The Road to Broadway

As I've just posted, it's been 5 years since Disney Theatrical and 5th Avenue Theatre officially announced the World Premiere Aladdin.  Well if you fancy a look back at the journey then Disney has you covered!

Coming in August, author Michael Lassell will take you back stage and behind the scenes of the creative process in A Whole New World: The Road to Broadway and Beyond.

"The Tony-Award winning Aladdin is a veritable hit on Broadway and is just beginning national and international performances.  In A Whole New World, readers will discover the journey from ancient legend to screen to stage in the words of its creators."

Given the changes that the show went through and its unique road from Pilot Production to Broadway sensation this promises to be a very interesting read and I can't wait to add it to my book shelf!  I already own the Tarzan: The Broadway Adventure and The Little Mermaid: From the Deep Blue Sea to the Great White Way and they're both fascinating reads with gorgeous production pictures and behind the scenes photos so I know this will be something very special.

D23's Got Your Back!

As most people who read this blog will probably know, last weekend was Disney's D23 Expo and on Friday night a small group of past Disney Theatrical stars gathered together to put on a special Broadway and Beyond concert celebrating all of Disney's Broadway productions past and present.

After performing songs from everything from Beauty and the Beast through to Newsies (including rarely heard pieces from King David and Der Glockner von Notre Dame) the night ended with a look to the future as the cast performed the new song "Somebody's Got Your Back" from Aladdin.

I was planning on posting the video here, but I've since learned that the event was strictly no cameras allowed and most of the videos have already been removed, presumably at Disney's request.  What I hope is ok for me to share with you is the new and improved logo for the show.

Sorry for the picture quality but a YouTube screen shot is the best available right now as the official site and Facebook page haven't been updated with this yet.  As you can see the colour scheme remains largely the same (the logo looks slightly more yellow than gold now) but the font has changed from a standard font to one that looks much more Aladdin.  Definitely a change for the better!

That's all for this time, but the rumours over on the Broadway World message board seem to indicate that casting may be announced later this month so I hope to have an update for you real soon.