Wishing a Magical Opening to Aladdin's First UK & Ireland Tour Tonight!

 

Cast of Aladdin UK & Ireland Tour

Tonight is the night! Four years after Aladdin closed in the West End, Disney's most magical musical is taking the flying carpet on tour and the first ever UK and Ireland tour opens previews in Edinburgh tonight!!

I am so happy to see this amazing show back in the UK and featuring an incredibly talented cast who I can't wait to see bringing this iconic tale to life on stage.

I just want to wish everyone involved, on stage and off, the very best of luck for tonight's first preview and for your entire run. You've all worked so hard for this moment, let that passion and energy shine on stage, but above all enjoy it. One of the things I love most about Aladdin is that you can feel that joy just radiating from the stage and it's infectious. So have fun, and make some magic!

I can't wait to see you all soon!

Aladdin Celebrates 9 Years of Granting Broadway Wishes

 

Today is the 9th anniversary of Aladdin's official Broadway opening. After 9 incredible years of granting wishes the show has played over 3000 performances and is now one of the twenty longest running shows in Broadway history with no signs of slowing down.

It is, quite simply, a truly magical run. I am forever grateful to this amazing show and to the hundreds, if not thousands, of people who have helped bring Agrabah to life every night these last 9 years.

I have said it before, but the sheer joy that this show brings means so much to me and, I'm sure, countless others in New York and around the world. It's a much needed light in uncertain times. An escape to a land of magic and romance that I will always treasure no matter how many times I see it. And if you haven't been yet? Well, we can fix that!

Thanks for all the high adventures Aladdin, promise I'll be there for the 10th!

The Magic is Back! Aladdin Announces UK and Ireland Tour!

 

"Let's make some magic!"

The magic is back!! Disney's Aladdin returns to the UK this year with the first ever UK and Ireland tour!

Announced this morning, the tour will premiere this October at the Edinburgh Playhouse where it will run from 24th October to 18th November. From there it will move to the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff (7th December 2023 to 14th January 2024), the Theatre Royal in Plymouth (17th January to 11th February 2024), the Sunderland Empire (15th February to 10th March 2024), and the Milton Keynes Theatre (24th April to 19th May 2024) with move venues to be announced.

Tickets go on sale Friday, 31st March, but you can sign up for priority access now via the official Disney Tickets website.

In a statement released this morning Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, said:

"As Aladdin approaches its second decade on stage, we are thrilled that the 11th production of the glorious Broadway show will soon be seen by audiences throughout the UK and Ireland.

Thanks to Casey Nicholaw's direction, Alan Menken's music and the peerless design team of Bob Crowley, Natasha Katz and Gregg Barnes this show is a powerful tonic, an irresistible lift for every audience who sees it.

The musical theatre performers in the UK and Ireland rival any on the planet and we look forward to presenting the best of them in this joyous new production."

I am so excited as the show has been absent from the UK since the West End production closed on 24th August 2019 (and we're still waiting on that live recording). And speaking of that live recording, check out this teaser that Aladdin's official UK social media accounts have been sharing:

✨‘Shining, shimmering, splendid’ news… ✨ Disney’s spectacular Broadway and West End musical, ALADDIN, is set to fly into a city near you as it embarks on a UK & Ireland tour from October 2023! To discover more and to get early access to tickets visit: https://t.co/laOXcQVkN9 pic.twitter.com/bBpl2OK0Vo

— Aladdin The Musical (@AladdinOnStage) February 24, 2023

Yes, that's London's Genie Trevor Dion Nicholas, only I've never heard him deliver that line like that in any previous promotional material so I'm guessing it comes from that long awaited live recording! So that's a cool promo for the tour and (hopefully) a little tease at the live recording as well!

One more cool teaser - this one promoting the first venues for the tour!

Disney’s spectacular Broadway and West End musical, ALADDIN, will be flying into @EdinPlayhouse, @theCentre, @TRPlymouth, @SundEmpire and @MKTheatre!

Tickets go on sale soon - sign-up now to get early access to tickets https://t.co/laOXcQVkN9 pic.twitter.com/3QiH3dpZAC

— Aladdin The Musical (@AladdinOnStage) February 24, 2023

Aladdin will be taking audiences to a whole new world, one city at a time across the UK from October. See you there!

New Year Round Up - 3000 Shows, Shoba Narayan Leaving for New High Adventures, Sonya Balsara is Broadway's New Jasmine & EPCOT's Festival of the Arts Returns

 

The cast of Broadway's Aladdin, Photo from Disney

It's been a busy time in Agrabah! Shortly before the end of last year the show celebrated 3000 magical performances on Broadway!

To celebrate this milestone achievement the cast and at the New Amsterdam receive an incredible 3000 cake in the show's signature colours. It looks too good to eat but I bet it tasted amazing!

Shortly before this milestone, Aladdin joined The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast in the top 20 longest running shows on Broadway, overtaking Hello, Dolly!'s original run of 2844 shows!

Shoba Narayan as Princess Jasmine, Photo by Matthew Murphy

As this year comes to a start, Aladdin is bidding goodbye to its princess, Shoba Narayan.

Shoba, who has played Jasmine since the show re-opened in September 2021, will take her final bow next Sunday, January 15.

I was fortunate to see Shoba bringing Jasmine to life when we visited New York not long after the show re-opened and she was simply incredible. I wish we could have seen her more, but I am beyond grateful that we got to see her in the role twice. She is truly one of my favourite Jasmines and I am excited to see where she goes next.

Shoba was also the first South Asian Jasmine, and has been an incredible role model and force for change. Even as she leaves the show, she leaves behind the new Jasmine doll, which she helped to design to make more representative.

Shoba, I wish you all the very best for the future, thanks for all the high adventures!

Sonya Balsara as Princess Jasmine, Photo by Matthew Murphy

And please give a royal Agrabah welcome to Sonya Balsara, Broadway's new Princess Jasmine!

Sonya made her Broadway debut as Jasmine last year, whilst Shoba was starring in Come Fall in Love (which also starred Aladdin's Irvine Iqbal!), and will be returning to the role from Thursday, January 19.

Sonya, I wish you a long and magical run with the show!

Whilst we're talking Jasmine, I just want to take a moment to say a massive congratulations to the original - the one and only Courtney Reed on her engagement!! So, so happy for you and Nick. Jane and I wish you both all the very best. You truly deserve every happiness.

Last but by no means least - EPCOT's Festival of the Arts is back this month and with it the Disney on Broadway Concert Series!

This year's concerts run from January 13 through to February 20 and feature stars from all of Disney's Broadway shows, including Aladdin.

Kicking things off on the Agrabah front are Adam and Arielle Jacobs. Broadway's original Aladdin and Australia's original Jasmine will be performing on January 14, 17, 18, 21, and 22.

Then the legendary Michael James Scott will be leaving Broadway behind for sunny Florida as he joins Ashley Brown (Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins) for a series of performances on February 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16, and 17, with an extra special finale performance on February 20 where they will be joined by Josh Strickland (Tarzan) and Kissy Simmons (The Lion King).

I am insanely excited for this as we will actually be there for Adam and Arielle's run! I haven't seen Adam live since we saw Aladdin on tour in LA back in 2018 and I have never seen Arielle live so this is going to be one of the highlights of our trip for me!

It's the start of another magical year in Agrabah! And Hercules is about to hit the stage as well! This year promises to be full of theatrical magic!

Aladdin's Broadway Cast Join Their Lion King and Frozen Cousins to Open D23 Today!

 

The Disney D23 Expo is back! Today sees the return of the massive fan event to the Anaheim Convention Center just a few blocks away from Disneyland itself.

The expo opens, as always, with the Disney Legends Awards Ceremony. This year's ceremony will be hosted by Tamron Hall and give fans an early look at the upcoming Disney 100 Years of Wonder celebration. And that's not all!

This year the opening ceremony, which will be streamed live, will feature an extra special performance from the casts of Broadway's Aladdin, The Lion King, and the National Tour cast of Frozen!! Now that's how you open a show!

If you're lucky enough to be at D23 then the Disney Legends Awards Ceremony takes place in Hall D23 and (if you haven't got a reservation) you'll want to head straight to the standby line when the show opens.

For the rest of us, we can watch the opening festivities, along with select other panels over the weekend, at the official D23 website and on YouTube:

The Ceremony begins at 10:30am (PT). It's going to be a magical show!

Cast Announced for Aladdin's New National Tour!

 

A long overdue blog update and what fantastic news to return with! The cast for Aladdin's new National Tour was officially announced yesterday so please join me in extending a warm Agrabah welcome to:

Adi Roy as Aladdin, Senzel Ahmady as Jasmine, Marcus M. Martin as Genie, Anand Nagraj as Jafar, Aaron Choi as Iago, Sorab Wadia as Sultan, Ben Chavez as Omar, Jake Letts as Babkak, and Colt Prattes as Kassim!

Joining them on this magic carpet ride across the United States (in photo order) will be Dwelvan David (standby Genie, Jafar & Sultan), J. Andrew Speas (standby Genie, Babkak & Sultan), Alyssa Anani (Attendant, Fortune Teller, ensemble), Carina R. Avila (ensemble), Daniel Brackett (emsemble, understudy Aladdin), Victoria Byrd (Attendant, ensemble, understudy Jasmine), Cody Hernandez (Razoul, ensemble, understudy Jafar), Edward Cuellar (ensemble, understudy Kassim), Joshua Kenneth Allen Johnson (ensemble, understudy Iago & Omar), Tayler Johnson-Campion (ensemble), Brandon J. Large (ensemble, understudy Aladdin), Melissa Hunter McCann (swing, dance captain), Angelina Mullins (ensemble), Ryan Rodino (swing, understudy Prince Abdullah), Omar Nieves (swing, understudy Razoul), Cameron Sirian (ensemble, understudy Babkak & Iago), Taylor Mackenzie Smith (ensemble), Asten Stewart (swing), D. Jerome (Prince Abdullah, ensemble, understudy Kassim), Lauren Louis (Attendant, ensemble, understudy Jasmine), and Maya Kazzaz (swing).

What an incredible looking cast! I wish you all a long and magical run with the show and hope I get to see you all in action one day!

And speaking of seeing them in action, tickets for the National Tour are on sale now with venues announced through to next July! Here are all of the stops confirmed so far:

Schenectady, NY - October 11-23, 2022

Erie, PA - October 27-30, 2022

Worcester, MA - November 3-6, 2022

Hartford, CT - November 8-13

Indianapolis, IN - November 16-20

Buffalo, NY - November 22-27

Springfield, MO - November 30 - December 4, 2022

Appleton, WI - December 6-11, 2022

West Palm Beach, FL - December 14-23, 2022

Miami, FL - January 3-8, 2023

Jacksonville, FL - January 10-15, 2023

Naples, FL - January 17-22, 2023

Sarasota, FL - January 24-29, 2023

Little Rock, AR - February 1-5, 2023

San Antonio, TX - February 7-12, 2023

Austin, TX - February 14-19, 2023

North Charleston, SC - February 22-26 2023

Huntsville, AL - February 28 - March 5, 2023

Cleveland, OH - March 8-12, 2023

Ottawa, ON - March 21-26, 2023

Montreal, QC - March 28 - April 2, 2023

Charlotte, NC - April 5-9, 2023

Rochester, NY - April 11-16, 2023

Washington, DC - April 19-30, 2023

Nashville, TN - May 2-7, 2023

Chicago, IL - May 17-28, 2023

Kansas City, MO - May 30 - June 4, 2023

Albuquerque, NM - June 7-11, 2023

Boise, ID - June 20-25, 2023

Spokane, WA - June 27 - July 2, 2023

Edmonton, AB - July 11-16, 2023

Calgary, AB - July 18-23, 2023

Vancouver, BC - July 25-30, 2023

Aladdin's Second National Tour was first announced in February 2022 after the First National Tour was sadly cut short due to the pandemic. The three venues that saw performances cancelled, San Antonio, Austion, and Kansas City will all feature on this new tour.

In Memory of Gilbert Gottfried 1955-2022

 

Yesterday the world lost one of the most unique voices in comedy as Gilbert Gottfried passed away aged 67. His death, announced by his family, came after a long illness that he had kept private. Through it all Gilbert had kept doing what he did best, making people laugh.

Like many people, I knew him best for his voice work, specifically his voicing of Iago in Aladdin. And not just the original movie, Gilbert voiced the villainous sidekick turned heroic sidekick in both sequels and all but two episodes of the animated series. His voice is so synonymous with the loud mouth parrot that's it's almost impossible to believe Iago (or Sinbad as he was then known) was originally conceived to be prim and proper with a British accent. He went on to voice Iago for the rest of his life, in more TV series, in theme parks, and video games. I always loved the character, but as I got older he truly became one of my favourites and a large part of that was Gilbert Gottfried's performance. He brought the character to life in a way that went beyond what was on the page. He made him evil, but lovable, he made him redeemable, heroic even, but without losing that abrasiveness and biting sarcasm that made the character who he was. There was a lot of the public Gilbert in Iago. In private those who knew him always said how sweet and soft spoken he was, something he would jokingly tell them not to repeat in case it ruined his image.

Beyond Iago, I remember his work in the classic Superman: The Animated Series as well as the more recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Like I said, I knew him best through his voice work. And without ever seeing his face, you always knew it was him :) There was also that 50 Shades of Grey reading that is totally inappropriate to link to from this blog but never failed to make me laugh. And yes, I would totally have bought that audio book if he'd actually recorded it.

Last night, Aladdin's own Iago, Don Darryl Rivera led the cast in dedicating the performance to Gilbert, saying "Thank you for the laughs."

Gilbert's long time partner in Disney villainy, Jonathan Freeman led the tributes to his friend of over thirty years with two posts on social media. The first a shared statement between himself, Scott Weinger, and Linda Larkin:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jonathan Freeman - Actor (@thejonathanfreeman)

And the second a reflection on the partnership they shared for 31 years:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jonathan Freeman - Actor (@thejonathanfreeman)

Rest in peace Gilbert, and thank you for the laughter.