Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida @ Lyric Stage
Photos by Marlee Fisher
—Wayne Lee Gay
Lyric Stage continues its decades-long exploration of the great American musical tradition this weekend with a handsome, singer-focused production of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida at Dallas's Majestic Theatre.
In the late 1990s, in the wake of the huge success of The Lion King as both animated cinema and a live Broadway show, the Disney organization coaxed John and Rice, two of the most successful figures in twentieth-century show business, to rework the plot and characters of Verdi's nineteenth-century iconic operatic tragedy Aïda into a modern Broadway musical.
Though one might well question the purpose of retreading Verdi's masterpiece, the resulting show enjoyed a multi-year run on Broadway on either side of the 9/11 attacks, along with a slew of Tony and Grammy nominations and awards. Like other Disney Broadway ventures, Aida became a standard Manhattan tourist attraction, along with the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building—or Cats and Les Miz. Proposals for animated or live-action movie versions never materialized, however, and the show has pretty much become a footnote in Broadway history.
From the distance of two decades, the John-Rice Aida takes on a quaint, late-twentieth-century vibe, as if a set of of folks with 1990s outlooks and attitudes have been dropped into a cartoon version of ancient-Egypt-as-it-never-was. Still, the audience is spared the Disney trope of singing animals, and Aida and her nemesis Amneris are simply not cut out to be Disney princesses. As for Verdi's gruesome tragic finale—definitely antithetical to the Disney universe—the John-Rice version manages a sort of happy ending via reincarnation of the ill-fated lovers centuries later, and rehabilitation of Amneris as a nice person.
John of course, achieved superstardom in the 1970s in a series of soul-scorching ballads delivered with glam-rock glee. Contemporaneously, Rice shook the roots of western religion with his cleverly iconoclastic lyrics for Jesus Christ Superstar. In the Broadway Aida, John could still spin some good tunes, and there are occasional diamonds among the zirconium of Rice's lyrics—but the magical moments are scattered. Amneris' "My Strongest Suit," a joyful Motown-ish anthem to fashionista excess, provides the strongest moment musically and dramatically: John has always been at his been when there's a strong personal element, and he here channels a bit of his persona from his days as the king of crazy costumes.
TCU graduate Rachel Nicole Poole delivers a gorgeously powerful vocal performance in the title role, belting the top notes unflinchingly, while holding a compelling dramatic presence. Jayden Russell provides a worthy counterpart as Amneris, though her strength lies in the lyrical, reflective range. And she successfully navigates her role's troubled transformation from spoiled princess to insightful ruler. Ryan Michael Friedman completes the triangle with a well-managed tenor range as Radames.
John Tillman convincingly personifies conniving evil as Zoser, and delivers his own moment of vocal glory in "Like Father Like Son.” Maxton Rhys Sims performs winningly as Mereb, though one can sense some room for further fleshing out of this complex and pivotal role. The ensemble performs the choral numbers grandly, and admirably executes Kelly McCain's efficient and imaginative choreography. Theresa Furphy's sets and scenery work effectively, enhanced with lighting by Scott Guenther; both take advantage of the limitations and assets of the re-purposed Majestic, a former 1920s movie and vaudeville palace. Jasmine Woods’ costumes are colorfully compatible with the overall scheme of reimagined ancient attire.
Conductor Bruce Greer holds all together unfailingly with the fairly sizeable 14-member orchestra, ensconced onstage behind the scenery. Musical values have always been at the core of Lyric Stage's mission, and this production continues that legacy, to the greater good of the Dallas performing arts community and the musical theater tradition.
Director Sasha Maya Ada approaches Aida with a focus on the principles of identity and female empowerment, both inherent in Rice and John's concept. Casting of the principals is obviously color-based, setting up a relevantly visual racial fault-line between Nubians and Egyptians.
As an aside, although the show never made it from Broadway to London's West End, this work, largely the creation of two loyal British subjects, dallies with the royal concept of inborn privilege and responsibility, and, intriguingly, with the very British ideal of nationhood embodied in an individual. The 1990s were, of course, a time of turmoil within the Windsor clan, and Sir Elton was famously chummy with the era's real-life tragic princess.
WHEN: Through February 19
WHERE: Majestic Theatre, downtown Dallas
WEB: lyricstage.org
