Genie’s wit and puns would make any dad joke-teller proud. And, the colorful sets and the special effects of the carpet ride made for a magical premiere of “Disney’s Aladdin” at the Saroyan Theatre on Wednesday night.

Disney’s Aladdin, which is the last production of the Broadway in Fresno season, runs through Sunday. There are added matinees on Saturday and Sunday.

Simple Story, Big Laughs

This may be the best effort in the series since “Hamilton” in 2022. The story is well-known and simple — poor Aladdin finds the magic lamp, uses his wishes to wow Princess Jasmine, only to be thwarted by Jafar but true love wins in the end. The sets took me to the palace, the marketplace, and inside the cave.

There are many comic foils in Disney’s Aladdin: Genie, played by Marcus M. Martin, is boisterous, over-the-top, and his charisma drives the show. Iago (Aaron Choi), the wormy sidekick of evil Jafar, is full of one-liners.

Prince Ali (the alter-ego of Aladdin, played by Adi Roy) and his magic carpet ride with Jasmine (Senzel Ahmady) highlighted the technical stagecraft. The use of lighting and whatever mechanical wizardry made the characters float across the stage. I don’t know how they did it, and I don’t want to know.

The Broadway in Fresno series continues next season with “Come From Away (Nov. 12-13); Annie (Feb. 11-12, 2025); Six The Musical (April 1-6); and Tina (May 12-13).