Review: AIDA performed by Young Artists Of America at Strathmore
A story of love and war set in Egypt, where the Nubian princess and her people are captured, sets the scene for a thrilling and captivating show.
By: Olivia Murray Apr. 05, 2022
Young Artists of America's production of Aida was nothing short of impressive. A show with such intensity and a fantastic score can be quite intimidating, but these students rose to the challenge and gave a performance I will not forget. A story of love and war set in Egypt, where the Nubian princess and her people are captured, sets the scene for a thrilling and captivating show. I also know I am not the first to say I am very proud of and astonished by the students in this production.
The company led by Ella Hinds (Aida), Spencer Whims (Ramades), and Hashini Amarasinghe (Amneris) blew me away. Hinds, who was last year named Miss District of Columbia Junior Teen, gave an astounding performance as the title role. She made this character a force to be reckoned with, standing by her people of Nubia and refusing to back down in the face of Egyptian soldiers and royalty. When Ella first took the stage, I had no idea the amount of talent this person possessed and was floored when she began to sing. When watching a student-led performance, you usually don't know what to expect. Typically, with these shows you are on the edge of your seat, just hoping everything goes smoothly. This performance only left me in awe, once I knew what these kids were capable of. Ella's technique with both her powerful acting and singing left me excited for the show to continue on and for what her future has in store. Not many students that I have seen possess the talent that Ella displayed and I am very glad I was able to experience it for the one-time performance.
Along with that, was her co-star Spencer Whims. It isn't as common to see a male-presenting performer in a student production, as well as one who holds as much talent as Spencer does. Whims presented the conflict Ramades held within so beautifully and made this experience even more enjoyable than anticipated. They hold so much talent and I was glad to see this was recognized by being given an award at the end of the performance to reflect such. Spencer's tone was lovely and packed many amazing surprises into his vocal repertoire. I continued to be impressed as he sang a difficult score with such ease. Ramades were certainly done justice by this impressive performance.
Then, there is the other leading lady, Hashini Amarasinghe, who played such a great Amneris with both brightness and depth. Amneris is such a critical part to the story and Amarasinghe really brought the show to life with performance. Again, this student demonstrated an immense amount of talent with her stunning voice and lively acting, which truly made this show so exciting and interesting to watch. Hashini made it apparent why she was given the role, her passion for it absolutely shined through. The three of these actors filled me with joy and excitement for all of them. I hope they continue on the stage for a long time because talent like that is not seen every day, especially at a young age. If there is a way these students are eligible, I am confident that they could earn well-deserved spots at the Jimmy Awards.
But it wasn't just these three that made the production so enjoyable. The entire cast, including the choir, was the backbone of telling this story. Aida cannot be told with only a few actors, at least not with how this cast showed it. Every single person on that stage had a reason to be there and added much more to the story. Not to mention going from costume change to costume change, as well as repeatedly running across the stage as their various characters. Seeing and feeling the emotions given off by everyone in the production immersed you even more into the story. I also want to acknowledge the performances by Christian Blair (Mereb), Will Coffey (Zoser), and Ava Benson (Nehebka), who all stood out with their great talent and added wonderful pieces to the story.
The incredible orchestra also helped bring this story to life. A large part of Aida is the fabulous music created by Elton John and Tim Rice. Sometimes, student productions run with a condensed pit band or a recording of all of the music, but not a Young Artists of America production. The large orchestra, conducted by Kristofer Sanz, added the perfect balance of music, without overpowering the story but still giving enough so that you felt the rhythm and sensed the mood based on the style being played. Orchestras and bands can be left out when recognizing the talent a production represents, but this one can certainly not be like the others. The music was beautiful and wonderfully paired their talent with the talent in front of them on stage.
I am so glad the production team, consisting of Kevin S. McAllister (Stage Director), Rolando Sanz (Founder and Producing Artistic Director), Kristofer Sanz (Founder and Music Director), Shalyca Hemby (Choreographer), Paul Heinemann (YAAjunior Director), and Dominic Grijalva (Projection Designer), all worked to provide the students of YAA an amazing experience and a fantastic opportunity to showcase their ever-growing talents.
Running time: 2 hours and 10 minutes plus a 15 minute intermission.
Aida was a one-night only performance on April 3rd, 2022 at the Music Center at Strathmore, located at 5301 Tuckerman Ln, North Bethesda, MD 20852.
For more information about Young Artists of America, click here.
Proof of vaccination and identification, as well as wearing a mask, were required for viewing of this production.
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