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.
Big changes in Agrabah today as Aladdin as Clifton Davis and James Moye both take their final bows at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre. Clifton is Broadway's original Sultan and has been with the show since 2013's Toronto preview run and James joined the show in 2015 as Standby Jafar and Sultan.
I've been fortunate enough to see both of these incredible actors over the last few years and Agrabah will miss having them in the show.
Another bright star departing the New Amsterdam is Isabelle McCalla, who takes her final Broadway bow as Jasmine tonight before returning to LA on Tuesday.
Here's wishing you all magical final day and all the very best for the future!
The amount of times I write about 54 Below I swear that place must be a home away from home for the Aladdin cast!
On July 16th Major Attaway and Clifton Davies will be trading Agrabah for New York as they bring to life Strouse and Adams' "lost" work A Broadway Musical at Broadway's favourite supper club.
According to PlaybillA Broadway Musical had a rocky road to Broadway (with both cast and creative changes following its out of town preview run) and closed on its opening night in New York! Joining our two Aladdin stars will be a cast of new talent and veterans of the original one night wonder original cast, recreating their original roles for another one night only performance.
It's always a treat to see Aladdin's incredible cast sink their teeth into new material and the addition of cast members from original production of the show mean this is sure to be a night to remember. Tickets are available now from 54 Below.
Plenty is happening in the magical world of Agrabah at the moment with Aladdin's original Broadway cast celebrating 2 years on Broadway tomorrow and the new London cast due to start rehearsing in less than a month!
So let's get started and make some magic!!
Aladdin Broadway - Show News
Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed as Aladdin and Jasmine, Photo by Deen Van Meer
Firstly, this should come as no surprise as we're past the end of the previous contracts but it's nice to have it officially confirmed - Adam Jacobs (Aladdin), Courtney Reed (Jasmine), James Monroe Iglehart (Genie), Jonathan Freeman (Jafar), Don Darryl Rivera (Iago), Brian Gonzales (Babkak) and Clifton Davis (Sultan) have all extended their contacts for another year! These seven stars, who have all been with the show since it opened on Broadway, will now be in the show until at least February 19th 2017!
"We're privileged to be in the rare position of having seven of our original stars continue in Aladdin. Adam, Jonathan, James, Courtney, Brian and Don Darryl have been an integral part of Aladdin since its journey to stage began, and I am thrilled that they, along with Clifton Davis who joined us in Toronto, will continue delighting audiences at The New Amsterdam Theatre for another year."
Thomas Schumacher, President and Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions
Steel Burkhardt (Kassim) and James Moye (Stand By Jafar/Sultan) have also extended their contracts for another year, with Brad Weinstock (Omar) and Major Attaway (Stand By Genie/Babkak/Sultan) joining the cast last month.
I am so happy that the original cast are continuing for another year! They are absolutely amazing and simply embody these characters now. I can't wait to see them again later this year! Keep making magic everyone!!
James Monroe Iglehart and Al Rocker in Aladdin, Photo by Shay Frey
This extra special rendition of Aladdin's show stopping production number should air on The Today Show on March 20th as part of Aladdin's anniversary celebration!
As part of the show's second anniversary celebrations Broadway.com has posted an incredible behind the scenes look at just what goes on behind the curtain to get Aladdin ready to go every night! This is a fantastic video, it perfectly captures the energy and excitement that you feel before the curtain rises and the show begins so make sure you check it out!
It's been a while since I've found a new review of the show but I just had to share this review from The National. I just love that final paragraph - "a great storyteller is someone who puts in a touch of magic, passion and a whole load of hard work to bring a story to life"
Aladdin Broadway - Cast News
Ok, this is huge and I probably should have given it it's own post but...
JAMES MONROE IGLEHART IS GONNA BE IN TANGLED: BEFORE EVER AFTER!!!!!
Sorry, got carried away!
Yes, James (along with a whole host of other Broadway stars, including Newsies' Jeremy Jordan) will be lending his voice to the series due to premiere on Disney Channel next year! In the series set after the film (but before the short Tangled Ever After) James will be voicing Eugene's friend Lance Strongbow!
The show will be featuring new songs by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater (so if Galavant doesn't get that third season we can still look forward to weekly Menken/Slater songs!) so keep your fingers crossed that James will get to show off his incredible vocals on TV!
I really can't wait for this!! But I do want to know how Rapunzel got her hair back...
James also took part in Speechless at Joe's Pub last month and I wish I could have been there or at least find some video to share with you as it sounds like a hilarious evening!
Massive congratulations to Clifton Davis who has been nominated for Best Actor at the International Christian Film Festival for his role in Prayer Never Fails. Good luck for the awards next month!!
Aladdin's Yurel Echezarreta last month did a great interview with The Broadway Blog (and I'm now insanely jealous that anyone can achieve an Agrabah body without going to the gym!!)
Aladdin's Kathryn Allison is starring in her first solo 54 Below show next week, Sirens, Songs, and Muses. You can get tickets for the performance right here so if you're in NYC make sure you go along!
If you want to get in Broadway shape then make sure check out Khori Petinaud's new website Fly Wheel Sports! The cast of Aladdin is in crazy good shape and with her classes you can be too!
You can also ask him your questions on AskFM! There's some great ones on there, including some about Aladdin. Plus if you missed it live you can now listen to WPKN's interview with Giuseppe right here. Giuseppe is in the show until 27th March so catch him while you can!
Aladdin Broadway - Creative Team News
The World Premiere of Alan Menken and Glenn Slater's latest musical A Bronx Tale at the Paper Mill Playhouse was a great success (they even added an extra night!) and received some fantastic reviews. Here's a small sampling of the reviews;
Thomas Schumacher at the TDF Gala, Photo by Aurora Rose/Variety
Earlier this week a host of Disney Theatrical stars gathered for the Theatre Development Fund's gala in honour of Disney Theatrical's President and Producer Thomas Schumacher! The stars included Broadway's original Aladdin, Adam Jacobs, Broadway's original Mary Poppins, Ashley Brown, and an international gathering of Genies as James Monroe Iglehart, Trevor Dion Nicholas, Michael James Scott and Major Attaway performed a special rendition of "Friend Like Me";
The Muny's Jasmine, Samantha Massell, recently took Playbill behind the scenes of a two show day at Fiddler on the Roof and you can check out the antics right here!
Aladdin International
Check out the marquee!!
Photo by Newman Displays
We're less than a month away from the official start of Aladdin's London rehearsals and I can literally feel the excitement building! I say official start because the cast are already tweeting about tap rehearsals, costume fittings and more so get following them!
But if you can't wait a month (and I don't blame you!) then you can catch Aladdin himself, Dean John-Wilson, Miss Atomic Bomb at London's St. James Theatre! The show officially opened this week and is playing through to 9th April so you've still plenty of time to catch Dean before he hops on that magic carpet to Agrabah!
You can check out some production photos and behind the scenes videos right here at the show's website and here's a sample of what the critics are saying;
West End Frame also caught up with Dean after the press launch to talk about Miss Atomic Bomb and Aladdin. Just reading Dean's reaction to getting the role is incredible, I really can't wait to see him in it and see what he does with it.
What's a Genie to do in a new city? Join Trevor Dion Nicholas on a quick trip around London!
And London was just the start of Trevor's recent travels! Between Broadway and London he's even found time to visit a fellow Genie in Japan!
West End Meets Tokyo! Photo by Trevor Dion Nicholas
Marsha Songcome is no stranger to the Prince Edward Theatre having just completed her run as Gigi in Miss Saigon. If you missed her there then make sure you catch her in this rendition of "Take Me or Leave Me"from the Miss Saigon at the Hippodrome concert event!
Aladdin's Mitch Leow has just launched his new website so make sure you check it out right here! Those aerial photos are incredible!
And finally - it's been confirmed that Aladdin will be offering a daily ticket lottery once the show has officially opened (so from 16th June). Tickets will be £25 and the draw will be held two hours before each performance, winners will be able to purchase up to two tickets each in cash. So if the show you want is sold out then make a wish, say a prayer and join the lottery for your chance to grab some amazing last minute seats to this incredible show!
Other Disney Stuff!
Everything is awesome! Especially these new Disney Lego Mini Figures due out later this year!!
I'm such a big kid! I seriously can't wait for these!
Also looking back at Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular, Mouse Planet shares their memories of the show. Frozen - Live at the Hyperion has some big shoes to fill but it also has a fantastic writer, I can't wait to see what Chad Beguelin comes up with. Hopefully I'll get chance to see this one live one day!
Hello and welcome to the first Aladdin musical news post of 2016! (Last week's 2015 round up totally doesn't count!)
With this being a new year and Aladdin soaring to international success I figured it was time to make a few changes to the way I've done things before and make these posts a bit more organised than they've been in the past... or at least try to!
So let's start on some fantastic news! Aladdin rang in the New Year by breaking the New Amsterdam house record for the 11th time, taking $2,398,110.00 and beating the previous record, set only the week before, by over $300,000! Aladdin's record breaking run made it the 3rd highest-grossing show of 2015! Massive congratulations to the cast, creative team and everyone at the New Amsterdam Theatre who bring this magical show to life! What an incredible way to start the year!
And New Year, new cast member! Please give a warm Agrabah welcome to Giuseppe Bausilio who joined the cast on 6th January!! Welcome to the show Guiseppe, I wish you a fantastic run!
As well as looking forward, New Year is also a time to look back and reflect on the year that was. And that's exactly what Disney Theatrical did with this video of their Best Moments of 2015;
Aladdin Broadway - Cast News
This section will feature everyone's favourite citizens of Agrabah! The amazingly talented cast of Broadway's Aladdin! Here you'll find links to interviews, news about upcoming performances and maybe even a few videos!
Adam Jacobs sang the National Anthem at the Brooklyn Nets V. Boston Celtics game earlier this month. Sadly it's not turned up on YouTube yet but I'll keep looking! Congratulations Adam!
Courtney Reed as Princess Jasmine, Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann
Aladdin's Nathan Lucrezio has released tribute video to Michael Flatley showcasing his incredible dancing skills!
As someone with two left feet I wish I could move like that! Absolutely amazing!
And if you need any more reasons to love this totally crazy, but totally amazing, cast then just check out these pictures and videos from Courtney's Instagram showing just when the cast get up to in their rehearsal breaks! Here and here!
Aladdin Broadway - Creative Team News
Want to know what Aladdin's incredible creative team did next? Well this is the section for you. Expect lots of Alan Menken updates to dominate this section!
Speaking of Alan Menken - you are watching ABC's Galavant, right? If not then check it out! It's hilarious!! A weekly dose of Menken/Slater music can't help but make you smile!
And Alan was also Lin-Manuel Miranda's special guest for the first ever digital #Ham4Ham performance! You can check out their brilliant Little Mermaid medley below;
On Tuesday 19th January the Metropolitan Room will be host to Gone to Soon - Now and Forever an evening of Howard Ashman celebrating the life and music of the musical genius who helped inspire generations. You can read more about the event and purchase tickets here.
Hot off the success of Aladdin in 2014 and Something Rotten! last year, Casey Nicholaw is bringing Tuck Everlasting to Broadway this Spring!Tuck also reunites Casey with his original Omar, Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Newsies, Submissions Only), who starred in the successful Atlanta pilot last year. Previews are due to begin 31st March with Opening Night set for 26th April. If his previous shows are anything to go by then this will be a hit!
Aladdin Broadway - Old Friends
They may no longer be with the show, but they'll always be in our hearts. This section is for news and updates on those who have left Agrabah behind for new adventures.
Brian Gonzales, James Monroe Iglehart, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Adam Jacobs and Brandon O'Neill in 5th Avenue's Aladdin, Photo by Chris Bennion
Genie & Babkak's former Stand By Michael James Scott is currently starring in Casey Nicholaw's latest smash, Something Rotten!, and took some time out to talk with Broadway Box about why he loves the show and why Casey Nicholaw is his Broadway Genie!
Last week original Aladdin cast member Marisha Wallace and Nick Rashad Burroughs sold out their 54 Below show Baptized by Broadway! Due to the overwhelming response Marisha's even hinted that they could do another show! Congratulations both!!
Aladdin International
After becoming "the surprise hit of the season" on Broadway Aladdin has continued to soar to a whole new world of success. Last year saw productions open in Tokyo and Hamburg and this year will see new productions opening in London and Sydney with more still to be announced! This section is all about the international productions of the show. And I'll admit right now that it'll probably have a pretty heavy London bias as I can't wait to see that show!!
The Wall Street Journal this week posted an interesting piece on how Disney Theatrical is subtly tweaking the international productions of Aladdin to appeal to their national audiences (like renaming Kassim to Kasser in Germany as nothing rhymes with Kassim!)
You can check out footage from the Tokyo production right here;
The Hamburg production;
And finally, some interviews and footage from Hamburg's Opening Night last month;
With Aladdin due to open in London in a few short months, London Theatre Direct took a look at some little known facts about the animated classic and the Broadway sensation. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 right here.
Other Disney Stuff!
And finally this section. With the cast album coming up next week (so hyped!) I'm expecting this section to be mostly about The Hunchback of Notre Dame for now, but we'll just see what happens in the future. After all, I'm sure Disney Theatrical have lots of exciting projects coming up and there's a live action Beauty and the Beast movie coming next year.
And now for something very special. Last weekend saw the curtain fall for the final time on Disney's Californian Adventure's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular. The Orange County Register was there to talk with fans as the magic carpet soared away for the last time. This is one of those shows I always wanted to see. It was one of the reasons I wanted to go to the original Disneyland one day. My friend posted this to my Facebook page this week (they know me so well!) so now I'm going to leave you with the full last ever performance of Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular!
Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed as Aladdin and Jasmine, Photo by Matthew Murphy
Ok, new year, new start!
The second half of last year just flew by and I really fell behind with these news updates (I still can't believe the last one was done in July!). For that I can only apologise and say I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again. Like I said, new year, new start.
This post is going to be really link heavy as I try and get this blog back on track and I'm afraid this post won't cover everything. I've gone through all my Google Alerts but trying to go back that far through Twitter is insane so there will be things I've missed so let me apologise in advance for anything I've not covered!
Two things that do stick in my mind that weren't in my Google Alerts are the royal family of Agrabah's TV appearances! Courtney Reed appeared on Showtime's The Affair (season 2 episode 8) and Clifton Davis appearing on Madam Secretary (season 2, episodes 8-10) so if you've not caught them already that's certainly something to catch up with on demand!
Ok, I'll try and break up all the links with as many pictures and videos as I can to help keep things interesting! Here we go :o)
OnStageBlog has posted a new (and glowing) review of the show.
The new Bway Zone website dedicated to everything Broadway has a page dedicated to Aladdin. Nothing you won't have already seen I'm sure but it's a nice page and the site has a LOT more to explore.
But if you want something even more in depth then check out this video on Adventures by Disney's new New York City Adventure! You get to take part in a Broadway dance class (seen in the video learning some of the choreography for "Arabian Nights"), visit the New Amsterdam's prop room and all the wonderful props from all of Disney's magical shows, see Aladdin and then go back stage for a Q&A with some of the cast (like Don Darryl Rivera and Jennifer Rias in this video). This one is definitely on my list next time I head to NYC!
The cast of Aladdin perform at the White House! Photo by Scott Suchman
Back in July the cast of Aladdin gave a very special performance at the White House! Afterwards, Broadway World posted a wonderful look behind the scenes of the cast's visit!
Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed as Aladdin and Jasmine at the White House! Photo by Scott Suchman
And, in case you missed it, you can still catch the entire performance right here courtesy of the White House's YouTube channel!
I never get tired of that!
As part of Good Morning America's 40th Anniversary they went back behind the scenes of Aladdin and you can watch the whole segment right here!
Aladdin also continues to set house records at the New Amsterdam Theatre, first taking over $2 million during a 9 show week this summer and then again at the end of November! Then, as I already reported, they incredibly broke their 9 show record with an 8 show week at Christmas! That means Aladdin has now set an astonishing 10 house records at the New Amsterdam Theatre! In addition to its Broadway success, Forbes reports that Aladdin's Tokyo production has been sold out since it open earlier this year.
Ok, this next part I should probably just call the James Monroe Iglehart section! That man was one busy Genie last year!
James Monroe Iglehart hosted the 15th annual Make Believe on Broadway gala, a special event to raise money to bring interactive theatre to chronically ill children. As James told Backstage, "When you get into a hospital and you see kids are going through something and you realize you have a gift that you've been blessed with and that you can use...it opens up a whole different world. All of a sudden you're not performing just for the applause, just for the money. You're performing because you're brightening someone else's day."
But I've still not mentioned D23! Yes, as you all know James was a very special guest at this year's D23 convention in Anaheim! And we didn't event have to wait for The Originals concert to hear him sing!
In the opening Legends panel, which saw Jafar's animator Andreas Deja become an official Disney Legend, James took to the stage to perform Oogie Boogie's Song from The Nightmare Before Christmas to honour another new Disney Legend, Danny Elfman.
And then there was the concert!! Hopefully I'm ok posting this since videos are all of YouTube and it's just so good I wanted to share the full thing!
If you're reading this blog then I'm 99% certain you've seen this, but just in case you managed to miss it here's Aladdin's Courtney Reed singing the most adorable version of "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman" that you will ever hear;
(And you can read her heart warming reasons for making the video here)
Adam also took part in a fantastic interview with Going for Broadway, covering everything from his early education to current success in Aladdin.
Adam Jacobs spoke with Celebrity Radio about Aladdin and his new album Right Where I Belong and you can listen to it right here!
Last summer Richard-Salvador Wolff and Myrthes Monteiro, who play Aladdin and Jasmine in the Hamburg production, came to Broadway to see the show and Adam Jacobs captured the moment on Instagram.
And now here's a few pieces I missed from my post about Aladdin's recent Blu-Ray release! Scott Weinger spoke with Nuke the Fridge about the film and the new Blu-Ray (and touched upon the Broadway show as well). The cast of Broadway's Aladdin spoke with E! about the challenges the show faced in the beginning and it's rocky road to Broadway success. And something a little extra special - Brad Kane and Lea Salonga reunited on ABC to sing "A Whole New World" for the first time in over 20 year!
Aladdin is full of magic, but not all that magic takes place on stage. Aladdin's Joshua Dela Cruz (with help from Donald Jones Jr. and Angelo Soriano) popped a very special question this summer;
Aladdin's Tia Altinay joined up with Newsies Adam Kaplan to speak at the Actors Connection's Perfroming Arts Camp to help educate and inspire Broadway's next generation. Broadway World was there and has a video from the event!
Aladdin's Rodney Ingram recently appeared on the Tyler Mount Vlog;
Aladdin's original Standby Jafar and Sultan, Merwin Foard, has hit the road with a new production of The Sound of Music and is the focus of a new article in the Charlotte Observer. I hope that the show does make it to Broadway, Merwin certainly deserves his time in the spotlight.
Aladdin's incredible book writer and lyricist Chad Begulin has a new show coming up this year! Gotta Dance just finished it's out of town run in Chicago and is due to premiere on Broadway this Spring!
I think that's just about it for Aladdin but there's still some important Hunchback news I want to share!
Samantha Massell at Fiddler on the Roof Opening Night, Photo by Walter McBride/Broadway World
Fiddler on the Roof recently made a triumphant return to Broadway and with it Samantha Massell made her Broadway debut as Hodel! Congratulations Samantha!! Samantha was voted Best Theatre Discovery of 2012 by St. Louis' River Front Times for her performance as Jasmine in The Muny's pre-Broadway production of Aladdin and was recently part of The Hunchback of Notre Dame's incredible cast (and will be on the cast recording due for release this month). Sam's not the only Disney alum in Fiddler though as Aladdin's Brandt Martinez also stars in the show!
Ciara Renee as Hawkgirl
Continuing the trend of Disney's Broadway stars making the jump to DC Comic's TV multiverse, Hunchback's Ciara Renee made her DC debut on The Flash last year as Hawkgirl! This month she'll star in CW's latest DC series Legends of Tomorrow! As a pretty big comic geek I'm really excited to see this one!
Speaking of Disney stars who made the jump to the DCU - here's Newsies and Supergirl star Jeremy Jordan singing a fantastic Disney medley! You just have to listen to this, Jeremy's amazing! And when you're done, search for him singing Let It Go, you'll be glad you did!
I'm still crossing my fingers the circus comes back to town in Gotham so James can be on the show again. Or, better yet, come back in a new role as a major character (hey, it worked for Mark Hamill in the legendary animated series!). It was nice seeing The Little Mermaid's Norm Lewis this season as well!
Back to Hunchback! The Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Utah had another incredible season last year and their relationship with Disney seems to be going from strength to strength. I loved their pre-Broadway production of Aladdin in 2012 and last year they teamed with Disney to launch a new musical, When You Wish (you can read the Salt Lake Tribune's review for that and their productions of Beauty and the Beast and Alan Menken's Sister Act here). Well, this year they're staging another two Disney productions! First they're bringing Tarzan back to stage in June, then in August they'll be staging The Hunchback of Notre Dame!!! I might be wrong but I think this will be the first regional production following the US Premiere Productions at La Jolla and PaperMill Playhouse. Both shows will run through to October along with Peter Pan.
If you've ever wanted to see these shows then I would urge you to go to the Tuacahn's productions this summer. I've said it before but the outdoor amphitheatre is the most beautiful venue I've ever seen a show in and they use their unique venue to stage their productions in some truly breath taking ways. Believe me, if I could be there I would be!
Adam Jacobs, Courtney Reed and James Monroe Iglehart as Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie
As you've no doubt heard this week Disney Theatrical announced the excellent news that Aladdin's leading actors have all renewed their contracts through to 21st February 2016.
That's right, Adam Jacobs (Aladdin), Courtney Reed (Jasmine), James Monroe Iglehart (Genie), Jonathan Freeman (Jafar), Don Darryl Rivera (Iago), Brian Gonzales (Babkak), Jonathan Schwartz (Omar), Clifton Davies (Sultan) and Merwin Foard (Stand By for Jafar & Sultan) are all staying for another year of high adventure in Disney's latest Broadway hit, and so is Steel Burkhardt, who recently joined the cast as Kassim!
Joining the cast are Trevor Dion Nicholas (Stand By for Genie & Babkak) and new Swing Angelo Soriano, who made his Aladdin debut on 5th February. A big welcome to you both!
Disney haven't announced any additional ensemble casting but when they update their website next week I'll be sure to announce any new additions here.
In addition to welcoming the above new cast members I would also like to apologise and say a belated farewell to Rhea Patterson and Aleks Pevec who both left the show last September and a warm welcome to Amber Owens and Travis Ward-Osborne who joined the ensemble last October!
Hello and welcome to the latest Aladdin Broadway news round up! As I promised last week this edition is going to catch you up and everything that happened over the holidays and in the weeks since so expect quite a few links!
Ok, here we go!
First things first, just before Christmas Aladdin welcomed Steel Burkhardt to the cast as the new Kassim and he was quickly welcomed to this "super" cast;
Steel Burkhardt as Kassim with the cast of Aladdin
Reading Eagle featured Aladdin in their Top 10 Broadway shows in their 2014 Year in Review.
Entertainment Monthly puts James Monroe Iglehart in their Top 10 Broadway Performances of 2014, well done JMI!!
And Disney officially dominated the Broadway box office in 2014 with it's winning combination of Aladdin and The Lion King. The Lion King was the overall highest grossing show of 2014 and Aladdin was the highest grossing new show last year (coming in at number 5 overall). Hopefully this means that Aladdin will be on Broadway for a long time to come!
The Foxville Country Players in Yorkville will be performing songs from Disney's Broadway musicals, including Aladdin in their 4th annual Night of Broadway Fundraiser on 24th January. More details can be found here.
Audra McDonald and the cast of Aladdin, Photo by Joseph Marzullo
Playbill have posted a photo gallery of 6 time Tony Award Winner Audra McDonald's visit to Aladdin. You can see the group photo above but make sure to check out Playbill for the rest.
After being the highest grossing new show of 2014 Frontierland Station is reporting that Aladdin has continued its record breaking run into 2015 by once again broke the house record at the New Amsterdam Theatre for the week ending 4th January.
Aladdin took part in Kids' Night on Broadway last week and here's a short Q&A video of Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed answering their questions;
If you have a Disney Visa Card you can now purchase VIP tickets to see Aladdin for performances through July 5th. The VIP package includes Premium Seating, a complimentary (non-alcoholic) drink in a souvenir cup, a lanyard with the show pin and a keepsake photo. Not sure if this has changed but when I went last year the VIP package was the only way to get the show pin and the commemorative photo was James Monroe Iglehart as Genie.
Playbill went backstage at Aladdin to witness the magic that helps bring the show to life 8 times a week. It's a fascinating read into a world that most people will never see but without it the show could not go on.
Broadway World reports that Aladdin's Bud Weber is taking part in a reading of Sing Me Home in LA on 26th January. Tickets to the reading are complimentary so check out the link if you're interested in going!
After leaving Aladdin just before Christmas Brandon O'Neill is back at The 5th Avenue Theatre this year in Carousel and Broadway World have the full cast list for the upcoming production. Carousel runs February 5th through March 1st at The 5th Avenue.
Aladdin's Clifton Davis is to be one of the speakers in the 5th annual Lift Every Voice lecture series on 9th February. As well as playing the Sultan on Broadway, Clifton is also a minister and will speak on "Strength for the Journey: Succeeding Against the Odds". Further details on the event and other lectures in the series can be found here and here.
And in case you missed Jeopardy or like me you couldn't watch it live here's all the highlights;
How awesome was that?!
And speaking of awesome, Broadway.com has listed Adam Jacobs' portrayal of Aladdin as one of the 10 stage turns that really wowed them in 2014. Congratulations Adam!
Aladdin topped Broadway.com's list to be proclaimed their best show of 2014. It didn't quite make it as high on their fan poll but it still made the top 5!
Huge congratulations to James Monroe Iglehart for making it into USA Today's Top Life Photos for their 2014 Year in Review! Incredible achievement, well done!
If you've been missing James' I Dream of Genie vlog (I know I have!!) then Broadway.com have something for you as all their vloggers look back on the year that was!
Disney Legend Alan Menken talks with D23 about his new show Galavant (I hope you're watching, it's brilliant) but also talks briefly about working simultaneously on the Broadway production of Aladdin and the US Premiere production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Speaking of the Disney Legend, here he is singing the soundtrack to your childhood at a recent ABC press event for Galavant. Enjoy!
Not strictly Aladdin related, though it was where I first saw the show, The Spectrum has written a fantastic piece about Tuacahn's Artistic Director Scott Anderson and the Tuacahn's Disney connection (this year the Tuacahn is premiering Disney Theatrical's new revue show When You Wish). And with the Tuacahn being considered for productions of The Jungle Book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Newsies it looks like the Disney connection will be strong with Tuacahn for many years to come! I can't stress enough that if you have the chance to see a show at the Tuacahn then you owe it to yourself to go. It really is a unique experience and the memories will last a lifetime.
Already bought all of the Aladdin show merchandise? Well Don Darryl Rivera has you covered! Check out this new shirt he's created for anyone who's ever wanted to be a Disney villain and get yours here!
And finally a brief update on The Hunchback of Notre Dame. SDGLN's "Best of Theater" list for 2014 was quite extensive and Hunchback received several mentions - one of the best musicals, Scott Schwartz for direction, Patrick Page for his portrayal of Frollo and the set design by Alexander Dodge. Well done all!
The Hunchback of Notre Dame has also been nominated for several Craig Noel Awards;
Outstanding Residential Musical
Outstanding Musical Direction - Brent Alan Huffman
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical, Male - Patrick Page
Outstanding Lighting Design - Howell Binkley
Outstanding Scenic Design - Alexander Dodge
Outstanding Direction of a Musical - Scott Schwartz
Well done everyone, and good luck!
If you missed it at La Jolla, make sure you catch it at the Paper Mill!
