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AIDA - INTRODUCTION
"AIDA is not opera.
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."
?Elton John
Winner of four 2000 Tony® Awards, Elton John and Tim
Rice's AIDA is a musical bursting with contemporary
energy chronicling the love triangle between Aida, a Nubian
princess stolen from her country, Amneris, an Egyptian princess,
and Radames, the soldier they both love.
AIDA is an epic tale of love, loyalty and
betrayal with an exhilarating Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning score
by Elton John and Tim Rice, their first collaboration since writing
the music for the worldwide phenomenon The Lion
King.
Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA features
music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim 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., who recently produced the acclaimed North
American tour of Miss Saigon, has
conceived and developed this new touring production. The tour of
Aida is directed by Daniel Stewart. Additional staging is by TJ
Young and choreography is by Sarita Allen. Design team for the new
production includes Neil Patel (Scenery), Emilio Sosa (Costumes)
and Charlie Morrison (Lighting).
"Aida is filled with glorious pop
anthems" raves the Detroit Free Press, while USA
Today praises Elton John & Tim Rice's
AIDA's "crowd-pleasing score," and The Star
Ledger proclaims, "Elton John's high-energy theater score
swoons with romance."
The score for Elton John & Tim Rice's
AIDA was hailed by Time Magazine as "filled
with luscious melodies and soulful lyrics." The show produced a
number of hit songs including "Written in the Stars" (recorded by
Elton John and LeAnn Rimes, which hit #2 on Billboard's AC charts
in 1999), "Easy as Life" (recorded by Tina Turner and also as a
dance remix by Deborah Cox that hit #24 on the US Dance charts in
2004) "Elaborate Lives," "My Strongest Suit" and "The Gods Love
Nubia." The Original Broadway Cast Album is available from Disney
Records. The Concept Album, featuring a host of music superstars
from Tina Turner and Elton John to Boyz II Men and Lenny Kravitz,
was released on Island Records.
The original production had its world premiere (as "Elaborate
Lives: The Legend of Aida") at the Alliance Theatre in
Atlanta, Georgia on September 17, 1998. A new, revised production
opened on December 9, 1999 at the Cadillac Palace in Chicago. The
Broadway production, named Elton John & Tim Rice's
AIDA, opened at the Palace Theatre on March 23, 2000
and ran a total of 1,852 performances, making it one of the longest
running shows in Broadway history, generating a successful national
tour and several international productions. Big League Theatricals,
Inc., by special permission from Disney Theatrical Productions,
acquired the rights to create this fresh, new touring production of
Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA.