Hale’s ambitious ‘Aida’ shows dramatic potential of new movable beast of a stage

This isn’t a stage or a musical demanding acting subtlety, thanks to the Broadway-musical-by-the-numbers-feel of Tim Rice and Elton John’s bombastic score.

In this new Hale production, even Jennifer Stapley Taylor’s extravagant costume designs, particularly the robes and headdresses of the Egyptian royalty, feel as if they are visually belting.

What works best is the repairing of Kandyce Marie as Aida, an enslaved Nubian princess, and Casey Elliott as Radames, the restlessly cocky, reluctantly betrothed Egyptian captain.