"Fortune favors the brave," sing the Egyptian soldiers in the musical "Aida," and Greater Orlando Actors Theatre must have been feeling brave indeed to take on such a show.

"Aida" made a splash on Broadway in 2000 with big set pieces, dramatic lighting, athletic dances and extravagant costumes. So it's a huge undertaking for a local theater company to stage the show in the small Goldman Theatre of the Lowndes Shakespeare Center.

Fortune did smile on GOAT, as the company is known, when director Paul Castaneda found charismatic Desiree Perez to play the title role. But, alas, fortune is fickle: One star does not a show make, and even the strong singing voice and expressive acting of Perez can't hide the wobbliness that dogs this production.

Based on the Verdi opera, "Aida" tells the story of its namesake Nubian princess. Captured by the Egyptian army captain Radames, Aida and her captor fall in love, but he is betrothed to Egyptian Princess Amneris. His evil father Zoser has arranged the match as part of his plan to murder the pharaoh and take control of Egypt.

The biggest weakness in GOAT's telling of the tale is the notable absence of any sense of fear hanging over the proceedings. This is a romance that should crackle with danger: What if the lovers are caught? Will they be killed? What will Zoser do if Radames won't follow his murderous scheme?

But Ian Clark as Zoser is hampered by the show's two weakest songs and a male chorus of soldiers who are lackluster in both voice and menace. A simplistic dance number by choreographer Patti Haine doesn't add to their stature and just slows down the plot.

Without that shadow of danger, the love story is diminished — though Perez and Adam McCabe, as Radames, are full of longing looks.

Perez, who has the cast's strongest singing voice, uses her posture to her advantage — a regal carriage when she's standing up for herself, but she crumples like the weight of the world's on her shoulders when she thinks about her duty to her father and country.

Youthful McCabe makes Radames seem even more callow than the script suggests. He growls through composer Elton John's rock songs like the role's Broadway originator, Adam Pascal — and channels the dress sense and attitude of "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert. He does bring style to the proceedings with a bushy Mohawk hairdo, dressed like a punk-rock bullfighter. (Costumes are by Josette Gillette.)

As Amneris, Krystal Gillette captures the character's surface shallowness but there's no sense of the iron streak underneath that makes her a believable third prong of the love triangle. Gillette also has the worst time with her microphone, with loud notes shrilly blasting the small Goldman Theatre.

In the smaller role of Aida's countryman Mereb, Lloyd Taylor II has a pleasant tenor voice, a good thing because miking issues mean his voice often overpowers the chorus — whether he's singing melody or not.

Pacing is also problematic as there's a frequent need for blackouts between musical numbers to rearrange the minimalistic set. The spell of the music — and emotion — is broken each time a song ends and the audience waits for a different background drape to appear or a pillar to be carried into place.

The highlight of the show is Perez's "Easy As Life," a bitter lament about making tough choices. Simply staged with Aida's lover at one side of the stage and her father at the other, Perez turns back and forth, her rich voice getting more desperate as she ponders which direction to take.

Maybe the tough choice for the production team should have been forgoing the show's bigger elements for something simpler.


See for yourself

What: Greater Orlando Actors Theatre production of 'Aida,' the Elton John-Tim Rice musical

When: 8:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6; 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7; 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 13; through Feb. 13.


Tickets: $18; $15 seniors and students; $10 for the Monday, Feb. 7, performance

Call: 407-872-8451

Online: goatgroup.org