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| Adam Jacobs as Aladdin, Photo by Deen Van Meer |
Welcome to the latest Aladdin musical news round up for all the latest goings on in the fabled city of Agrabah! It's been a busy few weeks for the cast and creative teams on both sides of the Atlantic (I really need to start doing these posts more often!) so let's get started!
Aladdin Broadway - Show News
First up I just want to say a belated farewell to both Giuseppe Bausilio and Donald Jones Jr. who have both left the show recently and wish them both the very best for the future. And of course to Trevor Dion Nicholas who's flown the magic carpet to London to make his West End debut!
Now, let's look at what is possibly my favourite video that Disney on Broadway have posted to their YouTube channel so far. James and Don's Scare War was hilarious to watch (and still continues!) but here James just takes it to the next level for April Fools Day!
I love how much fun James is having here!
You can read a little more about the event at People.
And speaking of having fun, yesterday was May 4th, traditionally recognised as Star Wars Day so the Aladdin gang decided to get in on the fun with a little back stage lightsaber action! I just love this picture!
Now you may be aware that some performances of Aladdin are interpreted in American Sign Language (ASL). But in a touching video James recently showed that he doesn't need an interpreter to say you've never had a friend like him. Check it out here.
Aladdin's had it's fair share of guest stars in its first two years and the latest is Telemundo's Veronica Albornoz who appeared in the show last month! You can see some back stage pictures right here courtesy of Adam Jacobs' Instagram.
And just in case you missed it - last month Aladdin made the switch to a digital lottery. This is, of course, much more convenient for most people (if you aren't lucky enough to win you'll know in the morning so you can plan something else for you evening) but I've got to admit I'll miss the videos of James and other cast members occasionally granting lottery wishes in person before the show. Those moments were always magical to see.
Aladdin Broadway - Cast News
You can read more about the upcoming production right here and you can buy tickets here!
Aladdin himself is due to teach a musical theatre workshop next month as Adam Jacobs and his sister Arielle Jacobs teach A Class Act NY's Dynamic Duo Broadway Workshop on 7th May, coaching 7-18 year olds on Broadway audition techniques. You can get on the wait list for the workshop right here.
For National Siblings Day last month Broadway World posted a great interview featuring Adam and his sister Arielle (as well as Andrew Keenan-Bolger and his sisters Maggie and Celia) that's well worth a read.
And you can catch both Adam and Arielle in their 54 Below show - Sibling Disobedience - later this month at 54 Below! Tickets are now on sale!
Have you ever wondered what a Broadway star keeps in their dressing room? Well wonder no more as Adam shows Broadway.com around his dressing room and his favourite back stage items.
In March, Adam performed at Lancaster Bible College and spoke about getting in to musical theatre and his career so far with Lancaster Online and KpopStarz.
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| If you read this blog then you have no excuse not to own this yet! |
If you can't get enough of Adam's amazing voice on Aladdin's original cast recording and his own debut album, Right Where I Belong, then I've got exciting news for you - Adam is going to be lending his vocals to Daniel and Laura Curtis' new album, Overture. The album is due to be recorded in both England and New York and feature some of Broadway and the West End's biggest stars. It's due to be released in October and you can read more about it right here! Can't wait? Then check out the Studio Cast Recording of An American Victory which stars Adam along with Ashley Brown (Broadway's original Mary Poppins) and many more and is on sale now!
Courtney Reed last month did an interview with Fit for Broadway's Jane that was so big it had to be split into 3 parts! You can read the first part right here, the second part is included with the My Broadway Hero piece that Jane did about Courtney which is a really inspiring read, and the third and final part is right here!
Last month Courtney Reed was one of the guest judges on Rising Star and this week she hit the red carpet in fun loving style for Broadway's School of Rock!
And check out the artwork Courtney did for #DoodleforHunger;
James Monroe Iglehart will be joining a whole host of Broadway stars next week as part of the Performers4Peace Concert. You can read all about the event and buy tickets right here.
And you can catch James right now in the Talk 4 Two podcast! I've not had chance to listen to it all yet but it promises to be insightful, funny and just a good time so check it out!
Is this news? I'm not sure but JMI's local Lego Store has fantastic taste in music!
PennState's School of Theatre recently posted a "Backstage Chat" with Aladdin's Nathan Lucrezio where he talks about the show, the audition process and offers some great advice to anyone hoping to break into musical theatre. Nathan was also featured in Irish Dance Magazine last month (if you've seen his fantastic YouTube video then you can probably see why)! And you can check out his latest YouTube mashup right here!
Last month Steel Burkhardt performed in Broadway Sessions in a special session for the graduating class of Baldwin Wallace University.
Last month Aladdin's Daisy Hobbs was the featured guest in Marty Thomas' Diva.
Aladdin's Rodney Ingram recently performed in concert in At This Performance. You can catch his full performance right here;
Aladdin Broadway - Creative Team News
As the majority of the creative team is gathered in London, rehearsing for the West End debut of Aladdin, Director/Choreographer Casey Nicholaw is celebrating a feat unequalled on Broadway since 2001. With the debut of Tuck Everlasting Casey now has 4 shows running on Broadway simultaneously! Congratulations Casey on this astonishing achievement!!
But that's not all - it could soon be 5! Casey's next show, The Prom, will premiere at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre on 18th August where it will run through 25th September. Could Broadway be next? Keep your fingers crossed! The book is by Bob Martin and Aladdin's Chad Begulin with music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Chad Begulin. You can read more details at Broadway Buzz, it sounds like a funny and touching show and I really hope it makes it to Broadway.
And speaking of Chad Beguelin - Aladdin's fantastic book writer recently joined with other Broadway writers to speak with Broadway World about the role a writer plays in creating a musical.
Now back to Casey (what you thought 4, potentially 5, Broadway shows was enough?). Playbill is reporting that Casey will collaborating with songwriter David Yazbek on a musical adaptation of Tootsie, but don't expect it any earlier than late 2017 due to Casey's busy schedule!
Yes, London Theatre's new profile is right - Casey Nicholaw "is potentially the hardest working man currently working in musical theatre." In fact, I think you can take out that "potentially"!!
Disney Legend Alan Menken, lyricist Glen Slater and the rest of the A Bronx Tale creative team are to be honoured this Friday at the Paper Mill Playhouse's annual fundraising gala. And you can check out a great new interview with Alan right here as he plays 23 Questions with D23.
Aladdin Broadway - Old Friends
Seattle's original Omar, Andrew Keenan-Bolger will be taking part in the Maize and Blue on Broadway benefit concert on May 16th. And joining him will be Hunchback's Samantha Massel! You can read more about the event and all the other stars at Broadway World.
You can tell that Tuck Everlasting has opened (check out the video montage here) as Andrew's everywhere right now! He's Broadway.com's latest Vlogger (and you can catch up on all the episodes so far right here), answering 20 Questions with Broadway Box, talking about opening night nerves with Backstage and if you want to know the best advice Andrew has ever been given then check out this short Playbill interview!
Aladdin and Something Rotten! star Marisha Wallace recently took part in the Broadway Sings Whitney Houston concert. Here she is nailing "So Emotional";
Marisha is taking a break from Something Rotten! this summer to star as Effie White in Dreamgirls in Dallas (so make sure to check that out if you're in Dallas this summer) but she'll be back with Broadway's Team Rotten in August!
It's been a busy month for Giuseppe Bausilio as he recently did an interview with Keith Price on Curtain Call which you can check out right here, appeared on Seth Rudetsky's Seth Speaks in a 3 part interview that you can watch here - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 - and an interview with Telebaern which you can watch here!
Aladdin on Tour
Aladdin's first US Tour may not begin until next April but the magic carpet will be making a quick stop in Chicago this summer as part of the Broadway in Chicago Summer Concert on Monday 15th August. There's no word yet on whether this will be the Broadway or Touring cast but I'd imagine it will be the original Broadway cast due to the date of the event. If you're in Chicago make sure you check it out for a fantastic preview of the magic that's heading your way next year! More details and tickets can be found at the Broadway in Chicago website.
Aladdin International
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| Myrthes Monteiro & Enrico De Pieri at the LEA Awards, Photo by Morris Mac Matzen |
And another congratulations on your cast recording!
I'm pretty sure that the Tokyo cast of Aladdin have also released a cast album but I can't find a link right now!
Now, has it really been over 3 weeks since this magical moment?!
"I wish we could start rehearsals ..." #AladdinLondon pic.twitter.com/orcjZz7Ao6— Aladdin The Musical (@AladdinLondon) April 11, 2016
Time seems to fly faster than a magic carpet these days! The Aladdin London gang have now completed their 2nd day of full run through rehearsals and are preparing to move into the Prince Edward Theatre and begin tech rehearsals next Monday!
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| Dean John-Wilson and Jade Ewen, Photo by Helen Maybanks |
London's very own Aladdin, Dean-John Wilson, recently spoke with Digital Spy about earning his stripes and how Aladdin is allowing him to achieve his life-long goal of originating a role.
Before taking on the title role of Aladdin Dean starred in Miss Atomic Bomb. You can catch an interview with him on The Curtain Up Show right here.
Jade Ewen, recently spoke with Sunday World about landing "a dream role" as London's Princess Jasmine.
And you can catch both Jade and Dean in the latest issue of Hello Magazine here in the UK. Which means this is the first and only time I'm actually going to think about buying it!
But that's not all! When Dean and Jade went to visit the Broadway cast of Aladdin What's On Stage went with them and now you can check out their video where they talk with the stars about the show!
Now here's something really special. If you live in the UK and follow this blog then chances are you've already seen this but for those who missed it or live elsewhere here's the incredible Trevor Dion Nicholas bringing down the house with "Friend Like Me" on Tonight at the London Palladium;
And here's a special look behind the scenes of this one night only event;
Nathan Amzi (who will be playing Babkak in London's Aladdin) recently took part in a charity concert in support of cancer research.
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| Nathan Amzi with Christine Allado, photo by Bonnie Britain |
GTEN Media have posted a great interview with Aladdin's Mitch Leow.
Aladdin's Daniel de Bourg recently posted a video update to his YouTube Channel to keep his fans up to date with his work so naturally Aladdin came up! Check it out right here;
And in addition to starring in Aladdin, Daniel will also be teaching at Rise Studios summer school this year where the performing arts class will be an Aladdin style workshop! You can read more details here.
And if you're not following the London production of Aladdin on Twitter and Instagram then make sure you start following them today!
The Sydney Morning Herald posted an interesting article recently about Sydney's recent musical boom and the wave of shows due to open this season, including Disney's Aladdin.
Other Disney Stuff
Ok, first I just have to say, if you haven't seen The Jungle Book yet, why the heck not?! Seriously, that film is beyond amazing and, dare I say it, even better than the original animated classic. Disney have experimented a lot with adapting their classic animated movies to live action with mixed results but with The Jungle Book they've truly cracked it and the result is nothing short of a masterpiece. I can't wait to see what next year's Beauty and the Beast has in store for us! And, if it's done to this quality, bring on Aladdin!!
The next D23 Expo has officially been announced for 2017! The Expo will once again take place at the Anaheim Convention Centre and will run July 14-16. Tickets will go on sale July 14th this year. Here's hoping they have another Disney on Broadway concert and bring back James Monroe Iglehart! And on that note I need to seriously consider going to this one! It'd be nice if Anaheim didn't cost twice as much as Florida when you visit from the UK (otherwise I'd have definitely already been as I'd love to see the original Disneyland) but some things are worth it!
The Hunchback of Notre Dame's Patrick Page will be starring as Hades in the New York Theatre workshop production of Hadestown. The new musical will run May 6th to June 12th.
Hunchback and current Fiddler on the Roof star Samantha Massell recently joined with her Fiddler co-stars to share alumni stories with the Birthright Israel Foundation for Passover. And you can see a great video of Samantha and Monica Swayne (who's starring in Fiddler in Syndey) interviewing each other over at Broadway World.
And whilst we're on Hunchback - The Paper Mill Playhouse is to be honoured with this year's Regional Theatre Tony Award! Massive congratulations to the entire Paper Mill team! And another huge congratulations to Hunchback star Michael Arden for his best director Tony nomination for Spring Awakening! What an incredible achievement!
The Little Mermaid's Tituss Burgess (perhaps better know these days for Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) will be making his West End debut at the London Hippodrome this September! Now that's going to be an amazing show!
We're still over a year away from the Denver preview run of Frozen but casting has already begun with Betsy Wolfe as Elsa and Patti Murin as Anna according to the latest reports from around the web. I'm really interested to see how this show develops and hopefully I'll get to see it in 2018.
And finally, if you're a Disney fan, this is just incredible to listen to!
Very Nice
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