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.
Dean John-Wilson as Aladdin, Photo by Deen Van Meer
Fresh from his own solo concert last month Aladdin star Dean John-Wilson will be supporting Broadway's Shoshana Bean in her solo concert at Covent Garden's The Singer's Lounge this Sunday evening! Also supporting will be West End and Broadway star Ramin Karimloo.
Having seen both Dean and Ramin live and having watch some of Shoshana's Defying Gravity performances on YouTube I can safely say that tickets for this event are an absolute steal! Three phenomenal voices for just £18, that's the best value for money you're ever gonna get in London!
If you're in London this weekend you can get your tickets right here! But be fast as there's not many left and it's sure to be an incredible evening!
Now here's a day I never thought would come! Tonight ABC's Once Upon a Time begins it's sixth season and Aladdin is finally making his debut on the show!!
Thank God for Netflix as I can legally watch the show tomorrow, less than 24 hours after it airs in the US! I've loved this show since the beginning and can't wait to see my favourite Disney character join the cast!
And then in episode 4 a certain Disney Princess will be making her debut played by none other than Galavant's Karen David! Oh how I wish OUAT could do a musical number right now!!
Here's a little tease at what's in store tonight;
Never thought I'd be happy for it to get to Monday! CAN'T WAIT!!!!!
Michael James Scott as Genie, Photo by Deen Van Meer
I feel like I've not posted enough about Australia's Aladdin and it's well past time that changed! Earlier this month Michael James Scott was on Australia's Studio 10 morning show talking about the show, seeing Australia and bringing the Genie to life!
As part of New York City Fashion Week, Disney Style invited several fashion bloggers to a special performance of Broadway's Aladdin (and why not, the costumes in the show are absolutely gorgeous!)
After the show the guests got a chance to meet the cast and discuss the show. During the Q&A Big City Little Blog got a chance to sit down with Courtney Reed to discuss her newly launched Gagged Chokers brand and you can read all about it at their blog right here!
It's always great hearing from Courtney and if you want a choker of your own make sure you use the discount code at the bottom of the interview!
It's always a treat to hear James do a bit of Freestyle and talk about Aladdin. Just listening to him speak you can tell how much he loves this show and bringing the Genie to life on Broadway.
Here he is chatting with WBLS's Deja Vu about Aladdin, how he got into musical theatre and his love of Freestyle;
Trevor Dion Nicholas as Genie, Photo by Deen Van Meer
As Aladdin's magical Genie Trevor Dion Nicholas spends his nights bringing audiences' wishes to life, now you can help make his wish come true.
Trevor has been nominated for West End Frame's Best West End Debut 2016 and you can vote for him right now!
So please vote for Trev and help him bring home this well deserved reward! Follow the link above, voting is open until 3pm (GMT) on Wednesday 28th September and the winner will be announced on Thursday!
Award Winning Original Cast of London's Aladdin, Photo by @AladdinLondon
Talk about ending the week on a high note!
Massive congratulations to the entire cast, crew and creative team of London's Aladdin who this week won their first award, bringing home LastMinute.com's Musical Theatre Award for Best New Show!
Hopefully this is just the start of great things to come as we head towards the West End's award season.
Well here's something I never thought I'd ever write about when I started this blog! Stripping!! But it's all in the name of a good cause!
Aladdin's Mitch Leow, Ethan Le Phong, Kayleigh Thadani and Kade Ferraiolo have come together as Team Agrabah to take part in this year's King Arthur themed West End Bares - Excalibare! Together they are raising money for Theatre MAD (Make A Difference Trust) to raise awareness of AIDS/HIV, fund projects and help support those already living with HIV.
And if you want to see them in the flesh this Sunday then you can get your tickets right here and catch the show at London's Novello Theatre at 7:00pm and 9:30pm! Mitch has choreographed a sword routine so there's going to be some dangerous weapons swinging around (and that's not an innuendo I promise!!)
EDIT - Just a quick update to say that Team Agrabah smashed their target and raised an incredible £6,663.53 for this fantastic cause!
Mitch has posted a thank you video to everyone who helped make his routine in the show such a success;
The cast of Broadway's Aladdin showcase their incredible talents on stage every night, capturing the magic of Disney's beloved classic with singing and dancing that brings audiences to their feet in well deserved standing ovations. But what we don't always see is how talented they are off stage. From arts and crafts to photography and film direction, the skills of this cast are simply incredible.
Now you can add fashion design to that list as this summer Courtney Reed launched her very own line of hand made chokers with Gagged Chokers! That's right, you can now buy chokers designed by Princess Jasmine herself! And with ranges inspired by everything from Disney to celebrities there's something for everyone's unique style and personality.
Earlier this month Courtney took over Disney Style's Instagram story as she launched The Mouse Collection and shared how she gets ready for a night on stage at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre and tonight on Twitter she'll be previewing the new Broadway Collection set to launch later this month!
So make sure you give Courtney lots of love and support, check out her new website and follow Gagged Chokers on Twitter and Instagram!
Adam Jacobs as Aladdin, Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann
Who says girls have all the fun? Not these Broadway heroes!
Next month Aladdin's leading man, Adam Jacobs, will co-host the first ever Broadway Prince Party at Feinstein's/54 Below along with Anastasia's Derek Klena.
Promising an "unforgettable MANLY evening of heroism, bravura, and macho magic", Adam and Derek will lead a host of Broadway's finest leading men as they sing some of stage and screen's most beloved 'Prince' songs.
I can't believe I'm going to miss this by one day, but if you're in New York on October 17th then make sure you grab your tickets now for what will hopefully be the first of many Broadway Prince Parties! It promises to be a truly heroic night!
A veteran of both stage and screen, Alan Muraoka began his run in Broadway's Aladdin at the start of this month and will be bringing Iago to life until the end of October. Whilst Alan may be best known for his role on TV's Sesame Street, he also has extensive theatre credits as both an actor and director and I can't wait to see what he brings to the role of Iago.
Congratulations Alan and welcome to the Aladdin family! I can't wait to see you in the show next month!
You can read much more about Alan and his incredible career at his website so make sure you check it out!
Adam Kaokept in Broadway Aladdin, Photo by Angelo Soriano
It's always a sad day when someone leaves the Aladdin family and last night Adam Kaokept took his final bow on the New Amsterdam's stage.
Adam made his Broadway debut in Aladdin and has been with the show since it first opened on Broadway, playing in over 1,000 performances and bringing joy and laughter to over 1 million guests.
I just want to wish Adam the very best of luck for the future and say thanks for all the High Adventures!
The cast of London's Aladdin celebrates 100 shows, Photo from Twitter (@Mitch_Leow)
Yesterday London's Aladdin passed its first major milestone since opening in June as the cast and crew celebrated 100 magical performances in the West End!
I can't believe this amazing show is already at 100 performances!! It seems like just yesterday that it opened to rave reviews and well deserved standing ovations. Massive congratulations to the cast, crew, creative team and everyone involved with bringing this incredible production to life every night. Keep making magic everyone and here's to the next 100 high adventures!
Everyone's favourite evil sidekick is returning home as Don Darryl Rivera heads back to Seattle to star in The 5th Avenue Theatre's production of Man of La Mancha as Sancho!
And he's not alone! Joining DDR back on The 5th's stage is none other than Aladdin's original Kassim, Brandon O'Neill, as Pedro and fellow Disney Theatrical alum Norm Lewis (The Little Mermaid) in the leading role of Don Quixote!
Don Darryl Rivera along with Sean G. Griffin and Jonathan Freeman in 5th Avenue's Aladdin
Man of La Mancha marks Don Darryl's return to the 5th Avenue for the first time since making his Iago debut there in 2011. Brandon O'Neill has starred in both Pirates of Penzance (Pirate King) and Carousel (Billy Bigelow) at The 5th since returning home from Broadway but this marks the first time the two have shared a stage since 2014!
Brandon O'Neill as the Pirate King in 5th Avenue's Pirates of Penzance
You can read the full cast announcement right here. As always, there's an incredible amount of talent gracing the stage at 5th Avenue for this production! So make sure you don't miss out and grab your tickets now!
I wish I could be there to see this! DDR & Brandon, I hope you both have an incredible time!
