Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida Features Tony-Winning Score
November 2, 2006
The newly conceived North American touring production of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida makes its Penn State debut in two performances at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 28 and 29, in Eisenhower Auditorium. Based on the story from the classic Verdi opera, Aida is a new musical with John's modern score.
Winner of four Tony Awards, Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida bursts with contemporary energy chronicling the love triangle among Aida, a Nubian princess stolen from her country, Amneris, an Egyptian princess, and Radames, the Egyptian soldier they both love. Aida is an epic tale of love, loyalty and betrayal with a Tony and Grammy award-winning score by John and Rice, their first collaboration since writing the music for The Lion King.
Section one and two tickets for the Center for the Performing Arts presentation are $46 and $40 for an adult, $36 and $30 for a University Park student and $41 and $35 for a person 18 and younger. For tickets and information, visit www.cpa.psu.edu or phone (814) 863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also available at Eisenhower Auditorium and Bryce Jordan Center, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; Penn State Tickets Downtown, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and HUB-Robeson Center, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.
"Aida is not opera," John says. "It's truly a pop musical with spoken dialogue and all kinds of recognizable song types: urban-based rhythm and blues, gospel-inspired songs, ballads and, of course, Crocodile Rock songs."
Aida features music by John, lyrics by Rice and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls and David Henry Hwang. Aida was originally directed by Robert Falls and produced by Disney Theatrical Productions. Big League Theatricals, Inc. has conceived and developed this new touring production. Staging is by T. J. Young and choreography by Sarita Allen. The design team includes Neil Patel (scenery), Emilio Sosa (costumes) and Charlie Morrison (lighting).
"Aida is filled with glorious pop anthems," writes a critic for the Detroit Free Press, while a USA Today reviewer praises the "crowd-pleasing score." The production coming to Penn State opened in September in Arkansas and continues on an 85-city North American tour through April.
"As Aida, Marja Harmon demonstrated her amazing voice, from sweet, soft ballads to a powerful spiritual," writes a critic for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "Casey Elliott, playing Radames, showed a solid voice that can handle both the gentle duets with Aida and louder songs with more intense demands. As Amneris, Leah Allers was delightfully funny, delivering her witty lines with perfect timing. With a beautiful singing voice, Allers heralded the virtues of being well-dressed in "My Strongest Suit," a fun rock 'n' roll tune reminiscent of "Crocodile Rock."
Kish Bank sponsors the show. WTAJ-TV 10 is the media sponsor. Audio description, which is especially helpful to patrons with sight loss, is available for the Nov. 29 performance at no extra charge to ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion that provides insight from a visiting artist or local expert, is offered in Eisenhower Auditorium one hour before each performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity. Seating is available on a first-arrival basis.
Contact: Laura Sullivan, 814-863-6379