I attended “Aida” at the American Fork Amphitheater. I must admit that “Aida” is one of my favorite plays. This was only the third performance I have seen of the rock-opera, but I spent countless hours listening to and memorizing the soundtrack. I may be a little bit of a harsh critic for that reason. Having said that, I believe we have an abundance of talent here in Utah County. We are lucky to be able to see musicals on a community theater level with very talented voices. “Aida” was no exception.
To be honest the play began quite slowly and even clumsily but definitely picked up as the lovers, Radames and Aida, were introduced. The two stars had great stage presence and beautiful voices. Their romance was believable and the two had a good chemistry. The actors who portrayed Amneris and Mereb also shined. I was extremely impressed by their voices, especially Jacob Nilson who played Mereb. He is a high school student who I believe will only get better and better.
Where the play fell flat was during the ensemble pieces. I think this partially had to do with the venue. They didn’t have the ability to mic everyone, which caused the audience to be unable to hear most of the background vocals.
Luckily, most of “Aida” is carried by the four main vocalists, who were outstanding. I would encourage people to go and see the play tonight on its final night. Partly because I believe the vocal talent was great, but mostly because I believe supporting community theater is important. Not just financially, but by physically being in the seats to support the actors. Know going in that it is a community theater adaptation in which many of the actors are young, but I think you’ll be sucked in by the amazing music of Elton John and Tim Rice, the beautiful love story, and the wonderful job done by the soloists.
Tonight, Saturday, August 17, is the last night you will be able to catch this play at the American Fork Ampitheater. It begins at 8 pm and tickets are $8-10.
