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| James Monroe Iglehart as Genie, Original Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann |
This blog is dedicated to Disney's Aladdin: Broadway's New Musical Comdey. Following a successful Pilot Production at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre in 2011, and regional and international productions in 2012, Disney announced that Aladdin would be coming to Broadway in 2014. Aladdin had it's pre-Broadway engagement at Toronto's Ed Mirvish Theatre and opened on Broadway 20th March 2014.
Monday, 23 December 2013
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Thursday, 19 December 2013
When Aladdin Met Aladdin
Last night the cast of Aladdin met a very special guest, the original voice of Aladdin, Scott Weinger!
Both Adam Jacobs and James Monroe Iglehart have posted pictures of themselves with Scott, with JMI calling it "Disney Nerd Heaven" in his tweet.
I can only imagine what an amazing experience this must have been for them! I think it's safe to say that if it weren't for Scott's performance as Aladdin this blog wouldn't exist, he was my Disney hero as a kid. Hopefully one day I'll be able to thank him for that and the incredible experiences that doing this has given me.
Last weekend also saw the release of the new Broadway teaser trailer for the show;
It's getting close now!!!
And finally, I've updated the last post but figured I'd put this here as well, Princess Jasmine's new song is titled Beyond These Palace Walls. This comes directly from Brandon O'Neill's official fan page on Facebook where I also learnt that Rajah is in the show (in a manner of speaking)! Kassim's sword is named after Jasmine's pet tiger from the film :) His page is well worth a "like", the Lego Kassim mini figure is especially awesome!
Tickets for the final Toronto performances of Aladdin can be bought here (show runs through January 5th 2014) and Broadway tickets for next Spring can be bought here (previews begin 26th February), so why not give someone a magical Christmas present they'll never forgot!
Both Adam Jacobs and James Monroe Iglehart have posted pictures of themselves with Scott, with JMI calling it "Disney Nerd Heaven" in his tweet.
I can only imagine what an amazing experience this must have been for them! I think it's safe to say that if it weren't for Scott's performance as Aladdin this blog wouldn't exist, he was my Disney hero as a kid. Hopefully one day I'll be able to thank him for that and the incredible experiences that doing this has given me.
Last weekend also saw the release of the new Broadway teaser trailer for the show;
It's getting close now!!!
And finally, I've updated the last post but figured I'd put this here as well, Princess Jasmine's new song is titled Beyond These Palace Walls. This comes directly from Brandon O'Neill's official fan page on Facebook where I also learnt that Rajah is in the show (in a manner of speaking)! Kassim's sword is named after Jasmine's pet tiger from the film :) His page is well worth a "like", the Lego Kassim mini figure is especially awesome!
Tickets for the final Toronto performances of Aladdin can be bought here (show runs through January 5th 2014) and Broadway tickets for next Spring can be bought here (previews begin 26th February), so why not give someone a magical Christmas present they'll never forgot!
Thursday, 12 December 2013
A New Song for Jasmine and a D23 Fan Event for Broadway's Aladdin
Was my last post really only December 2nd? It feels like so much longer and these last 10 days have seen some pretty big announcements for Aladdin.
Firstly the big news! This week saw a pretty major change to the show with Ashman/Menken's Call Me a Princess (and presumably the Menken/Beguelin reprise as well) being cut and a new Menken/Beguelin song being added for Princess Jasmine. I'm still trying to find out the title of this new song and I'll update this post as soon as I do.
There's been no official word on the reason for this change but I'm guessing that this is being done (at least partially) in reaction to some of the criticisms of Jasmine's character in some of the reviews. Honestly, Call Me a Princess isn't one of my favourite Ashman/Menken songs and back when they first announced that they'd be using some of the "lost" songs in the show I fully expected it not to make the cut due to how much the character changed between concept and screen. That said, I absolutely loved how Chad Beguelin made the song work in the show and in that context it's a great little number that I really enjoyed so I'm sad to see it go. You can see Courtney performing the song here when she was promoting Aladdin's Pilot Production back in 2011.
As for the new song, no idea! I'm guessing it'll be something more along the lines of To Be Free from the Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular show at Disney's California Adventure, giving Jasmine her own "I want" song that better reflects her true character.
Staying in Toronto for a moment, here's a quick round up of a few more reviews;
Garebian on the Arts gives a largely positive review whilst the Toronto Sun, the Huffington Post and The Post offer more mixed reviews that still include plenty of positives. And yes, everyone still loves JMI (the Huffington Post calls him "ten kinds of fabulous, each with its own theme song"). One of the best things Disney could do when this show hits Broadway, even before the official opening, is let James do more episodes of his JMI Show like he did in Seattle. I know fans who thought the original cast were perfect based just on those interviews and 5th Avenue's Spotlight Night. Let him do his thing and just wish as hard as you can that he stays with Aladdin as long as he did Memphis.
NY1 was also in Toronto for the show's opening and they've posted a short report here that includes some comments from cast and crew. If you're a Time Warner Cable customer there's also a video you can watch (I'm assuming it's the same as the written report but I can't view it here in the UK).
And now, moving to Broadway, the 2nd big announcement of this week; D23's Member Night at Aladdin on Broadway! D23 is offering Gold and Silver members "a welcome fit for Prince Ali Ababwa" on 14th March 2014 with premium orchestra seats to see the show followed by a private Q&A with the cast! In addition to the standard premium seat benefits (non-alcoholic interval drink, souvenir lanyard, etc.) members will also receive an additional special gift for being D23 members. So if you fancy seeing the show and getting the chance to meet and talk with the cast make sure you click on the above link for more details. Tickets go on sale December 18th at 10am PT.
I'd also like to say a huge congratulations to Alan Menken who was this week awarded the York Theatre Company's Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre at the 22nd Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala. The evening was hosted by Tony Nominee Norm Lewis (who played King Triton in The Little Mermaid) and one of the evening's performances saw him duetting with Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid's Ariel).
And finally, if you live in New York you probably know that Aladdin's publicity drive has now started. The marquee at the New Amsterdam Theatre is up!!
Firstly the big news! This week saw a pretty major change to the show with Ashman/Menken's Call Me a Princess (and presumably the Menken/Beguelin reprise as well) being cut and a new Menken/Beguelin song being added for Princess Jasmine. I'm still trying to find out the title of this new song and I'll update this post as soon as I do.
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| Courtney Reed as Princess Jasmine and Brandt Martinez, Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann |
As for the new song, no idea! I'm guessing it'll be something more along the lines of To Be Free from the Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular show at Disney's California Adventure, giving Jasmine her own "I want" song that better reflects her true character.
Staying in Toronto for a moment, here's a quick round up of a few more reviews;
Garebian on the Arts gives a largely positive review whilst the Toronto Sun, the Huffington Post and The Post offer more mixed reviews that still include plenty of positives. And yes, everyone still loves JMI (the Huffington Post calls him "ten kinds of fabulous, each with its own theme song"). One of the best things Disney could do when this show hits Broadway, even before the official opening, is let James do more episodes of his JMI Show like he did in Seattle. I know fans who thought the original cast were perfect based just on those interviews and 5th Avenue's Spotlight Night. Let him do his thing and just wish as hard as you can that he stays with Aladdin as long as he did Memphis.
NY1 was also in Toronto for the show's opening and they've posted a short report here that includes some comments from cast and crew. If you're a Time Warner Cable customer there's also a video you can watch (I'm assuming it's the same as the written report but I can't view it here in the UK).
And now, moving to Broadway, the 2nd big announcement of this week; D23's Member Night at Aladdin on Broadway! D23 is offering Gold and Silver members "a welcome fit for Prince Ali Ababwa" on 14th March 2014 with premium orchestra seats to see the show followed by a private Q&A with the cast! In addition to the standard premium seat benefits (non-alcoholic interval drink, souvenir lanyard, etc.) members will also receive an additional special gift for being D23 members. So if you fancy seeing the show and getting the chance to meet and talk with the cast make sure you click on the above link for more details. Tickets go on sale December 18th at 10am PT.
I'd also like to say a huge congratulations to Alan Menken who was this week awarded the York Theatre Company's Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre at the 22nd Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala. The evening was hosted by Tony Nominee Norm Lewis (who played King Triton in The Little Mermaid) and one of the evening's performances saw him duetting with Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid's Ariel).
And finally, if you live in New York you probably know that Aladdin's publicity drive has now started. The marquee at the New Amsterdam Theatre is up!!
Tickets for the remainder of Aladdin's Toronto run can be bought here and tickets for the Broadway run are now on sale at the show's official site.
Updated - Thanks to Brandon O'Neill's official Facebook page I can now confirm that Jasmine's new song is called Beyond These Palace Walls.
Monday, 2 December 2013
Mister Aladdin Sir, Buy a Ticket or Two or Three!
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| Adam Jacobs as Aladdin, Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann |
Tickets can by bought from the show's official sites www.aladdinbroadway.com and www.aladdinthemusical.com, so if you didn't get tickets during the pre-sale make sure to grab yours now! Broadway previews begin 26th February 2014 with the show officially opening 20th March.
Or, if you're in Toronto this holiday season, tickets are still available for Aladdin's pre-Broadway run at the Ed Mirvish Theatre where the show is running until 5th January. Tickets can be bought here.
I've got mine and I can't wait!!
Sunday, 1 December 2013
Last Chance to Get Discounted Priority Seats for Aladdin on Broadway
Just a quick post to remind everyone that today is your last chance to get the discounted priority tickets to Disney's Aladdin on Broadway before the general ticket sale opens tomorrow.
You can get a priority code by signing up to email alerts at either of the show's official sites www.aladdinbroadway.com and the new www.aladdinthemusical.com (I'm not sure why there's now two official sites, so far both appear to be identical). Audiences in Toronto are loving the show and this is your chance to get some of the best seats in the house at fantastic prices for next spring's Broadway debut! So go ahead and make a wish, grab your flying carpet and head to New York to see a whole new world in a whole new way as Aladdin arrives on Broadway.