few pages describing the history of the yellow fever. It’s always nice to know precisely what parts of historical fiction are true to history versus created by the author.

All in all, I have nothing but praise for Fever 1793. While my opinion may be biased due to me loving this book as a child, I’m so happy I still enjoyed it as an adult. If you’re looking for a great historical fiction novel, I highly recommend this one. Whether you’re at the middle grade reading level or not, Fever 1793 is bound to be a great read for you.

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Indie Spotlight: Shimmer Polish Part I

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

Today will be the first in the Indie Spotlight to showcase Shimmer Polish. Shimmer is an indie brand comprised of glitters. Each glitter is named after a family member or friend of the creator of Shimmer, Cindy. I was super excited when Cindy contacted me to ask if I would review her polishes for my readers. This brand is absolutely divine! I love glitter polishes, especially those that you can wear alone without layering them over another polish. Shimmer is the perfect glitter that can be worn either alone or as a layering polish. Cindy was kind enough to send me almost her entire collection to review. Thus, there will be several posts to highlight Shimmer Polish! I hope you enjoy the first two polishes I have to show you.

Jasmine is the first Shimmer I tried out. I didn’t know which to choose first, so I asked my mom what her favorite color was (blue), and she chose this aquamarine over another dark blue polish. When speaking of Shimmer, the base in this case is not a colored polish. In fact, all of her polishes are in a clear base, but there is a base color that can often be detected. Jasmine has a very light blue base that leans to the teal side. Along with the fine, teal glitter, there are small hexagons of dark blue, red, green, and silver. There are also larger hexagons that appear to be either gold or silver, depending on the light. I used just two coats of this polish to get full coverage! I was really happy about that.

The formula of Jasmine is amazing. It is a bit on the thick side, but it’s not clumpy at all. It was also very easy to use — I applied it just like a regular polish. Jasmine tried very quickly on its own, and I followed with a topcoat to even out the glitter. I’ll be honest — I kept singing “A Whole New World,” from Disney’s Aladdin every time I looked at Jasmine on my nails. It is just so gorgeous!

The next Shimmer I tried was Cassandra. Unlike the other Shimmers that Cyndi sent me, Cassandra does not have any color in it. Instead, it is an opalescent glitter in the same clear base. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to wear this on its own, but with three coats I got an amazing look. Jasmine has very fine glitters, small hexagons, and large hexagons that are all opalescent. While the polish at first may appear clear or white, when the light reflects off of the glitters, you can see all the colors of the rainbow! I feel like I am wearing snowflakes on my fingers. This would be a great polish for winter.

Just like Jasmine, the formula was great. This time I did need the third coat to get more coverage, but that’s just because of this particular color. Although Cassandra did seem to dry rather quickly, I smudged it a few times after 20-30 minutes of wear. This is probably because of the third coat I applied. Luckily, I was able to smudge the polish right back into place. No harm done! I also did not use a topcoat this time, Cassandra is not as textured as Jasmine. This polish is perfect if you want a more subtle glitter on your nails! It’s not as “out there” as some others.

I hope you enjoyed this post about Shimmer Polish! You can buy these online at Etsy HERE, and visit the Shimmer blog HERE. Stay tuned for the next installment on Shimmer!

The products in this post were provided for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own.