MUSKET presents "Aida" Nobvember 19-21.

photo by Patrick Fromuth

The young theater artists involved with MUSKET — the University of Michigan’s student-run musical theater troupe — kicked around the idea of staging “Aida” for a while before the time seemed right.

“Then it was like magic, in that, once it was in our heads, the ideas just started flowing,” said Richard Grasso, a junior BFA major who's directing the show. “The show’s ideas are timeless. It deals with love, forbidden love, and it really relates to people today in so many ways. … It’s this old story, paired with a modern rock score, so I think it’s a great show for a college environment.”

With music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and a book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang, the stage musical “Aida” was inspired by Leontyne Price’s storybook version of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera. Disney snapped up the rights for the purposes of making an animated film, but when that project stalled, “Aida” was instead adapted for the stage.

“Disney had come out with these movies they’d turned into stage musicals” — like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King” — “and this was the first one that became a musical first.”

One of the criticisms of the Broadway production of “Aida,” which premiered in 2000 after tryout runs in Atlanta and Chicago, was that it didn’t have a clear sense of its audience, and thus seemed a show that was written by committee. Grasso, however, finds “Aida”’s story timely, and believes it’s best suited for young adults and adults.

One of the criticisms of the Broadway production of “Aida,” which premiered in 2000 after tryout runs in Atlanta and Chicago, was that it didn’t have a clear sense of its audience, and thus seemed a show that was written by committee. Grasso, however, finds “Aida”’s story timely, and believes it’s best suited for young adults and adults.

“Kids could certainly come to the show, though,” Grasso said. “Some of it could go over their heads — some of the funny jokes and humor — but the young adult generation would be engaged, I think, because the show focuses on so many of the same problems that our society faces today. And they’re realizing, as they enter the world themselves, that even hundreds of years ago, people were still facing same things.”

“Aida” earned six Tony Award nominations in 2000, winning four (including breakout star Heather Headley’s win for best actress in a musical, and John and Rice’s win for best original music score). Grasso knew songs from the show, but had never seen a production before directing MUSKET’s production.

“I think the score is wonderful,” said Grasso. “All the songs are in a different musical style. There are love ballads, rock and roll, reggae, disco, R&B, gospel. … And the show in general is like a dream. It moves fluidly. And just like we don’t remember every part of our dream, the music reflects that. … It relates to different feelings and situations.”

This sense of fluidity applies to the show’s structure, too, and this has presented Grasso with staging challenges.

“It’s not one of those shows where it’s like, ‘Oh, the song’s over, so there’s a blackout, and when the lights come up, we’re somewhere else,’” said Grasso. “Each scene just flows into the next in this fluid way, and there are so many different locales.”

Grasso and his design team are using projections to help establish settings.

“There’s nothing lavish or ornate,” said Grasso. “The set highlights different aspects flowingly, and in a way that works with the show’s dream-like aspects. … We’re picking and choosing things, and doing our own show based on what the script tells us.”

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.