Chicago Tribune: Wishes have been granted by a genie and a magic carpet has flown for months at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, where the national touring production of Disney’s “Aladdin” has brought the animated film’s Agrabah to life on the proscenium since April. Show after show, the journey of a street rat-with-dreams, from penniless urchin to prince, all comes together like magic.
8 comments:
'Aladdin' is a perfect example of how all forms of technical theatre and story telling come together. The artists behind Aladdin do a great job of committing to a certain style and effectively conveying that on to the stage, in this production that is elegance. The article talks about "woah" moments, and that is exactly what this show is, a series of special effects and stage magic that truly take the audience on a journey throughout all the technical aspects of a show. I found the microphone located near the tap shoes to be especially interesting, it's that sort of attention to detail that makes a musical number flawless and truly in the moment. Overall, this article does an excellent job of showing how an idea can effectively come to life, fully realized, with the help of magicians known as tech people.
This show is a prime example of the grandeur that theatre can create. There are no limits to how big a show can be when it has as many talented, dedicated people working on it as this show does. I think Aladdin does an excellent job of illustrating how many people it takes back stage to truly make a show go off seamlessly. My favorite part about how impressive and awe-inspiring huge shows like this can be is that they provide the juxtaposition for smaller shows to feel that much more intimate and personal. Without over-the-top shows like Aladdin, off-Broadway shows like The Oldest Boy would seem mundane and trite, but instead they are special and lovely.
The last sentence of this article "To them, it's magic," perfectly describes what technical theatre should be. Those who choose to become part of the backstage operations do not wish for recognization from the audience. Their job is to create a world for the characters to exist in and to never allow that world to falter in any way throughout the performance. In my opinion, it is not ideal for the audience to consciously notice the technical aspect of a show while they are watching it because it means that they were taken away from the performance. They have been removed from the world that they entered when they stepped foot into the theatre. I think that the worst designs are the ones that do not fit the rest of the world. The fact that the audience of Aladdin accepts the amazing things happening on stage as "magic" is a testament to how talented the show's technical and creative team are. Once the performance starts, there is no questioning of the HOWs of the scenery and costumes and lights, it just IS because it makes sense in this world.
This is not to say that technical theatre should not be appreciated. I think that it is extremely important to acknowledge these aspects of the show after the performance has ended. Once the door to this other world is closed, audience members should reflect back on what they saw and appreciate not only the performances but also the technical feats that they just witnessed.
Despite everything I have written, I think it is worth mentioning that, as someone in technical theatre, I cannot help but wonder how something is done while watching a performance. I think it is one of the few cons of becoming a technician because I am so often taken out of performances but I think that some of the best shows are the ones where the action backstage would be just as interesting as, or more so, than the action onstage. But technical theatre is not meant to exist on its own; it's meant to enhance the performance.
I saw Aladdin on Broadway about a year and a half ago, and I found myself starting to think about the technical aspects throughout the show. Even before it started once I finished getting an initial impression of the set I started looking at all the grooves in the deck to see where automation would track and move. This article did a really great job of both describing all the technical aspects and going into what happens behind the scenes. I was especially happy that Greene mentioned the individual leg mics to pick up the sounds of tap shoes, because I had no idea that people did that, and in general this types of articles don’t talk as much about sound. Obviously the little teaser at the end made me want to know how the magic carpet was done (as if I didn’t want to know already) but I understand why Disney is keeping that one a secret.
I liked how the article highlighted both the collaborative aspects and detail oriented aspects. While this may seem obvious, as an audience member we may never see the lotus flowers on the men's costumes, yet this attention to detail makes the show extraordinary. Because theater is meant to be viewed from at least 30 ft away (depending on the stage) it is possible to just focus on the gestalt of the design rather than the specifics. The article does a good job of of showing how the details contribute to the whole, and how those extra little details such as the tap shoe mics give the show just an extra little pop. In addition, in every example it is multiple departments working together that make the show happen. For example, the canes behind the stone towers, involving both props and scenery. While theater is inherently collaborative, on a show that big each department is even more intertwined.
I originally thought this was going to be one of those fluff pieces about a show that doesn’t go in depth at all about the elements and intricacies of how the set pieces work together to create the show. But this article did go into depth all the while keeping a narrative tone. Almost every department got a blurb from the set to props to costumes to sound. You get an insight into how many people are really involved in the running and upkeep of the show, and just how grandiose Aladdin is. I agree with BinhAn about how the technical aspects of theatre should be kept magical to the audience while they are watching the show. And it’s also great to be able to find behind the scenes articles like this so you can see how they did such magical things on stage. I really appreciate being able to get an insight into the technical team’s mind.
I found this article very interesting in the way it dove into all the different aspects of theatre. From this article you truly sense the collaborative effort theatre requires from the initial creative idea to closing night, especially on a touring show where the show will be uplifted and moved to another location and expected to be of the same quality from place to place. There are so many people involved in the process of maintaining the quality of the show that people don't think about until actually seeing a show and seeing "the magic" that is truly involved in the magic you see on stage.
I really enjoyed how this article celebrated the unification of all of the aspects of theatre. The idea that we are in a field where 342 people can each work in their own craft, come together, and form a cohesive sequence that tells a story that has inspired for generations is such an exciting thing. Aladdin specifically has a strong undertone of wealth and extravagance, and the technical and design crew have gone above and beyond to deliver on the overt parts of this theme, through the cave of wonders, 12 pound wedding dress, and ‘Friend Like Me’ costume with 8,644 Swarovski rhinestones, as well as through the more hidden aspects, such as the double sets of scenery, hidden fog units, and microphones for tap shoes. I appreciated the quote, “Everything backstage is as choreographed as what happens onstage”. While this is undoubtedly true for musicals on the same scale as Aladdin, it is also true for much smaller productions. The movements of quick-changers and spotlight operators are choreographed, just as any dance, and the cues on the deck and fly rail are timed, just like the entrance of an actor.
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