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music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls & David Henry Hwang; directed by Robert Falls

Mirivish Productions, Canon Theatre, Toronto

May 7-31, 2003

The Disney musical "Aida" by Elton John and Tim Rice lost the 2000 Tony Award for Best Musical to "Contact", a dance show with no live music and no singing.  That ought to tell you something.  The story, supposedly "suggested by" Verdi's great 1871 opera, is more like a less intellectual episode of "Xena: Warrior Princess".

The tale centres on the love of Egyptian prince Radames (Jeremy Kushnier) for the Nubian slave Aida (Pauline Ivory), a love doomed by his rank and pre-existing engagement to the princess Amneris (Lisa Brescia).  In a misguided attempt at comic relief, the musical recasts Amneris as blonde airhead with more passion for clothes than for Radames.  After her paean to fashion "My Strongest Suit" early in Act 1, the story has been so thoroughly trivialized it never recovers.  Besides that, a modern frame involving reincarnation is placed around the action deliberately, this being Disney, to negate the tragic ending.

Think of The Lion King without its best songs and without Julie Taymor's lush direction.  That's how creatively arid Aida is.  Elton John, imitating himself, recycles the same empty gestures to Rice's awkward, insipid lyrics.  Designer Bob Crowley's most striking po-mo images have an air of commercial familiarity.  Wayne Cilento's choreography might as well be selling soft drinks. 

Weak performances don't help.  Ivory has a rich powerful voice but she swallows so many consonants all all you hear is an incomprehensible mush of vowels.  Brescia's piercing nasal tone bores like a dentist's drill.  The Canadian Kushnier at his best does a good Elton John imitation; otherwise he sounds more like Bart Simpson being crushed by a steamroller.  Eric L. Christian as Mereb sings painfully off-key, leaving the best vocal performance to ex-Monkee Micky Dolenz as Radames' father.  If you must see a corporate musical, best visit The Lion King again, not this wasteland.         

©Christopher Hoile

Note: A version of this review appeared in Eye Weekly 2003-05-15.

Photo: Lisa Brescia (centre) as Amneris. ©2003 Big League Theatricals, Inc.