The community is invited to join students at Plant City High School on a magic carpet ride through Agrabah during its dual language production of Aladdin.
The production will feature Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, Iago, Genie, Jafar and more in a musical rendition of the classic tale. The students will be presenting a dual-language version of the show, which recently helped land the group the $10,000 NBC R.I.S.E. America grant early last month.
“Our school is over 40% Hispanic population and we wanted to do a program to highlight talent in the school and represent the community,” said Carla Plummer, guest director of the show and an English teacher at PCHS. “This is just a very exciting opportunity and I’m thrilled for the students. They’ve all been working so hard to make this a great production.”
Chris Dulje, Aladdin, and Taryn Storter, Princess Jasmine, both agreed learning the Spanish lines for the
show was a challenge they were eager to take. The songs were “easy to learn” and, for the rest, they said they relied on Spanish teacher Mareda Westerman, who aided the group, to help coach them to success.
The structure of the show is not the only unique aspect of the production. Plummer said everyone from groups at the school to members of the community have banded together to help bring Agrabah to life.
The “spectacular coterie” has included the carpentry club, who helped make part of the sets including the flying magic carpet and cosmetology students who are assisting with the magical makeup and hair. The “shining, shimmering, splendid” costumes have all been supplied by Stage Manager Ashley Bhagwandeen’s family.
“It’s been really interesting because it has included the entire school,” Plummer said. “You don’t normally see the carpentry kids hanging out with theatre kids, but this has bridged that gap and given them something to bond over. It’s just been a group effort.”
With such a well-loved story comes added pressure to perform perfectly, Dulje said. The expectations for their characters have set a high bar, but he said as long as the cast continues to have fun with their performance he is sure the audience will fall in love with the final product.
There may not be “75 golden camels,” but Storter said the dedication and commitment from the entire cast helped create a world-class experience for viewers. She said the show will include interactive scenes like having performances throughout the rows to help the audience feel they have truly stepped into a whole new world.
Tickets can be purchased at the door with cash or a check and are $10 for adults, $7 for students and $5 for children 13 years old and under. The proceeds will go toward next year’s production of Little Shop of Horrors and help send students to competitions.
“It’s going to be a good show and we’ve worked hard on it,” Duljie said. “It’s been fun. Our school’s not known for theatre so putting on a production that’s so well-known, we have to live up to the expectations and I think we will. I think people will enjoy it.”