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:

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

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

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

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

Aladdin Celebrates 8 Years on Broadway

 

Michael Maliakel (Aladdin), Shoba Narayan (Jasmine), and Michael James Scott (Genie), Photo by Evan Zimmerman

It's hard to believe that its been 8 years since this amazing show opened on Broadway! Like all of us, its been through a lot, including one of the most challenging times in Broadway history, and is back stronger than ever, making people laugh and smile 8 shows a week. And that's the real magic that makes this show so special.

We have so many incredible memories with this show, from the pilot production in Seattle (which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year), to seeing the show on Broadway for the first time (8 years ago yesterday!), to the joy of finally being able to return to New York and see the show live again last year. I am so grateful to have witnessed this amazing journey, the joy this show brings me, I can't put into words and I treasure every chance I get to see it.

Since its premiere in 2014, Aladdin has broken 14 house records at the New Amsterdam Theatre and received the fastest international roll out of any Disney show, with eight productions around the world. I've been blessed to see the show in New York, London, and on the first US Tour (as well as a pre-Broadway regional production at the Tuacahn) and have loved every moment . And, as Aladdin begins its 9th year on Broadway, a new US Tour is in the works for October.

Tonight's evening performance marks 2,679 shows on Broadway! According to Disney this means that Aladdin and Jasmine have flown over 88 miles on the magic carpet in A Whole New World, Genie has set off nearly 100,000 pyrotechnics in Friend Like Me, and the cast and wardrobe team have made over 185,000 lighting-fast costume changes in Prince Ali! That last one is definitely real magic!

After the last few years I don't think anyone will take live theatre for granted again, and Aladdin's gift of joy and laughter is just what the world needs in these uncertain times. It's an escape to a land of music, fantasy, romance, and magic. A place where good will always triumph and wishes come true. So thank you to everyone for 8 magical years, for the energy, passion and commitment that bring Agrabah to life 8 times a week. Here's to the next 8! Keep making magic!

A Royal Welcome to Dennis Stowe, Aladdin's New Jafar!

 

All hail the new Grand Vizier! Tonight Dennis Stowe officially takes over as Aladdin's new Jafar!

A member of the original Broadway cast, Dennis has been Aladdin's standby Jafar since 2018 and now steps into the iconic role full time following the departure of the legendary Jonathan Freeman. It's a big turning point for the show as Jonathan was the original voice of Jafar and played the role on stage for more than a decade before passing on the staff in an emotional farewell on Sunday night at the New Amsterdam Theatre.

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The moment was also captured beautifully in this photo by Broadway World's Jennifer Broski (and be sure to check out the full gallery here). 

Having seen Dennis in two performances when we visited the show last month I can safely say that Jafar is in great hands. Dennis brings a wonderfully sinister touch to the character, and I'm excited to see him take over the role and for audiences to get to experience his Jafar.

 

Dennis, I wish you a long and magical run as Jafar, and can't wait to see you on stage again!

End of an Era as 'Aladdin' Bids Farewell to Jonathan Freeman, THE Original Jafar

Every time a show changes principal cast members it can be said to be the end of an era, especially if that cast member is one of the original company. But this truly is a once in a life time as Jonathan Freeman bids goodbye to a role he not only originated on stage a decade ago, but to a role he first brought to life thirty years ago in the original animated Aladdin.

If you can sum up his performance in a word, it is simply "iconic". If you closed your eyes you would think you were watching the movie. His voice, and that incredible laugh, as captivating now as they were when I was a child. Open your eyes though, and it's not just his voice. His looks, his body language, he is Jafar. As I wrote in my original review back in 2014 "Jonathan knows the character inside and out, he knows what makes him tick, his mannerisms and his psychosis and he uses this to great effect, bringing the character to life as well on stage as he did on screen."

As Jafar he brought joy to so many who got to witness their childhood come to life before their very eyes. And as he introduced others to his villainous vizier for the first time. His partnership with Don Darryl Rivera's Iago is one of the highlights of the show, with the villainous duo easily topping my list as Disney's greatest stage villains.

But all good things must end, and after a decade of plotting and scheming as Agrabah's treacherous vizier on stage, and three decades of giving him voice, Jonathan certainly deserves a well earned rest. Well... kind of end. Jonathan has already confirmed that he will continue to provide Jafar's voice so we've not heard the last of him just yet. All that remains is for me to say thank you. That movie and this show both changed my life, and getting to see you bring Jafar to life in person is something I will treasure forever. I feel blessed to have met you and seen you perform. Happy trails Jonathan, thank you for all the wonderful memories and best wishes for whatever the future may hold.

And you can tell it truly is the end of an era as several major theatrical site have carried out exit interviews with our favourite Disney villain! I've tried to link all of them here.

New York Daily News (via Yahoo)

Playbill

D23

Broadway.com

TheaterMania

I just want to end with this quote from Jonathan from those interviews: "It's such a great character. It's quintessentially awful. He's so disgracefully awful. So deliciously awful. Without a villain, you don't have a good story. They're like gasoline that make the stories go."

UPDATE - Disney Theatrical have shared Jonathan's final bow and his passing of the snake staff to Dennis Stowe in a video posted to the official Aladdin Instagram which you can see below!

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