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.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Aladdin the Musical (@aladdin)

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!

Aladdin One Year On

Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed as Aladdin and Jasmine, Photo by Matthew Murphy

Last month Aladdin celebrated its first anniversary on Broadway and I was lucky enough to be able to return to New York and see the show again.

The first thing that strikes you when you arrive at the New Amsterdam Theatre is the new entrance way.  Gone is the show logo and in its place is the Cave of Wonders, complete with a magic lamp for guests to rub and make a wish.  It's a great touch and a big improvement that offers guests a little interactivity and a photo opportunity before they enter the theatre.

I'm not going to do a full review of the show itself (you can read my original review here) but I do want to talk about the cast.  Whilst Aladdin has been lucky enough to keep almost all of its principal cast, the last year has seen a few changes in the ensemble and, of course, the arrival of Steel Burkhardt as Kassim.  Steel has done a fantastic job of making the character his own whilst still remaining true to the character the Brandon O'Neill created.  It's a wonderful performance and he works perfectly with Brian Gonzales' Babkak and Jonathan Schwartz's Omar, the trio is as hilarious as ever.  And speaking of the trio, I love the "random high note" line that Brian Gonzales has added to "High Adventure"!

I was blessed to see Trevor Dion Nicholas' show (and Broadway!) debut as the Genie!  If I hadn't been told after that it was his first night I never would have guessed.  He gave a phenomenal performance and got a well earned standing ovation after "Friend Like Me".  He didn't have easy shoes to fill but he rose to the challenge and gave the audience everything they could wish for in a Genie.

I've been wanting to see Merwin Foard since I learned that he was Cassim's singing voice in Aladdin and the King of Thieves (and appeared in lots of other Disney features as well).  I got my wish this time and he did not disappoint.  Merwin's Sultan is a powerful figure with a commanding presence and a delight to watch.  I also got to see Dennis Stowe take on the role of the villainous Jafar and he did a great job.  What I loved most about seeing the standbys and understudies was that none of them simply copied the original performance, they all made the roles their own, adding their own take on the material and their own little embellishments to the parts. It's one of the joys of live theatre, no two performers or performances are completely alike, there's always something new to take in.

One of the most joyous things about seeing Aladdin one year later was just to see how much the cast are loving it.  It seemed that everyone was totally relaxed and comfortable with their characters and were just having fun playing with them every night.  Adam and Courtney remain absolutely perfect as Aladdin and Jasmine, bringing them to life with charm and ease and Don Darryl Rivera somehow manages to get even bigger laughs than I remember as he seemingly revels in Iago's villainly and crazy over the top evil laughs. Seriously, he's hilarious and always manages to get some of the biggest laughs of the night.  He also works so well with Jonathan Freeman's Jafar (Jonathan was back in the second time we saw the show), their stage chemistry is brilliant. The whole production just has an infectious joy to it and in some of the numbers, like the fantastic "Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim", you just want to get up and dance (and this is coming from a guy with two left feet). You can't help but leave Aladdin feeling uplifted and that's the real magic and why it remains my favourite show.

Broadway Sessions presents "A Night in Agrabah"

It never fails, you have a small news round up then there's a rub of the lamp!  This Thursday Ben Cameron's Broadway Sessions is presenting a one off special event - A Night in Agrabah!

Taking place at The Laurie Beechman Theatre on 42nd Street, Broadway Sessions is a "fun and zany musical theatre variety show" where you can "get up close and personal with Broadway's brightest as the stars bare their souls, interact with the crowd and celebrate all things BROADWAY."

Tickets can be bought on the door ($5 cover, $15 f/b minimum) and Thursday night's A Night in Agrabah will feature the talents of Aladdin's Courtney Reed (Princess Jasmine), Don Darryl Rivera (Iago), Marisha Wallace, Dennis Stowe, Bud Weber, Khori Michelle Petinaud,Stanley Martin, Yurel Echezeretta and Jennifer Rias.

The show starts at 11pm (with open mic at 10pm for anyone brave enough to try it!) so if you're in NYC why not see Aladdin first then head on over to catch some of the incredibly talented cast members in a more intimate setting.

I wish I could be there and I hope everyone taking part has a fun night.

Broadway News Round Up 12

I know time's meant to go faster as you get old but this is crazy!  You turn thirty and the next thing you know it's been two and half weeks since the last news round up!  Hopefully this will be the start of things getting back on track!

Let's start with the big news of the last few weeks and a man who will have no problem sticking to a weekly schedule - James Monroe Iglehart is Broadway.com's latest Vlogger!!

James Monroe Iglehart as Genie, Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann

Yes, our favourite Genie is now going to be staring in his own video blog series, appropriately titled "I Dream of Genie" for 8 weeks starting from tomorrow!  The full announcement can be read over at Broadway.com.  I can't wait for this series, James is a great guy and a terrific presenter so I have no doubt this series will be insightful, humorous and extremely watchable.  Hopefully it's also a prelude to more episodes of The JMI Show too (hey, a guy can wish, can't he?)

On 25th July James had one of his wishes come true as he co-hosted The View and Disney Theatrical celebrated by releasing a special video;

And Broadway.com have some footage from the show!


Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed teamed up once again, this time testing each other in EW's Disney Pop Quiz (I love how Courtney mimes dinglehopper!)

Courtney Reed, Photo by Bruce Glikas

And, Fresh from her victory over Adam, Courtney had another reason to celebrate the other week as she took part in a special handprint ceremony at Planet Hollywood in Times Square!  Broadway.com and Playbill  both have more coverage and photos from the event, including Courtney celebrating with a MASSIVE bowl of spaghetti, so make sure to check them out.

InStyle also caught up with Courtney recently to find out just how Jasmine looks that good as Courtney shared the secrets behind looking like a real life Disney princess.

Last time I mentioned that Courtney would be taking part in the annual Dare to Go Beyond summer camp and now Broadway World have some photos from the event (I can't see Courtney in them, but she did post some on Twitter).

Earlier this week Aladdin's Marisha Wallace joined other Broadway stars as part of Broadway Sings for The Trevor Project.  More details of the event and the work done by The Trevor Project can be found here.  I'm sorry I didn't know about this in enough time to give people a heads up.

Whilst on the subject of good causes, I want to give another push for support for both Dennis Stowe (who plays Razoul and others in Aladdin on Broadway) and Disney Theatrical's Thomas Schumacher who are both due to take part in Broadway Sleeps Out to raise money for homeless children.

As part of Broadway World's "Broadway Quick Change" series Robert Hartwell helps James Monroe Iglehart put his own stamp on his dressing room with the aid of some trips to Mid Town Comics and Toys R Us (and it looks awesome!)

Between TV appearances, prepping for his video blog and having his room redecorated, James also found time to be an honorary beauty queen at Pageant as he visited the show this week.  Make sure you check out Broadway.com for the hilarious photo!

And of course it's nice to know that Aladdin continues to go strong as it continues to be the best selling new musical on Broadway and Deadline reports that Disney's Broadway Trio (Aladdin, Newsies and The Lion King) between them took almost 20% of Broadway's total box office last week!  Aladdin this week extended it's current booking period through to 1st February 2015 and tickets to the show can be bought from the official website - www.aladdinthemusical.com.

Finally, I just want to wish a belated Happy Birthday to the one and only Omar, Jonathan Schwartz who celebrated his birthday on 30th July!

That's all for this now!  I'll be back tomorrow for JMI's first "I Dream of Genie" and then this weekend for another news round up.

Broadway News Round Up 11

Two weeks worth of news updates today (apologises for missing last week, more on that later)!

Courtney Reed as Princess Jasmine, Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann

First up this week, Broadway World reports that Princess Jasmine herself, Courtney Reed, will be one of the teaching artists at this summers 7th Annual Dare to Go Beyond Children's Performing Arts Camp.  Courtney, along with over a dozen other Broadway stars, will be donating her time and experience to help teach the next generation of artists.  This year's camp runs 28th July through to 1st August.

On August 17th Aladdin's Dennis Stowe joins Disney Theatrical's Thomas Schumacher and other Broadway stars and creatives in the Broadway Sleeps Out event to raise support and awareness for homeless children.  You can find out more at Covent House's website where you can also donate to help support the cause.  The participant's own support pages are linked above, Thomas Schumacher has already exceeded his target of an incredible $10,000 so let's help Dennis reach his goal!

This Friday (25th July) James Monroe Iglehart will be co-hosting "The View"!  "The View" airs 11am - 12pm ET on ABC so make sure you check him out!  Here's a little preview courtesy of Aladdin's Instagram account.

The one and only Jafar, Jonathan Freeman himself, spoke with Playbill about his theatregoing experiences and the performances that have stayed with him.

Ron Clements and Jon Musker, the directors of Disney's original, animated, Aladdin saw the show last week and James Monroe Iglehart, quite rightfully in "Disney Nerd Heaven", shared a photo of the moment on his Instagram.

Another Disney alumni also visited the show this week as Phil Collins headed back stage after the show to meet the cast this weekend.  Playbill was there to capture the moment.

Courtney Reed and James Monroe Iglehart took part in the 16th annual Broadway Barks event, helping to find pets a good home, and Broadway.com was there to capture the moment.  Vanity Fair was also there and they were able to catch a few words with our favourite Genie who told them that another furry friend, his cat Zoe, had claimed his Tony Award.

Buzzfeed voted Adam Jacobs' Aladdin the "Hottest Disney Character Brought to Life" in their "26 Hottest Performances on Broadway".

Broadway World reported that Brian Gonzales (Babkak) joined other Broadway stars for the annual Voices of Broadway performance at the Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts.  You can see some photos by following the link.

If you're musically inclined then you would be most rewarded to consider this!  Aladdin's Piano/Vocal Selections will go on sale 1st August!  Whilst I'm really excited for this release, part of me is a little disappointed that all of the reprises are cut.  I know that's just the way they do the vocal selections these days (The Little Mermaid was the same) but I miss the days of Beauty and the Beast where they included everything bar the overture, the entr'acte and the incidental music.

For anyone trying to make it on Broadway, Tara Rubin (who cast Aladdin on Broadway along with many, many other shows) spoke with Playbill to offer some audition advise.

And finally a quick vacation alert!  Jonathan Freeman will be away tomorrow night (22nd July) and Merwin Foard will be playing the role of Jafar.


Ok, at the start of this post I promised an explanation for missing the news update last week.  The honest truth is I was busy, but it was something blog related and (fingers crossed) I'll be able to share it with you all soon!

I've also set up a new Twitter account for the blog (@AladdinBDWYBlog) so you can follow me on Twitter for all the latest updates.  Instagram is next!

And that's everything for this week.  Let's end on this amazing video that Disney Theatrical shared recently where James Monroe Iglehart proves to be a real life Genie and grants some lucky fans' wishes at Aladdin's daily lottery!