Aidan

Aidan loves to write. Please enjoy reading Aidan’s insightful and informative articles featuring reviews from the latest films, stage shows, music and theatre productions.

Aidan’s interest in entertainment and passion for writing are brought together in these easy-to-read articles that are published on the OC Connections website as they are written. If you enjoy these articles, please leave a comment and share on facebook.

About Aidan

21-year-old Aidan came to OC Connections after finishing high school at Glenallen School in Glen Waverley.

Twice a week Aidan participates in our Day Support program. His interests lie in the arts, music and swimming and he is passionate about human rights.

While participating in activities at OC Connections, Aidan’s goals have been centred around increasing his confidence. He is keen to develop new skills and experiences, constantly challenging himself to achieve. Aidan is an active member of the OC Connections Participant Advisory Group and he is participating in our Certificate I in Transition Education pilot program, which focuses on building his skills and confidence in regards to future employment opportunities.

Since completing his studies, Aidan is keen to discuss longer-term aspirations around independent living and employment.

Recent blog posts

Ragtime the Musical

Mum and I saw Ragtime the Musical on Saturday afternoon. We loved it and we thought that the music and singing was amazing. The cast were excellent and the costumes were just beautiful.

The story of Ragtime is about the lives and destinies of three ethnic groups and how they intersect, crossing various cultural, social and economic divides. It is a very sad story at times.

I heard about Ragtime for the first time when I saw that Audra McDonald was in the original 1998 Broadway Production and that is how I discovered it. This production was done by the Production Company at the Arts Centre.

The opening song Ragtime was so beautiful and well done. The Ragtime Orchestra were terrific and the cast were sensational. The cast had such wonderful voices.

I give the movie a 9 out of 10.

The Lion King Movie 2019

I saw the latest Lion King movie with Dad and Luke in August. It was a live action remake of the original 1994 Lion King film. It was very good and the music was excellent.

The opening at the beginning with the song Circle of Life was excellent.  Scar in this movie is much more brutal than in the original film.

Near the end of the movie the fight is more confronting between Scar and Simba I thought. Chiwetel Ejifor was Scar and he brought a more Evil side to Scar than ever before.

James Earl Jones reprises his role as Mufasa as he did in the original film 25 years ago. His voice is amazing and he does it so well.

Donald Glover was Simba and he was very good.  Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner were Pumbaa and Timon.  Beyoncé Knowles was Nala and she was very impressive as her singing was just beautiful.

I give the movie an 8 out of 10.

5 Feet Apart

5 Feet Apart was a beautiful movie. I loved the movie. I saw it in April with one of OC Connections’ staff. The film got mixed reviews but I really enjoyed it.

It was a movie about patients with cystic fibrosis. The film was based on real-life parallels between couple Dalton and Katie Prager’s cystic fibrosis diagnosis and cancer diagnosis in the bestselling novel, The Fault in our Stars.

I thought that the movie was excellent. It was one of the best romantic movies that I have ever seen. The cast included Haley Richardson who was Stella and she did an excellent job. Cole Sprouse was Will and he was great.

It was a love story and had a beautiful ending. It had its happy bits and it’s very sad bits. It was an awesome love story between Stella and Will.

It was an amazing 8 out of 10.

Muriel’s Wedding

Mum and I saw Muriel’s Wedding the Musical last Sunday, 17 March 2019.  I thought that the Musical was fantastic.

Muriel’s Wedding was based on the 1994 Film and this was the Musical version of it.

ABBA music was involved in the Musical and even a pretend ABBA Band appeared in it. Also, songs were written for the Musical and were written by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall.  Most of their music was very well done. The singing voices were amazing.

The cast was awesome.  Natalie Abbott was Muriel Heslop and she was very good. Stefanie Jones as Rhonda Epinstall was excellent. Also, David James was Bill Heslop, and Pippa Grandison was Betty Heslop,   Pippa was one of the nasty women in the actual movie. Also, Christie Whelan-Browne was Tania Degano.

The story was about Muriel and it was about her Ups and Downs. Muriel’s Wedding is sometimes a happy story and other times really Not.

I give the show a rating of 8 out of 10.

Jersey Boys

The Jersey Boys Musical was a fantastic musical. It had lots of brilliant music and the singers voices were amazing.

The story was about the Four-Seasons and it was all about their ups and downs from their early beginnings to becoming famous.

Ryan Gonzalez was Frankie Vali, Cameron McDonald was Tommy DeVito, Thomas McGuane was Bob Gaudio and Glaston Toft was Nick Massi. These were the Four Seasons and they were brilliant.

Some of the best songs were ‘Sherry’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ and ‘Walk like a Man’ Also the ‘Walk Like a Man’ Reprise was fantastic and so well done.  ‘Working My Way Back to You’ was terrific and ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ was excellent.

I really enjoyed Jersey Boys and I gave it a score of 10 out of 10.

Evita

Mum and I saw Evita the Musical on Saturday 26 January. It was about the life and death of Eva Peron and the ups and the downs of her life.

I loved it. I thought Tina Arena was wonderful and her performance was fantastic. There was so much beautiful music and so many beautiful songs throughout the performance.

Che (Kurt Kansley) was the narrator and very good. Alexis Van Maanen was also fantastic and beautiful as the Mistress. So many beautiful songs were included in the musical including Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina, and the just wonderful A New Argentina.

I thought that the whole cast’s singing was excellent. They all have wonderful voices. It was fantastic to see Evita and I enjoyed it a lot.

I rate the show a 8 out of 10.