Our beloved musical cartoon Aladdin has been adapted for the stage & is currently playing in Anaheim, CA. The production’s formal title is Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular. The re-titling is understandable because Aladdin attracts children, Musical attracts an isolated audience base, but no one can resist a Spectacular spectacle. Since this new generation of cartoon-based musicals holds little interest for the adults ticket-buyers, these shows rely on spectacle to peak the interest parents while enchanting the young audience base. The cost of that reliance is become increasingly apparent. On September 25, Jasmine and Aladdin’s magic carpet flipped while flying over the audience. The performance was immediately halted & the audience was immediately evacuated. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but this incident is just another example of this dangerous new trend of pushing the limits of actors’ safety for the sake of shock & awe.
What this scene was supposed to look like:
How this scene fell out on Sept. 25:
This incident reminded me of the injuries plaguing Spiderman, Broadway‘s very own Big Dig. This article by ABC outlines the FOUR accidents that have resulted in actor injuries. Most notable and serious was the most recent accident on December 20, where an actor’s cable snapped & he fell 30 feet. This incident was serious enough that Actor’s Equity made the following statement to ABC: "Actors' Equity Association is working with management of Spider-Man and the Department of Labor to ensure that performances will not resume until back-up safety measures are in place." I am curious as to what their investigations found and what precautions were taken to ensure the safety of the both the cast of Spiderman and future casts who will face the same risks & pressures from their producers.
Audience Members' Reactions
Wicked first opened in 2003 to rave reviews and a general acknowledgment that there was an exciting, fresh, new musical on the scene. At the end of Act I, the Wicked Witch character Elpheba took flight as a declaration of rebellion & self-actualized confidence. The flying was not used solely as a way to impress the audience, but was textually required while still being used for thematic commentary. To see the classic Wicked Witch of the West take flight on stage was so exciting at the time. We take these effects for granted now & require more to be shocked & awe-stricken by actors. When Wicked premiered, the excitement factor centered more on the fact that Idina Menzel gave an exceptional performance that happened to include some cool staging effects. That would not suffice for our current & eternally un-impressed audience members. The best productions I’ve ever seen did not require any actor to fly. The highest quality of theatrical productions focused on message, quality performances, artistic perspective, & innovation.
On-Stage Flying Done Right
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