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.
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 Seriesas 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:
Please give a warm Agrabah welcome to Raymond Lee!
Jafar has a new evil sidekick for the next few weeks as Raymond will be taking over the role of Iago from August 16th to September 8th.
Words cannot even describe how excited I am to visit Agrabah!!! This #DisneyDad gets to make his @Disney#Broadway debut next weekend as “Iago.” Come see me August 16 - September 8 (minus a few matinees) at @aladdin. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/RaHumLpRt0
Raymond, I hope you have a fantastic time in Agrabah and love every minute of bringing Disney's greatest evil sidekick to life over the next few weeks!
Last year Don Darryl Rivera took home Seattle's prestigious Gregory Award for his role as Sancho in 5th Avenue's production of Man of La Mancha. Last night, he took a well deserved night off from playing everyone's favourite evil sidekick, returning to Seattle to host the 10th annual Gregory Awards!
And it sounds like he's just as good a host as he is Disney villain!
This Saturday saw Aladdin finish it's incredible Los Angeles run at the Hollywood Pantages, bringing to an end the tour's first year and, sadly, Reggie De Leon's run as Iago.
I was lucky enough to see Reggie as Iago last month and he was incredible in the role. I loved his take on the character, as I am sure countless others have over the last year.
Reggie, I hope you've enjoyed your time in Agrabah! Here's wishing you all the best for the future!
Clinton Greenspan as Aladdin, Photo by Deen van Meer
It's a new city and a new star next month as the US Tour of Aladdin moves to Denver with Clinton Greenspan taking on the title role!
Clinton has been with the show and understudied as Aladdin since the tour began last year, now he will make the role his own as he brings everyone's favourite street rat to life.
Speaking with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Clinton said "Aladdin is a story for anyone and all people. Families, students and adults come to see the show for a great time, and they all experience magic in their own ways. But most of all, this is a story of love between Aladdin and Jasmine. The show has these thrilling, magical and colourful elements to it that make it a perfect romantic evening for those with adult sensibilities. Just know that you're going into something unbelievable."
Clinton won't be the only star in Denver as Jay Paranada and Jed Feder are also joining the cast as Aladdin moves to the mile high city. They will star as Iago and Kassim respectively as Reggie De Leon and Mike Longo finish their runs in Los Angeles this weekend.
Welcome to Agrabah everyone! Here's wishing you a magical run! Aladdin opens at the Buell Theatre in Denver on April 7th and runs through April 28th. Tickets are available now.
Aladdin is coming home!! After an incredible run in Minneapolis Aladdin is returning to Seattle where it first premiered in 2011!
Even better, Don Darryl Rivera is coming with it!!! Yes, DDR is returning home to play Iago! Seattle is in for a treat!!
And so is Broadway! Whilst Don Darryl is bringing Iago to life for his home town, Reggie De Leon will be making his Broadway debut bringing the villainous henchman to life in New York! Congratulations Reggie!!
Aladdin will be playing at Seattle's Paramount Theatre from tomorrow through to 29th October and you can get your tickets right here! Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to see Seattle's original Aladdin (Adam Jacobs) and original Iago share a stage again! It's going to be magical!!!
On Saturday the original cast of London's Aladdin brought audiences to their feet one last time and even Abu the monkey got to make his West End debut as departing star Dean John-Wilson threw Aladdin's little buddy into the crowd of cheering fans before making his final bow.
Today its a whole new world at the Prince Edward theatre as a new cast begins granting wishes in the West End.
Speaking of wishes - leading the company will be Matthew Croke in the iconic title role of Aladdin and this really is a wish come true for our newest star!
Matthew Croke (Aladdin) with Trevor Dion Nicholas (Genie) in rehearsals, Photo by Johan Perrson
And did someone say promotion? Leon Craig (original Standby Genie/Babkak), Miles Barrow and Daniel de Bourg (original ensemble) will be taking on the roles of Aladdin's trio of pals full time as Babkak, Omar and Kassim respectively. I love to see hard work, dedication and talent rewarded so I'm really happy for these guys and excited to see what they bring to the trio next time I see the show.
Matthew Croke (Aladdin), Daniel de Bourg (Kassim), Leon Craig (Babkak) and Miles Barrow (Omar) in rehearsals, Photo by Johan Perrson
Completing new principal cast members is Nick Cavaliere, who will be taking over the role of Jafar's scheming henchman Iago.
Jade Ewen (Jasmine) with Don Gallagher (Jafar) and Nick Cavaliere (Iago) in rehearsals, Photo by Johan Perrson
And joining what is arguably the hardest working ensemble in the West End is Chanelle Anthony, Danny Becker, Cindy Belliot, Filippo Coffano, Nolan Edwards, Sinead Kenny, Travis Kerry, Dann Kharsa, Tarisha Rommick, Joshua Steel, Monica Swayne, Niko Wirachman and Damien Winchester.
Cindy Belliot in rehearsals, Photo by Johan Perrson
Sinead Kenny in rehearsals, Photo by Johan Perrson
Original ensemble member Oliver Lidert will now take on the Standby role for Genie, Babkak and Sultan.
I just want to say a massive congratulations to all the new and promoted cast members and to wish everyone, new cast and original cast alike, the very best for tonight's show. I know it's going to be absolutely magical and I can't wait to get back to London and see you all on that stage! Makes some magic!!
Matthew Croke and Jade Ewen as Aladdin and Jasmine, Photo by Disney
Don Darryl Rivera at Aladdin's Opening Night, Photo from Broadway World
If you're aged 14-18, love theatre and can be in Seattle on Friday 21st October then 5th Avenue have a treat for you!
A Workshop with Don Darryl Rivera!!
Described by The 5th as "a master of physical comedy who knows how to ground his performance in truth" Don Darryl will help young performers "explore the acting skills that can make audiences laugh in delight even as they are also challenged to be true to new ideals".
If you've ever seen DDR in Aladdin (or watched some of his New Voices performances on YouTube) then you know he's a brilliant character actor, has amazing comic timing and he's one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet so this promises to be an amazing class for all who take part!
Alan Muraoka as Iago, Photo by Alan Muraoka (via Instagram)
Whilst Don Darryl Rivera is starring in The Man of La Mancha Broadway veteran Alan Muraoka has returned to the Great White Way for a limited run as everyone's favourite evil sidekick.
Last week Alan Muraoka did a great interview with Lia Chang about his return to Broadway after 12 years and his history with Aladdin (which goes back to before his run as Iago!)
It's a great interview so make sure you check it out right here!
I can't wait to see Alan's performance for myself in a few weeks!
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!
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!
Yesterday afternoon Aladdin's Don Darryl Rivera and his wife Kate celebrated the birth of their daughter, Eloise!
I just want to say a massive congratulations to Don and Kate. I'm so happy for you both and I know you're going to be amazing parents. Wishing you both all the love and happiness in the world at this magical time.
Hello again! After last week's massive catch up this news round up feels pretty short and sweet. But there's still lots going on with Aladdin's Broadway family.
Adam Jacobs and his sister Arielle took part in a sibling interview with Broadway World. Aladdin fans take note that it sounds like Adam's schedule will be changing in the Fall and he might not be performing Wednesday matinees.
Kylie Myers touched a lot of people in the Broadway community and perhaps none more so that the cast of Aladdin. Last week a childhood cancer Public Service Announcement featuring Kylie premiered in Times Square, the heart of the theatre world that Kylie loved so much. Broadway World has posted a touching piece on Kylie's story, remembering her as she keeps Broadway smiling.
Sorry if the videos aren't working properly for you (I was having some issues getting them to embed properly for some reason). If you can't see them above then you can check them out on Twitter here and here.
Whilst Don Darryl Rivera is taking a well deserved holiday this week Adam Kaokept has been taking to the New Amsterdam stage this week as Iago!
I'm sure Adam is doing an incredible job as everyone's favourite parrot turned human evil sidekick and if you want to see him as Iago you can still do so tonight and this weekend.
It's the ensembles turn to shine this week as Aladdin's Bobby Pestka recently did a wide ranging interview with The Broadway Blog that's well worth checking out and Yurel Echezeretta will be taking part in the 6th annual Broadway Can! benefit on 16th November. This annual concert of Seth Bisen-Hersh songs is being held to support City Harvest for New York's hungry.
Broadway World is reporting that Aladdin will be one of the exhibitors at the 6th annual At This Stage Education Expo at the Minskoff Theatre on Monday 27th October. Further details can be found here.
And finally, this week Thomas Schumacher, President of Disney Theatrical, sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss everything from The Lion King to Frozen. In the process he touches on Aladdin and even drops some hints at possible Marvel and Lucasfilm properties that could one day make their way to stage. If you're a Disney fan or a theatre fan then you owe it to yourself to read this. It's a fantastic read and offers an incredible insight into Thomas Schumacher and Disney Theatrical. And on an Aladdin related note - 4 more international productions are in development!!! I really hope one of them is the rumoured West End production!!
Vacation Alert - Jonathan Freeman will be away from 22nd through 26th October and 8th-9th November. Merwin Foard will once again be bringing the evil Vizier to life at those performances.
Vacation Alert - Don Darryl Rivera will be out of the show from 28th-31st October.
Not quite Aladdin related but the Tuacahn Amphitheatre will be presenting 2 Menken musicals and a brand new Disney Revue show as their 2015 Broadway in the Desert season. Early bird tickets are now on sale for Beauty and the Beast, Sister Act and the all new Disney's When You Wish. If you've ever seen a show at Tuacahn then you know these will be very special indeed.
Ok, Hunchback time!
It's been a strange week for The Hunchback of Notre Dame news. The show officially entered tech rehearsals this week and the biggest news came as Broadway World presented a first look at the beautiful set of the show only for the image to disappear almost as soon as it appeared (much like the early character concepts for Aladdin's Seattle run did). For what it's worth I'll leave the link here in case the image comes back up. The set looked great. Very realistic compared to what we're used to from other Disney shows but it really fit Hunchback well. I wish I had the picture to share with you but I'm sure more official images will be released very soon as the show begins in exactly a week's time!
The Ragehas a great article on the show. It's pages 22-23, and I'm pretty sure this is the first time that the show has officially been called "Broadway-bound" which is incredible news! It notes that this new production will be very different to Berlin's Der Glockner Von Notre Dame, which was an incredibly large scale production, focusing "much more on the four main characters". I can't wait to see what they've done with it!
And finally, happy birthday to Esmeralda herself, Ciara Renee! I hope you have a wonderful day.
Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed as Aladdin and Jasmine, Photo by Deen Van Meer
After the exciting news of Aladdin's upcoming Japanese Premiere and a special bonus episode of JMI's I Dream of Genie it's back to business as usual here with another news round up from the magical world of Agrabah.
Firstly, good luck to Marisha Wallace who is appearing in concert today at Illinois' The Little Theatre on the Square!
In the last news round up Adam Jacobs took Business Insider through a day in the life of a Broadway star, this time he talks about how he made it on Broadway and the road to becoming Aladdin.
In the interview Adam expresses an interest in teaching and on 9th November Adam will be taking part in A Class Act NY's Musical Theatre Workshop! The event is currently sold out but it's always worth checking in case a space opens up.
Later this month the New World Stages will play host to the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals. Taking place from 23-24 October the annual event showcases the talents of emerging and established writers in 45 minute presentations featuring the talents of Broadway and off Broadway actors. This year two of the productions feature cast members from Broadway's Aladdin! Beautiful Poison will feature Brandon O'Neill and Stu for Silverton will feature Don Darryl Rivera. Both Brandon and Don made their Broadway debuts with Aladdin earlier this year, so it's great to see their talent being recognised and showcased in events like this! Congratulations to you both!!
Next up is a series of fan made videos where the poster has created model version of the show's sets. You can view the 4 videos at the following YouTube channel. They're pretty cool!
It's been announced that Aladdin will be part of next year's Broadway Student Summit, a program by the Broadway Teaching Group that brings together theatre students and the cast and creative teams of some of Broadway's top shows. Full details haven't yet been confirm but Aladdin's session dates are January 17-19th 2015. Further information can be found here http://www.broadwaystudentsummit.com/
James Monroe Iglehart and Adara Bryan, Photo by Playbill/Monica Simoes
Last Monday James Monroe Iglehart and #MyDreamDuet winner Adara Bryan took part in Celebrity Karaoke. More details and photos can be found at Playbill and, even better, you can check out the videos! James and Adara singing I Want You Back, James and Lena Hall sing Proud Mary and James, Lena Hall, Justin Guarini and Ramin Karimloo sing Signed, Sealed, Delivered.
The Daily Geekette posted a report from last month's Broadway Flea Market including the Aladdin table and the always awesome Don Darryl Rivera!
In 2012 I had the pleasure of seeing Aladdin at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Utah. This year they're doing another Disney musical, The Little Mermaid. I've mentioned this before but now Playbill posted photos from the show. Being an outdoor amphitheatre means that the Tuacahn can do a lot of things that a traditional theatre can't, like flooding the stage to sail a ship across! If you can go I'm sure this production will be every bit as magical as their Aladdin was so it's well worth the trip. Here's a sneak peak;
As you know I'm a huge Disney fan and a huge Alan Menken fan so it should come as no surprise that I'm really looking forward to the upcoming US premiere of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I've mentioned it a few times on this blog (even going so far as to say it has the potential to be Disney's Les Miserables) and with the US premiere now only weeks away, I've decided to add a Hunchback section to these weekly news updates.
It's been a long time coming. The original Berlin production ran from 1999-2002 and a US production has been talked about on and off ever since. Now it's finally real. Like Aladdin and Newsies before it, a Broadway production of Hunchback hasn't been announced but I fully believe that if the upcoming productions at La Jolla Playhouse and Papermill Playhouse do well then Quasimodo will be joining his Disney cousins on the Great White Way.
And this week both Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken spoke with Playbill about re-imagining Hunchback for stage. What stands out most to me is that for many years fans have speculated that the "trouble" Disney Theatrical have had with bringing Hunchback to America has been that the show (at least as it was in Berlin) is much darker than what is traditionally expected from Disney, yet here Alan is quoted as saying "It's emotionally deeper. We're liberated from needing to ... reach a family audience as we did in animation. Even though I believe this can reach a family audience, this definitely lives much more on the adult side of Hunchback." They also confirm that the stage show has a different ending from the film. Does this mean they're keeping the ending from the Berlin production or is this something new again? We'll have to wait a few more weeks to find out!
In the interview Stephen Schwartz says that this new adaptation will feature about 10 new songs/pieces of songs, some of which come from Der Glockner Von Notre Dame and some of which were written especially for this new production. I'm not even going to begin to speculate on this as the song list on Wikipedia for Glockner is much longer than the cast recording of the show, featuring numerous additional reprises. What I am happy to say is that yesterday Jeremy Scott Lapp, the show's Associate Director, very kindly confirmed that the song Esmerelda is in the show! I am so happy as it's probably my favourite song from the Berlin cast recording! I've listened to it that much I practically hear it in English now.
So in honour of its inclusion I'm going to leave you tonight with a rare English performance of the song (I didn't even know this existed until yesterday!) from Epcot's Encore 2010 - Dream Our Dreams: A Musical Tribute to the Legacy of Disney
The US Premiere of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is at San Diego's La Jolla Playhouse, running October 26th through December 14th 2014, and New Jersey's Papermill Playhouse, running March 4th through April 5th 2015.
Jonathan Freeman and Don Darryl Rivera as Jafar and Iago, Photo by Deen Van Meer
Time is just flying this year! Sorry I missed last week's news round up, I was away for a family birthday. So, without further ado it's catch up time!
First a quick announcement - James Monroe Iglehart will be performing in Speechless at Joe's Pub TONIGHT!! Tickets can be purchased here and you can read more information at Broadway World. If you can make it be sure to check it out as it sounds like it should be a hilarious night.
Aladdin continues to make box office magic on Broadway as Variety is reporting that the show has broken the weekly house record for the New Amsterdam Theatre (no easy feat given that an earlier occupant of the New Amsterdam was Disney's own megahit The Lion King) and continues to play to sold out audiences. Huge congratulations to the cast and crew of Aladdin and everyone at the New Amsterdam Theatre.
NBC New York offers up a rare treat this week as they talk to Jonathan Freeman about playing Jafar for over 20 years and share some brief clips from the show featuring Jonathan and Don Darryl Rivera's Iago.
The other half of Aladdin's villainous duo spoke with Broadway.com about moving to New York and living his Broadway dreams in Aladdin and then took Playbill on a photo walk through of a two show day which is well worth checking out as Don literally takes you from waking up to going to sleep with 2 shows and some great behind the scenes photos along the way.
Of course it wasn't just the villains getting in on the fun as Courtney Reed took part in Broadway.com's latest Character Study video, discussing her character and why Jasmine is her favourite Disney princess. As you watch you can see the magic of theatre as Courtney is transformed into Jasmine right before your eyes.
You're probably all aware of the Ice Bucket Challenge that has taken the internet by storm in recent weeks to raise awareness of ALS. Given the amount of charities and good causes that the cast of Aladdin have supported it should come as no surprise that the whole cast this week took the challenge and posted the video on Facebook to prove it. They also challenged the head of Disney Theatrical Thomas Schumacher, Aladdin's composer Alan Menken, Aladdin's book writer and lyricist Chad Beguelin and Disney CEO Bob Iger (again!)
Also over the last few weeks the cast of Aladdin have been posting photos on Twitter and Instagram using #IHeartTheArts to show their support for The Actors Fund. You can see them all on Twitter and Instagram but here's a small preview;
Don Darryl Rivera as Iago Hearts the Arts, Photo by Don Darryl Rivera
Of course, the last two weeks also saw the sad death of Robin Williams. I already shared my own thoughts and the cast's heartfelt tribute the other week but there have been a few other pieces that I wanted to share with you. When writing my thoughts I deliberately avoided the issue of Robin Williams' depression. I wanted to focus on what he meant to me and also respect his family's wishes that he be remembered for the joy and laughter that he gave the world. However, when Patrick Page (The Lion King's Scar and soon to be The Hunchback of Notre Dame's Frollo) shared the deeply personal story of his own battle with depression with Broadway World I felt compelled to share it. It's not easy to read but I'm glad I did. It offers a deeper, intimate, understanding of what many people struggle with everyday. Anyone who's ever even thought "what did he have to be depressed about" needs to read it. My heartfelt thanks go out to Patrick, this can't have been easy for him to share.
Alan Menken, who worked with Robin Williams, also posted a moving tribute to him on his Facebook page, recalling meeting Robin Williams in LA, the recording sessions in which Robin sang his songs in their original intended style before being let loose to do his thing, the magic that followed and later scoring for Robin's character Charlie Boyd in Noel.
And I just want to end with this. Many of you will probably already have seen it but I still wanted to post it here. A fitting farewell from Genie's Supervising Animator Eric Goldberg.
