Aladdin to delight families for Christmas

The theatre group has chosen Aladdin for its inaugural show in the Shenkman Hall, which seats 505 people, four times larger than the EETC’s former home.

“Aladdin is always the favourite,” said director Diane Barnett. “We did Aladdin for our first show eight years ago. When we knew we were going to be moving, we thought we must do it again. It’s so colourful and everybody loves it. And now we’ve got the space to really do it right.”

Based on the script by John Morley, the British version of Aladdin starts out in China, with a spectacular set, and all the elaborate costumes, hats and music to accompany it.

A complete set change moves the story to Arabia, with outfits reminiscent of Cleopatra.

“The costumes are incredible. We have an amazing dressmaker, Marilyn Emond, who has made 20 children’s outfits for us,” said Barnett. “We’ve hired some of the costumes and borrowed some from the Ottawa Little Theatre.”

The pantomime is truly a family affair, loaded with slapstick humour for the children, layered over subtle jokes geared toward the adults in the crowd. And don’t feel you have to keep your children polite and quiet. The audience is expected to enthusiastically boo and hiss at the villain, Abanazar, and cheer and scream to warn the hero, Aladdin, from danger.

“The audience is included in a lot of the dialogue. There’s a lot of to-ing and fro-ing back and forth,” said Barnett. “For example, Aladdin’s brother Wishee Washee will announce his arrival on stage each time by yelling ‘hiya kids’, and every time the kids will scream back, ‘hiya Wishee’.”

And of course no pantomime would be complete without a dame, often known to steal the show.

“The dame is a hilarious character. She is always poor, always getting kicked out of her place, and usually trying to find a man, because in the British tradition she’s always a widow,” said Barnett. “And of course, the funniest part is that the dame is always played by a man.”

The show features a children’s chorus of 13 local boys and girls, as well as some classical fairy tale favourites – a princess and an emperor – with a total cast of 24 people.

The Widow Twankey will be played by Michael Kavcic. The villain Abanazar will be placed by Ron Cook. Aladdin is being played by local actress and model Sherry Thurig. Patricia Messier will provide musical accompaniment.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children. They can be purchased at the Shenkman Arts Centre, 245 Centrum Blvd, or online at www.shenkmanarts.ca.