(The show was double cast. I have included only cast members my friend and I saw play the particular role.)
Overall, Hale's production of Aida was really good. So good in fact, I saw it twice. A friend invited me. She has a friend who works for Hale Theater who got her free tickets. Sweet! It's nice having friends who have friends.
Elton John's Aida is different than the Verdi opera. Go figure! In the Verdi opera, Radames has already met Aida before the curtain rises. And he sings, Celeste Aida (Heavenly Aida). In the John musical however, Radames (the Captain) and his crew capture several Nubian women and enslave them. Aida and Radames fight, he becomes in fatuated with her, although he won't admit it. She and the other women/slaves are taken to Egypt. Aida is given to Amneris, Radames' betrothed, as a gift. (Hmm, a Nubian slave...? Sounds like something out of Samuel Barber's A Hand of Bridge.) Mereb, Radames' slave, recognizes Aida as the Nubian King's daughter. She tells him to forget it, "I'm just a slave like you. Our lives are not our own." Radames and Aida fall in love. Much to the dismay of Amneris who is in love with Radames. Mereb and the other Nubians plot to escape. And than the Nubian King is captured! Aida, who has not revealed her true identity to Radames her love, or ot Amneris her mistress, is heartbroken. Radames doesn't understand her anger. "Our countries are at war!" Love triangles...gotta love 'em. Okay not really. They're great on stage. But not so much in real life. But that's what we've got here. Aida tells Radames to marry the princess. He tells her there will be a boat waiting for her to take her back to Nubia. Mereb and Aida get the king out of prison. He escapes on the boat, Mereb dies, and Radames and Aida are caught. They are accused as traitors and therefore must die by being buried alive. Did I mention that Zoser, Radames father, has been secretly poisening Pharoah so that Amneris and Radames will wed and Radames will be king? Well, Zoser's plot comes out. He is hunted down and we assume killed on the spot as we don't see him again until the curtain call. Amneris convinces Pharoah to let Radames and Aida be buried together. They are entombed and than sing themselves to death. Of course, this IS a musical, so it must have a happy ending. Fastforward about 4,000 years to the modern day. One man and one woman (reincarnated Radames and Aida) meet at a museum and fall in love. Oh how sweet. You know the difference between an opera and a musical? In an opera, everyone dies at the end. In a musical everyone dies at the end, but they meet again Heaven. My friend and I went to a Saturday matinee first. She loved it. I liked it. (I prefered the tomb scene from the Verdi opera over the John musical, but than again...I'm partial to opera anyway.) We saw Josephine Scere as Aida and Darick J. Pead as Radames. She was very good. (In fact, I thought she was better than Heather Headley who played the role in the original Broadway cast.) Mr. Pead, on the other hand...was okay. He's no Adam Pascal (from the original Broadway cast). But perhaps, my bigggest problem with him was, I really don't like rock/pop singers. They look funny when they sing. What is with them closing their eyes, tightening their face and neck muscles, and standing on their toes to "reach" the high note? Perhaps, I'll never understand that. Jared Young as Mereb was superb! So much better than the original cast Mereb. He convinced me in his role as the slave/servant of Radames, who was still very much devoted to his king and country.Nikki Bohne and Korianne Orton-Johnson both did well in the role of Amneris, Aida's "owner" and Radames betrothed.
And Dave Burton and Cody Hale as Zoser? Well, let's just say, I'm not surprise how Mr. Hale got the role. And Mr. Burton...well my friend and I agreed, I could've done better. But than again...I don't sing rock music. I refuse to. So maybe I couldn't. Overall, this show was awesome. If it was still playing I'd like to see it again. Maybe someday I will. But hopefully someone else will be playing Zoser.
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