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| Ainsley Melham in the Australian production of Aladdin |
"Hail! Your attention I pray. Oh, ye people of Agrabah. THIS IS OUR LUCKY DAY!!"
Your wish is granted! The magic of Disney Theatrical's Aladdin is coming to Disney+ later this year!
Whilst we're still awaiting the official announcement from Disney, a sharp eyed fan found the poster for the upcoming musical event and shared it on Twitter:
When Aladdin closed in London's West End last year, Disney took advantage of having an empty theatre to create a very special recording. Bringing together an all star international cast under the guidance of original director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw, the show was fine tuned for film and recorded across five days before bringing in a live audience for a special recorded performance.
This truly was a once in a lifetime event, bringing together original cast members from Broadway, Australia, the West End and the US Tour to create a timeless version of the show. Headlined by the West End's Trevor Dion Nicholas as Genie and Australia's Ainsley Melham as Aladdin, the cast stars the US Tour's Isabelle McCalla as Princess Jasmine, Broadway's Jonathan Freeman and Don Darryl Rivera as the villainous Jafar and Iago, Broadway's Brian Gonzales as Babkak, Australia's Robert Tripolino as Omar, and Broadway's Brandon O'Neill as Kassim, along with the West End ensemble of Aladdin.
This truly was a once in a lifetime event, bringing together original cast members from Broadway, Australia, the West End and the US Tour to create a timeless version of the show. Headlined by the West End's Trevor Dion Nicholas as Genie and Australia's Ainsley Melham as Aladdin, the cast stars the US Tour's Isabelle McCalla as Princess Jasmine, Broadway's Jonathan Freeman and Don Darryl Rivera as the villainous Jafar and Iago, Broadway's Brian Gonzales as Babkak, Australia's Robert Tripolino as Omar, and Broadway's Brandon O'Neill as Kassim, along with the West End ensemble of Aladdin.
I was lucky enough to attend the filmed performance last August and it was truly magical. It was a little surreal to see cameras and film crew on the stage so I can't wait to see how the final movie looks. After Newsies and Hamilton I have high hopes that this is going to be something truly special. The cast was fantastic, it was incredible to see these cast members come together and getting the chance to see people I've not seen before in the roles. It really was a one of a kind production and I'm insanely excited for it to be shared with the world.
I actually wrote a piece on this film performance for Movie News Net last year after Disney confirmed that the filming had taken place (I'm so glad they did as not talking about it for a year would have driven me insane). Looking back now I can see I didn't do a similar piece for this blog. I have no idea why that is and I'm so sorry that I didn't.
Back then I speculated that the plan would be for the recording to be shown in cinemas first before coming to Disney+ like Newsies did. But, as with Hamilton, if that was the plan then the current pandemic changed things. Whilst we're still awaiting an official date, the poster does confirm that Aladdin: The Broadway Musical will be arriving this year. Honestly, I think this is coming at the perfect time. If ever we needed a little joy and theatrical magic, now is the time.
Stay safe everyone. Broadway will be back, and now we have a little theatrical magic to look forward to.