I walked into the Arvada Center's highly anticipated regional premiere of "Aida" thinking I had never before seen the fated, forbidden romance between the Nubian princess and her Egyptian captain.

Turns out I have seen it over and over and over again.

Enslave a thoroughly modern Millie only to have her tame her captor's macho heart? Just saw that (again) in "Beauty and the Beast." A plucky ingenue softens a chauvinistic boor? Take your pick from "The King and I," "The Sound of Music," "My Fair Lady" and a dozen others.

Aida and Radames are Belle and her Beast recycled. Or John Smith and Pocahontas they are just that interchangeable. Aida's father (Amonasro) and confidant (Mereb) are ripped cleanly from "The Lion King's" Mufasa and Timon. I could go on.

It's galling how Disney can make any world culture homogenous by churning tales through its formulaic machine. And how it continues to get away with simply inserting present-day American sensibilities and stock characters into stories from other cultures.

"Aida," based on Verdi's opera, should make for one of the most potent love stories in stage history. After all, the enslaved princess and the enemy captor who falls for her are buried alive as punishment for their love. How can you possibly mess that up?

Just add Disney. Only such an arrogant monolith could get away with a blatantly racist number in which slaves put on a glamorous fashion show. "Aida" is like taking a bubble bath in the Nile River.

Insipid pop songwriters Elton John and Tim Rice, and especially ghastly book writer Linda Woolverton, have committed the cultural equivalent of ethnic cleansing, for they bring absolutely nothing of historic or regional authenticity. No one should think any of the respect and ingenuity that went into staging Disney's "The Lion King" might also be found here. This book drips with contrivances, foolish cliches and anachronistic dialogue("I can't believe he's changing!"). Worst, it turns a great love story ordinary, in any epoch.

Which is no disrespect to director Rod A. Lansberry and his supremely talented company, who really give it their all. I've never admired more the many sensational individual contributions that have gone into such an utterly mediocre artistic project.

Terrific leads Soara-Joye Ross (Aida), Peter James Zielinski (Radames), Arthur W. Marks (Mereb) and Julie Reiber (Amneris) have Broadway-caliber voices. Kitty Skillman Hilsabeck's choreography, while lacking a certain machismo, is fun and inventive. Nicole M. Harrison-Hoof's costumes are nearly enough to distract you completely from the superficiality playing out in front of you.

Just how simplistic is this? The story has a love triangle Radames is betrothed to pharaoh's daughter Amneris. So their song ("A Step Too Far") is staged as a literal triangle. The most interesting writing is the bond that develops between Amneris and rival Aida over Radames. And after a second act full of doleful hand-wringing, it's a credit to Reiber and Ross that there is more juice left in their friendship than between Aida and Radames.

There is some laughable ethnic confusion in the casting, but that goes back to Broadway. Only in the wonderfully white world of Disney can a director get away with staging a war between Egypt and southern Egypt (Nubia) as an Anglo vs. black conflict. Well, mostly black. The only real signature number is the ceiling-rattling spiritual "The Gods Love Nubia," but try not snickering at all those sincere-singing, hot-looking white backup slaves.

That "Aida" lost the 2000 Tony for best musical to the plotless "Contact," and that it could not sustain enough interest for even one national tour, says all you need to know about how it is regarded in the industry. But it did have staying power, and the last laugh on Broadway, grossing $165 million, largely on stunt casting of such pop stars as Toni Braxton and Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child. And in fairness, the Arvada Center's largely invited opening night audience stood and cheered passionately (proving once again my axiom that Denver-area audiences would stand for a sit-in).

That "Aida" brings audiences to the theater is its greatest virtue. On Broadway, 17 percent were ages 18-24 (Broadway average: 9 percent), and blacks made up 16 percent(Broadway average: 3).

It's great that they came. But will they ever come back?

Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-820-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com