Disney tries out a whole new act

In an extremely rough run through in November, it becomes clear that the show will hew closely to the Disney film. Just as in the movie, the genie - who was voiced with manic improvisational skill by Robin Williams - provides the comedic anchor.

In this production, Nick Santa Maria, who says he came up through the L.A. comedy scene at the same time as Williams, puts out the same high-speed shtick, with updates.

"You've just been voted off the island," he says to Iago, the bird, as he tosses him aside at the end. As for reaching today's audiences, it would be hard to assemble a more multicultural group, with Asians playing Aladdin and Jasmine and an African-American Jafar.

There are some additions. Hamburger brought in the original composer, Alan Menken, who has penned a new song for the Princess Jasmine. He is unfazed by the prospect of putting on his work in a theme park. "The opportunity in a theme park is the same as anywhere else," he says. "You can introduce people to serious and beautiful theater craft."

The moment of truth has finally arrived. Long theme-park lines standing in the Anaheim sun don't exactly set a "night-at-the-theater" tone for what are being called "previews." But then, in contrast to the expectations created in the weeks leading up to this moment, neither does much of what unfolds inside either.

The empty orchestra pit is the first hint that the creative team behind this magic carpet ride is a few camels short of a real Broadway bazaar.

Scene after scene - complete with cartoonish backdrops - looks as if they were lifted directly from the animated film, including a magic carpet ride over miniatures of world monuments (think a teeny Eiffel Tower).

"The radical reinterpretation is not there," says Tom Bradac, artistic director of Shakespeare Orange County, sitting in a nearby café after the show. "Theater is all about metaphor," he says. "We know it's not supposed to be real, so the more literal the show, the less effective the storytelling."

The splashy numbers are overproduced, he says, like Vegas-style spectacles. The big crowd-pleaser, a soaring magic carpet that flies above the audience's heads, creates an odd disconnect because the Aladdin and Jasmine on the carpet are quite clearly stunt doubles for the performers. But the show makes no effort to hide this fact.

And, then there's the taped accompaniment. "There is clearly money being spent, but not on the right things," says Mr. Bradac. "Good theater is about connections between the actors and the audience. This show is about money."

Not everyone agrees. Mary Fortezzo of Eureka, Calif., has just taken her five boys to the show and couldn't be more content. "We don't get much theater in our little town," she says with a laugh. She would like her boys to see more culture, and "Aladdin" is a real opportunity.

"I'm from the East Coast," she adds with a smile. "I know what real theater is, and this was just great."

Her husband, Greg, nods in agreement. "Everything about it was just first-rate," he says.

Both Hamburger and Zambello scoff at the suggestion that money - not art - was the draw for them. "Francesca was booked for five years when I first met her," says Hamburger.

Zambello adds that her vision has not been tampered with by anyone outside the production.

Cynthia Harriss, president of the Disneyland resort, may provide a clue to Disney's Corp. real goal for the show. "We have always been leaders in entertainment for children," she says. " 'Aladdin' is part of that long-term plan."

That makes sense, says Bradac. This show is more Disney on Ice than Broadway. "I'm sure the show will be a hit in the park, but that's the only place it can find an audience. If they tried to move this to a real theater, it would not survive a single day."

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