BWW Reviews: Bayou City Theatrics' AIDA - An Entertaining Nile-Themed Gem in the Rough

Bayou City Theatrics is continuing their inaugural season with Houston's first locally produced professional staging of Elton John and Tim Rice's AIDA. The musical, with a book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang, was originally produced on Broadway by Disney Theatrical Productions, and ran on there from March 23, 2000 to September 5, 2004 for a total of 1,852 performances. The successes of the Broadway production lead to two national tours. The 2002-2003 equity tour served as a duplicate of the Broadway staging; however, David Henry Hwang revised the book for the 2006-2007 non-equity second national tour, creating a show that was a bit darker by removing some of the campy comedy from the character of Amneris. Having seen both tours, it seems that the version licensed by Music Theatre International is the same book used by the Broadway version.

The musical is based on Giuseppe Verdi's opera AIDA, and tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers caught in a war between their countries. Radamaes, a captain in Egypt's army, captures and enslaves the Nubian princess, Aida. Aida's brash defiance of her Egyptian captors enthralls and mesmerizes Radames. He presents Aida as a handmaiden to his betrothed, the daughter of the reigning Pharaoh, Princess Amneris. As Radames' love for Aida grows, his loyalties to his scheming father and the ailing Pharaoh falter. Soon, Radames is risking everything for a love that will earn him the name of traitor.

Colton Berry stages his production in the round, directing the show with energy and zeal while ensuring that the cast plays to all four sides. Moreover, the musical is played out in a very intimate setting, making the audience truly feel that they are immersed in the production. The space allows for Colton Berry to go for broke in his direction of the more richly sensitive personal and introspective scenes, which adds a nice gravity to the raw emotionality to the complications of the forbidden love. This is especially true in Act II's trial scene, where noticeable real tears shatter our hearts and leave the audience devastated.

The choreography by Colton Berry is genuinely gratifying and works well with the score and characters. He puts a fun and catchy dose of youthful spirit into the work, which makes the dances appealing and entertaining. Yet, the "Dance of the Robe" Choreography by William Martin simply steals the show. William Martin masterfully places and moves the bodies of the cast through the space in a stunningly frenetic, almost frantic, series of paces that make the number pop with power and pizzazz. When paired with the vocals, this "Dance of the Robe" is definitely the emotional powerhouse of the first act, and probably my favorite moment in the entire production.

Music Direction by Colton Berry does a majority of the score great service, but there are some choices that I just did not agree with. Colton Berry has a prodigious sensibility for pop vocal aesthetics, but I felt some of the choices he made in adding decorative trills and runs were excessive and unnecessary. I commend and applaud his artistry and intentions of providing a different interpretation of the score when compared to the Original Broadway Cast recording that many are familiar with, but I also found myself questioning whether his elucidation of the score truly needed to be as dissimilar as his final product was. On the other hand, numbers like "The Gods Love Nubia" and "Like Father, Like Son," which always felt like needless placeholders to me, were superbly sung and allowed me to gain a new appreciation and an honest love for those songs.

Jane Volke conducts the Bayou City Theatrics' orchestra with drive and skill. Each number is excitingly paced and harmoniously played.

Starring at the titular character, Aida, Miatta Lebile is spirited and compelling. She imbues the character with a great passion for life that allows her to be bold and stand up for herself and the people of Nubia. Miatta Lebile pairs her confidence and strength with fascinating and moving moments of vulnerability. Vocally, I found myself impressed and moved by her introspective "Dance of the Robe," her soft and sweet "Enchantment Passing Through," her beautiful vocals on "Not Me," and her soulful belt on "The Gods Love Nubia." I found her command of visceral emotions on numbers like "Easy As Life" to be awe-inspiring, but she also gets lost in these heavy emotions, which negatively impacts her pitch and tonal control.

As Radames, Colton Berry is not as authoritative, virile, or masculine as other interpretations of the character. He is commanding, but prone to childlike tantrums when his clout is questioned. The book indicates a character made immature by privilege, who grows into adulthood because of his forbidden love. This is an arc that Colton Berry travels extremely well in the production. He sings his way through the score with ease and vigor, impressing audiences with his rocker edge on "Like Father, Like Son" and his warm and shining, softer pop renditions of "Elaborate Lives" and "Radames' Letter." On some numbers he shows signs of vocal fatigue and strain.

The bubbly Amneris is perfectly acted by Crystyl Swanson. She delivers the uncompromisingly effervescing woman who becomes a respected leader of her people with precision, making her transformation one that earns our respect as it is forged in her heartbreak. She shines on numbers like "My Strongest Suit" and "Not Me," but her upper register weakens when she has to sing loudly over the band, causing her voice to strain on the endings of "Every Story Is A Love Story," "A Step Too Far," and "I Know The Truth."

The ever-loyal Merab is phenomenally played by the majestically talented Matt Johnson. His sumptuous and soulful voice is expertly applied to "How I Know You," "Not Me," and "How I Know You (Reprise)." His performance was my absolute favorite of the entire production and worth the price of admission alone. He may be new to Houston stages, but he is proving himself to be quite a magnificent star.

Kyle Ezer plays the deviously conniving, snarky Zoser with a conspicuously crafted air of menace. Moreover he lends a strong voice to his numbers, and, as previously stated, found a way to make me appreciate and re-evaluate what used to be my least favorite moment of the score, "Like Father, Like Son."

Rikki Conner's Nehebka is immaculately played. Her vocals are gorgeous and filled with substantial soul, passion, and life. Rikki Conner delivers the strongest and cleanest featured female vocals in the performance, moving us with her beautiful and lovely solo on "Dance of the Robe" and every other time she opens her mouth to sing.

The ensemble in this production of AIDA is astounding. They portray a myriad of characters with magnetizing and stirring proficiency. They sing with remarkable clarity and dance with excellent poise. Erin Wasmund, Elizabeth Tinder, Derrien Kellum, Melanie Burke, Mori Seriki, Kelly Waguespack, Eric Briggs, Brian Chambers, Miguel Garcia, and Scott Lupton all deliver noteworthy, captivating, and extremely engaging performances.

SpirAl Jackson's Amonsaro, King of Nubia, is regal and stately, even as a slave.

The aging and poisoned Pharaoh is deftly played by Alex Lambert.

Lighting Design by Ty Frazier is colorful and evocative. The use of pinks, oranges, and yellows really aided the desert setting of the production. Stars and flowing water gobos are well placed and used for great effect. I also liked the bars of white light used for "A Step To Far."

The biggest drawback to the production is that the Sound Design, credited to Kyle Ezer, may be too simplistic. Here, I have a hard time blaming anyone but the venue. As solo vocals got drowned out by the band and ensemble, I began my fruitless search for visible speakers. There were five microphones hanging from the ceiling above the performance space. Unfortunately, I found no speakers for these microphones to project the sounds they captured from. At the opening night performance, several cast members sounded vocally fatigued, and strained on the louder and higher pitches. My guess is that the lack of electronic amplification of the human voice is the true culprit. However, the band is beautifully amplified and mixed extremely well.

Costume Construction by Lynne Wasmund and Colton Berry, with assistance from Erin Wasmund, Derrien Kellum, Miatta Lebile, Eric Briggs and Scott Lupton, is solid. This group hand painted many of the Egyptian pieces and appears to have hand dyed many of the Nubian pieces, which adds some nice authenticity to the appearance of the garments. My only complaints would be the modern, prom style dress worn by Amneris during the opening of Act II because it looks out of place.

Set Construction by Jane Volke, Eric Briggs, and Miguel Garcia is intriguing. Their movable pieces that represent the museum at the open and close of the show are executed nicely. I'm assuming this group also assembled the props that served to explain scenic locales, and they have done pretty stellar work here. For example, I really enjoyed the way they used silver fabrics to create Amneris' swimming pool among other minimalistic but effective choices.

I have a warm and tender spot for Elton John and Tim Rice's AIDA in my heart. While I can truthfully say that I have seen Bayou City Theatrics produce better productions than this one, I can also say that I did enjoy myself while attending their opening night performance of AIDA. Some aspects are rough around the edges, but I really feel that Colton Berry and his Bayou City Theatrics company are continuing to make marvelous progress as they grow and establish themselves in this city. I know it'll be fun to keep an eye on this company as they grow and mature into a musical theatre force to be reckoned with. And with that said, I can't help but suggest that audiences rush out to support this talented group and snap up tickets to this entertaining Nile-themed gem in the rough!

Bayou City Theatrics' rough but alluring production of AIDA runs at the Barnevelder Arts Complex at 2201 Preston Street, Houston, Texas through May 12, 2013. For more information and tickets, please visit http://www.bayoucitytheatrics.com or http://www.eventbrite.com/org/3042914334.

Photos courtesy of Bayou City Theatrics.

Crystyl Swanson as Amneris, Miatta Lebile as Aida, and Colton Berry as Radames.

Miatta Lebile as Aida and Colton Berry as Radames.

Miatta Lebile as Aida and Colton Berry as Radames.

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