Just as they did by presenting their take on Peter Pan during the holiday season last year, The Lythgoe Family has once again teamed up with TPAC to present yet another familiar tale with a decidedly modern twist as Aladdin and His Winter Wish continues its two-week run at Polk Theatre thru Sunday, December 22.
While based on the centuries old Middle Eastern folk tale, with a couple of lighthearted winks to a certain Arabian tale from the House of Mouse, Lythgoe Family’s Aladdin and His Winter Wish steps right into the 21st Century by combining elements from the original story, and classic British Pantomime with pop tunes and enough Nashville-centric one-liners, jokes and jabs to keep the audience in stitches whether they be 8 or 80.
For the uninitiated, as I did when I reviewed Peter Pan last year, allow me to explain a little about traditional British Pantomime. It’s a centuries old theatrical art-form known as Panto for short. Granted, when most Americans hear the word pantomime, thoughts of mimes with clown-white faces mimicking attempts of escaping non-existent boxes come to mind. While that is indeed a type of pantomime, this pantomime is much different.
With roots tracking back nearly as far as recorded time itself, pan-to—in the more modern sense—presents a familiar story, usually a favorite children’s fairy tale, but with comedy, music, encouraged audience interaction and just enough double-entendre to keep parents entertained as well.
Not only are there local mentions of things like Pedal Taverns and Nashville and surrounding cities (sorry Memphis, but you kinda deserve being the brunt of a few jabs), the show is chocked full of modern pop tunes that drive the story along.
Opening the show with a high energy belly dance-vibe take on The Pussycat Dolls’ 2009 mega-hit Jai Ho!, the ensemble gives a hint of the fun to come. As the story of Aladdin and his brother Wishee Washee (what can I say, their Mom, The Widow Twankey owns a laundry service) unfolds (pun fully intended), we learn that the two street rats dream of bettering life for themselves and their mother. This leads to the brothers joining forces for their take on the early 80s hit, Matthew Wilder’s Break My Stride. When Aladdin meets the Princess, there’s a little classic country flavor as he wistfully croons You Don’t Know Me, a song made popular in the 1950s by country legend, Eddy Arnold.
The Widow Twankey then kicks things up a notch alongside the ladies of the chorus for a rollicking cover of Old Time Rock and Roll.
As the story continues and we learn that Aladdin believes his way into the Princess heart is through some miracle of riches, the audience is treated to his version of the Bruno Mars hit, Billionaire. Keeping it in an R&B vein, the Genie closes out Act 1 on a high note with a simply perfect rendition of Earth, Wind and Fire’s Fantasy.
Act 2 opens with another Bruno Mars tune, Treasure, performed by the company. Not forgetting one of Aladdin’s most treasured moments…Spoiler Alert….the magic carpet scene is, well, magical indeed. Perfectly framed by the sappy but sweet On the Wings of Love and the optimistic Walking on Sunshine. By show’s end, there’s the inevitable wedding followed by a wonderful winter surprise as the cast sings a faithful Let it Snow…another Spoiler Alert…you better believe it does…IN the theatre! Always a crowd pleaser!
And that’s just the music. The entire show is brimming with hilarious one-liners, clever jokes, a few bad-but still laugh inducing-puns and more than a handful of inside jokes referencing the actors and their previous claims to fame.
Audiences may not be readily familiar with The Lythgoe Family name, but chances are they’re very familiar with some of the projects they’ve spearheaded for television. Case in point, Nigel Lythgoe, the family’s patriarch, alongside son, Simon Lythgoe, have at one time both produced everything from So You Think You Can Dance to American Idol, while son Kris Lythgoe also worked with the family on So You Think You Can Dance and other projects.
This brings us back to Lythgoe Family Panto, which Kris and wife Becky Lythgoe began in 2010 with their take on Cinderella.
As was the case during last year’s Nashville presentation of Peter Pan, the company of Aladdin and His Winter Wish is also peppered with well-known talent of all ages and a healthy selection of Music City performers both on stage and behind the scenes.
In the title role is Tennessee native, Damon J. Gillespie. While he’s got roots in Tennessee, and seems to only be beginning his career, he, too has an impressive resume, having appeared on Broadway in Newsies and Aladdin, as well as television shows like Rise, Empire and Inside Amy Schumer. As Aladdin, Gillespie is perfectly mischievous and quite the charmer.
While Disney fans might be expecting Aladdin’s love interest to be named Jasmine, for this iteration, his intended is simply referred to as The Princess, as played by Kira Kosarin, who garnered popularity as well as three Kid’s Choice Award nominations for Favorite TV Actress for her starring role as Phoebe on Nickelodeon’s The Thudermans during the show’s four season run. Kosarin’s Princess is naturally beautiful with an enchanting voice to match. Who can blame Aladdin for doing whatever it takes to win her heart?
Starring as The Princess’ father is Richard Karn as The Sultan. Karn, of course starred alongside Tim Allen in the hugely popular ABC sitcom, Home Improvement as Al Borland, Tim’s best friend and co-host. Karn’s comedic timing is perfectly suited for this type of interactive theatre where they encourage the audience to cheer to good guys and jeer the bad. Heck, on opening night, there was a minor snafu with a line or two and at one point the door of the set didn’t work as expected, but Karn and company rolled with the punches, even occasionally cracking up themselves. A truly endearing occurrence reminding older audiences of such classic comedy moments as The Carol Burnett Show when she and her co-stars couldn’t help but laugh at themselves.
Unlike that famous animated tale, this Aladdin isn’t an orphan. To that end, Jonathan Meza co-stars as Aladdin’s appropriately named brother, Wishee Washee. While Meza may be new to Nashville theatre, he’s no stranger to Lythgoe Family Panto as this marks his eighth show with the company. Audience members in the pre-teen to teenage range might also be familiar with Meza as Josh from the popular Nick Jr. bilingual musical series Jumpitz. Meza’s Wishee Washee not only plays second banana (and leap frog partner) to brother Aladdin, he also serves as narrator, therefore constantly breaking the fourth wall to get audience responses and reactions to what’s going on within the story. Another aspect of Panto that makes it fun for the whole family.
Rounding out Aladdin’s family is comedy icon and LGBT legend, Bruce Vilanch as Aladdin and Wishee Washee’s mother, the Widow Twankey. As a comedy writer, Vilance has provided the scripted banter for the Oscars and Emmy Awards for years. Early in his career, he wrote for and worked with everyone from Bette Midler and Donny and Marie Osmond and even penned two of my all-time favorite holiday specials, The Paul Lynde Halloween Special and the unforgettable (as much as George Lucas would like to try) Star Wars Holiday Special! Fans of a certain age will no doubt remember him as a frequent panelist (and writer) for Hollywood Squares in the late 90s and early 2000s. Of course this isn’t the first time Vilanch has appeared onstage stage in dresses and women’s wigs. In 2002, he took over the coveted role of Edna Turnblad during Broadway’s original run of Hairspray, then the following year, join the National Tour in the same role. As the Widow Twankey, Vilanch steals every scene he’s in, especially when she takes a shine to the evil sorcerer.
Speaking of…Josh Adamson stars as Abanazer, the show’s villain…think Jafar. Adamson, a native Aussie, has previously been seen in number of regional theatrical productions, including several Lythgoe Family Pantos, both here and in Australia, including Cinderella, Snow White and previous productions of Aladdin. Perfectly evil, but not so much as to truly scare younger audience members, Adamson is the consummate bad guy, maniacal laugh and all.
Rounding out the main cast are Mykal Kilgore as Genie and Alexis Gilbert as Alexa, the Slave of the Ring.
As for Kilgore he’s yet another performer familiar to many theatre-goers having appeared on Broadway in Hair, the first national tour of Book of Mormon. He was also seen in both recent televised musical productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Wiz. With more than a few nods to Will Smith’s recent turn as Genie for the big screen, Kilgore holds his own and makes the role truly his with a voice as smooth as Stevie Wonder and some fabulous moves.
Gilbert once again joins the Lythgoes, having previously appeared on stage in Aladdin as the Slave of the Ring, as well as previously appearing on Season 14 of So You Think You Can Dance. As a professional dancer, she’s worked with everyone from You Tube star Matthew Santoro, as well as pop superstar Pharrel Williams and electronic music superstars Daft Punk. And, Yes, you better believe the take full advance of the name Alexa with a number of jokes at that other Alexa we’re all so fond of talking to on our personal devices. While she floats in and out of the story, at the common of whomever is wearing the ring, Gilbert steals every scene she’s part of, thanks to her remarkable dance moves.
Which leads me to the ensemble. With the Lythgoe Family’s ties to dance, the remainder of the company is made up largely of phenomenal dance talent including Daniel Thomas, Albanus Thierry, Anna Melendres, Rachel Melendres, and Nashville’s own Chelsea Hough.
Speaking of Nashville, directing Aladdin and His Winter Wish is Ernie Nolan, known to Music City audiences for his work as Executive Artistic Director at our beloved Nashville Children’s Theatre. The show’s choreographer, Chase Benz is also another Nashville native. Now residing in Los Angeles, Benz’s impressive resume drops names like Brittney Spears, JLo, Rihanna, Back Street Boys and many more.
TPAC’s own Christi Dortch co-produced the show, alongside primary producers Becky and Kris Lythgoe, Kris also wrote the show.
Aladdin and His Winter Wish continues its holiday run in Nashville at TPAC‘s Polk Theatre with six performances remaining. On Friday, December 20, there’s a 7p.m. evening performance, on Saturday, December 21, there’s an 11a.m. morning performance as well as a 3p.m. matinee and a 7p.m. evening show and on Sunday, December 22, 12noon matinee and a 5p.m. final early evening performance. Tickets range in price from $45-$55. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.
In case you don’t make it to Aladdin, I have it on good authority that the Lythgoe Family plans to continue to bring these entertaining American Pantos to Nashville with yet another new-to-Music City production next year!
Immediately following a very brief holiday break, TPAC’s Broadway series returns with the highly anticipated Nashville premier of the first-ever touring company of Hamilton onstage at TPAC’s Jackson Hall from December 31 thru January 19. CLICK HERE for tickets or more information. CLICK HERE to learn about TPAC’s recently announce $10 ticket lottery for every single Music City Performance. You can also discover all the latest from TPAC by checking them out online or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
As always, if you are interested in coverage for your latest entertaining endeavor, simply click the contact page and drop me a note. You can also follow JHP Entertainment on Instagram and Facebook.
JHP: What’s your first memory of The Wizard of Oz?
JHP: Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz is easily one of the most beloved stories ever. What’s it like to be cast as Dorothy Gale?
JHP: Which of The Scarecrow’s characteristics do you share—or would you love to adopt?
JHP: The Cowardly Lion is typically played by a male, so…are you playing the role as a gender-flip? non-binary? or in male drag?
JHP: Prior to being cast as The Tin Man, how familiar with this particular adaptation, which debuted on stage in 1987, and more closely follows the classic film than other stagings?
The Wizard of Oz at The Larry Keeton Theatre continues with shows thru Saturday, June 29. Thursday-Saturday shows begin at 7p.m. with Sunday matinee curtain at 2p.m. Dinner and Show tickets are available for $30 for Adults and $20 for Children 12 and Under. Show Only Tickets are available for $25 for Adults or $15 for Children 12 and Under. Unlike Dorothy, you don’t need a flying house, a bubble-hopping good witch, a hot air balloon or even ruby slippers to visit, but you do need to CLICK (just one time)….
JHP: You’re playing Queen Elizabeth 1, so tell me…is it really true what they say? IS it good to be the Queen?
JHP: In Shakespeare’s time, it wasn’t unusual for male actors to portray female roles. In a bit of a gender flip, as Viola de Lesseps, you spend part of your time on stage in disguise in male drag. While there’s a large element of comedy, in that the audience is in on the gag, how did you prepare for the duality of the role(s)?
JHP: You’re playing Shakespeare opposite Cailen’s Viola. What’s the best aspect of having her as your leading lady?
JHP: I understand you teach in the department of theatre and dance at Sewanee. How did being part of Nashville Rep’s Shakespeare in Love come about?
JHP: You’re playing Edmund Tilney, Master of the Revels. Am I dumbing it down to much to say he was the OG party planner?
JHP: What’s your play about?
JHP: You play Alan. How would you describe him?
JHP: Tell me about Ida.
JHP: Who is Abbie?
JHP: You’re cast as Howard. What’s the best way to describe him?
Of the musical highlights, Joy Franz and young Victoria Bingham as The Dowager Empress and Young Anastasia get this off on a high note with the above-referenced show-opening Once Upon A December. It’s such a touching moment and completely serves to set up the relationship between Anastasia and her elder relative, a vital point within the tale’s featured plotline.
Another bright, undeniable high point comes in Act Two when Vlad and Lily (one of the conmen and the Dowager Empress’ Lady in Waiting) duet on The Countess and The Common Man. The comedic timing and hilarious physicallity of Tari Kelly as The Countess Lily and Edward Staudenmayer as Vlad during this number evokes memories of Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman during their heyday on The Carol Burnette Show, spoofing many an overly melodramatic film classic. A scene perfectly suited for this show that oftentimes gets a bit bogged down in its own grand airs.
