Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1190498
CULTURE THEATRE maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 DECEMBER 2019 10 WITH just weeks to go until open- ing night, the extensive ensemble of MADC's pantomime Aladdin is being kept busy with rehearsals under the direction of Michael Mangion, vocal coach Roger Tirazona, musical direc- tor Ryan Abela, and choreographer Francesco Nicodeme. Yet while the acting, dancing and singing fills the MADC's Clubrooms with drama, elaborate toe-tapping dance moves, and melodious har- monies, the backstage team are hammering, sewing, and painting in preparation for opening night on 23 December. The panto's behind-the-scenes op- eration is as vibrant and demanding as what goes on onstage. "The set- ting of the story – in the magical and mysterious Orient – has inspired the creative team to come up with some amazing and spectacular designs," says Mangion. "We have a whole army of people that numbers way more than the cast, including our departments for wardrobe, set and prop construction, lighting, projections, and sound, and the marketing and front-of-house teams – it is one of the largest teams we have ever had. They are all com- ing together to bring the production to life, and the results are already so exciting." MADC audiences this year will be treated to an array of over 100 new costumes, all beautifully designed by Isabel Warrington. Warrington also leads the costume team, which is busy creating all kinds of outfits – from simple peasant costumes, to elaborate creations and complicated works of 'engineering' for the Dame, played this year by Alan Montanaro, who has also written the script. "The set construction team has almost as many bits of scenery, de- MADC's Aladdin the Panto promises trademark spectacle for all the The setting of the story, in the magical and mysterious Orient, has inspired the creative team to come up with spectacular designs to delight its audiences