Disney Family Singalong, Disney on Broadway 25th Anniversary Concert and More Bring Joy Amdist Ongoing Lockdowns

As the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak sees much of the world remain on lockdown, the theatrical community has pulled together to provide some light and joy in these dark times. From Instagram live chats and concerts to dance choreography lessons and even full shows, the theatrical community has shown that the show will always go on as they keep a song in our hearts.

As part of ABC's "Day of Hope" last week, Disney Theatrical stars past and present, including Aladdin's James Monroe Iglehart and Michael James Scott, joined together to perform Alan Menken and David Zippel's Go The Distance in honour of all of those on the frontlines of the pandemic.

Tonight, James Monroe Iglehart will reunite with the cast of Broadway's Aladdin to lead them in the show stopping Friend Like Me as part of ABC's Disney Family Singalong at 8pm Eastern. They will be joined by an all star celebrity line up singing some of the most beloved songs in the Disney canon to bring the magic of music into your homes.

Then, tomorrow night, Broadway Cares will be presenting a special presentation of last year's 25th anniversary concert. Recorded live last November, the concert celebrated 25 years of Disney on Broadway with songs and stars from every production from Beauty and the Beast to Frozen. Now, Broadway Cares will be streaming the concert to help all of those in the Broadway community affected by the current crisis. The live stream will be hosted by Ryan McCarton and begins at 7pm Eastern. And from 6pm make sure you check out the Broadway Cares Facebook Live where Syndee Winters will be hosting a Q&A with some of the nights stars including Aladdin's Adam Jacobs and Marisha Wallace. The concert will be available to watch for one week.

On Saturday, April 18th, Adam and Arielle Jacobs will take part in Rising Talent Magazine's Instagram Live Concert where stars will appear for five to fifteen minutes to sing a song and take a few questions to help raise money for The Actors Fund. Adam's set is scheduled for 12:30 EST, I'm not sure on Arielle's time yet but will add it here if it's announced ahead of time.

And there's so much more.

Aladdin's Dance Captain Nikki Long joins with Jennifer Rias and Donald Jones to teach some of the dance choreography for Arabian Nights:

Matt Croke shared this fantastic video of his final performance of Proud of Your Boy that was taken last year;

View this post on Instagram

#WorldTheatreDay What a difference a year makes! Thinking back to a time when people could enjoy theatre all over the world. Never did I not feel like the luckiest guy in the world to perform this iconic song every night in @aladdinlondon. The positive thing is this crazy uncertain time will pass and Theatre will open again and all the shows that had to sadly close will reopen and our amazing industry will be back better than ever!!!! (Thank you to the person in the audience that sent me this video. It was actually taken on my very last performance in Aladdin - 24th Aug 2019.) Extremely grateful to have this on film.

A post shared by ᴍᴀᴛᴛʜᴇᴡ ᴄʀᴏᴋᴇ (@mattcroke) on Mar 27, 2020 at 9:35am PDT

An incredible performance of Go The Distance;

View this post on Instagram

Singing a bit of #Disney always brightens your day! Sung by - Me Piano - my old pal @alanwilliamsmd Cello - @hornbergercello Violin - @kathjames Alto flute - @mikeydavis.flute

A post shared by ᴍᴀᴛᴛʜᴇᴡ ᴄʀᴏᴋᴇ (@mattcroke) on Apr 4, 2020 at 9:26am PDT

And a beautiful duet of A Whole New World with none other than Courtney Reed!

View this post on Instagram

Happy Easter everyone. Another fun one with pal @alanwilliamsmd and this time extra special to sing with my #princessjasmine @rhodesreed By @alanmenken and #timrice Vocals - @rhodesreed and Me Keys - @alanwilliamsmd Cello - @hornbergercello Flute - @mikeydavis.flute Harp - @interestingharpalex @aladdin @aladdinlondon Created by @acapellaapp #aladdinlondon #reunion #aladdin #jasmine #originaljasmine #disney #awholenewworld #lockdowndisney #alanmenken #londondonaladdin #westend #broadway #collab #collaboration #lockdown #makingmusic #eastertreat #eastersunday #carpetride #aladdinduet #disneysaladdin #disneyaladdin #waltdisney #magiccarpet #magiccarpetride #threewishes #theshowmustgoonczj #originalprincessjasmine @catherinezetajones

A post shared by ᴍᴀᴛᴛʜᴇᴡ ᴄʀᴏᴋᴇ (@mattcroke) on Apr 12, 2020 at 5:37am PDT

The princesses may be on lockdown but that didn't stop Courtney, Susan Egan and Laura Osnes from working some magic with their fairy godfairy for this fun little twist on Go The Distance;

James Monroe Iglehart performed a Disney medley on Good Morning America

And I've already posted the 5th Avenue's long distance master class on theatrical comedy with Don Darryl Rivera!

Alan Menken himself has been singing from his legendary songbook on The Rosie O'Donnell Show in aid of The Actors Fund (and confirms that yes they are still working on the stage adaptation of Hercules!)

Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre shared some of Gregg Barnes' original costume concepts for Aladdin's Pilot Production back in 2011.

There's even some Zoom backgrounds available to make you feel like you're right in the heart of magical Agrabah!

Just remember, somebody always has your back, as James, Michael, Telly Leung and Arielle Jacobs proved when they answered Trevor Noah's call to recreate the hopeful singing that was heard in Italy.

Yo @Trevornoah! The #Broadway & @aladdin family has got your back bruh! @iamMJScott @ArielleJacobs @tellyleung #AWholeNewWorld #SingYourHeartOut #TrevorNoahNewDisneyPrince pic.twitter.com/qo8aowIsfy

— james m. iglehart (@jamesmiglehart) March 23, 2020

And there's so much more. Make sure you keep you eyes on Michael James Scott and the official Disney Broadway Instagram as Agrabah's fierce Genie has been hosting frequent Instagram Take Overs with his fabulous friends.

Stay at home. Stay safe. There will be a whole new world waiting for you to return to when this is over.

Original Broadway Stars Reunite for Broadway in the West End

It's a Broadway cast reunion! Aladdin's original Broadway cast members Courtney Reed, Marisha Wallace, and Brandon O'Neill (!!) are joining together with Danny Becker, Greg Canestrari, Haley Catherine, Francesca Fenech, Ayanna Coleman Potempa, and more for the Broadway on the West End Benefit Cabaret!  It's a show hosted and created Johnson Brock and Brock Harris with all proceeds from the event going to MAD Trust, Industry Minds, and JDRF!

Courtney is, of course, Broadway's original Jasmine and is currently back on the magic carpet and bringing Disney royalty to life in the West End production until it closes next weekend. I've still not come to terms with the show closing here, but Courtney being here for that end fills me with joy.

Marisha is Aladdin's original Fortune Teller and Royal Attendant turned West End super star where she's currently starring in Waitress. And yes, that was totally her reprising her "Still I think he's rather tasty" line on the big screen in Aladdin!

And Brandon is the original Kassim! I guess that makes this his West End debut!

The special cabaret event takes place at the Pianoworks next Wednesday evening, August 21st, and right now you can get £30 tickets for just £10 using the code ALLAMERICAN at TicketSource!

This is going to be an amazing night, so don't miss out! If it wasn't in the middle of the week (or if I lived closer) I'd be there in heart beat! Have an amazing time everyone!

The Hero

Today marks 100 years since the end of the First World War.

In tribute to all who lost their lives and to raise money for Help for Heroes, a host of musical theatre stars and celebrities joined forces with Daniel and Laura Curtis to create a music video titled simply, The Hero. Amongst those taking part were Aladdin stars and alumni James Monroe Iglehart, Trevor Dion Nicholas, Marisha Wallace, and Alan Menken.

You can contribute to Help for Heroes at the West End and Friends Just Giving page or download the song from all online stores now.

Thank you. We will remember them.

London's Aladdin to Open West End Live

Last year Aladdin didn't have much of a presence at West End Live.  This was understandable though as the show had literally just opened earlier in the week.  The fact that we got Trevor Dion Nicholas giving a tease of Friend Like Me was more than enough.

What a difference a year makes.

This year the cast of Aladdin aren't just taking part in West End Live.  They're opening it!

Friend Like Me seems like a natural fit to open the event (especially after Trev's little tease last year) but I'm hoping we get Matthew Croke's rendition of Proud of Your Boy as well.  That's something I'm really looking forward to hearing.

West End Live 2017 will take place on 24th & 25th June with a jam packed schedule showcasing the very best the West End has to offer for free in London's Trafalgar Square.  Kicking off at 11:00 on Saturday (Gates open 10:30) and 12:00 on Sunday (Gates 11:30) make sure you get there early as this is a popular event and I speak from experience when I say the queues can be long (I watched Trev from the queue last year).

But the Aladdin cast's 15 minute opening segment on Saturday isn't the only time the stars of Agrabah will take to the stage next weekend.  On Sunday you can see Aladdin stars past and present in their own solo segments;

16:05 - Trevor Dion Nicolas & Neighbourhood Goliath (West End's incredible Genie & his band)
16:20 - Marisha Wallace (original Broadway cast, currently slaying it in Dreamgirls)
16:35 - Nathan Amzi (original London cast)

I definitely need to try and get back to London for this!

Salaam Worthy Friends - Aladdin Bids Farewell to Marisha Wallace, Bud Weber & Michael James Scott

Marisha Wallace backstage at Aladdin

Bud Weber at Aladdin's Opening Night, Photo from Playbill Vault



 

Michael James Scott at Aladdin's Opening Night, Photo from Broadway World by Linda Lenzi

Today three more original cast members will take their final bow at the New Amsterdam Theatre as the bid the kingdom of Agrabah and Broadway's Aladdin goodbye.

As well as being part of Aladdin's incredible ensemble you may have been lucky enough to see Bud and Marisha in two of the show's main roles as Bud was one of Aladdin's understudies and Marisha was an understudy for Babkak (which I really wish I could have seen).

Michael James Scott was one of the show's amazing Stand Bys and has been on as both Genie and Babkak.  I had the pleasure of seeing Michael as Babkak last year and he gave a fantastic performance.

All three will be back on Broadway later this month as they join Aladdin's
 Director/Choreographer Casey Nicholaw to help him bring a little Something Rotten! to the stage.

I just want to wish all three the very best of luck and say thank you for all that they have done for the show.

Broadway News Round Up 30

Courtney Reed as Princess Jasmine, Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann

 

A shorter news round up this week (probably because I've finally got back to doing these weekly!) but still plenty of updates from the cast of Disney's latest Broadway blockbuster Aladdin!

 

The big news of the week was, of course, James Monroe Iglehart's appearance on Gotham.  I'm trying to avoid spoilers (the show is still on hiatus here until next month) but it sounds like it was a fantastic episode, so congratulations once again James on your DCU debut!

 

You can also check out an awesome behind the scenes picture of James with series star Ben McKenzie on JMI's Instagram.

We all know that the cast of Aladdin love to support good causes and this week Princess Jasmine herself, Courtney Reed, announced that she is taking part in Cycle for Survival to help raise money for the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to support lifesaving research into rare cancers.  I've donated and you can to right here.  Courtney's nearly reached her goal already so let's help push her past it!  The event takes place on 8th March.

And Aladdin is also showing his support for a good cause this week as Adam Jacobs' donated to Charitable Act, a non-profit foundation that gives underprivileged children the opportunity to learn and enjoy theatre arts at summer camps.  You can find out more information and donate yourself by clicking on the link.

 

With Aladdin now a smash hit on Broadway, Director/Choreographer Casey Nicholaw is keeping busy with two new shows.  Tuck Everlasting (featuring Aladdin's original Omar Andrew Keenan-Bolger) concluded it's premiere run this afternoon but Playbill is reporting that the creative team is aiming for a Broadway future.  Meanwhile, Broadway World has photo's from the press day of Something Rotten! (featuring Aladdin's own Michael James Scott, Marisha Wallace and Bud Weber) which is set to open on Broadway next month.

 

 

It's not long now!  On Friday the cast and creative team of The Hunchback of Notre Dame finished re-staging the show for their upcoming run at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse and yesterday they completed their first full run through of the revised show.  How much has been changed since last year's US Premiere Production at the La Jolla Playhouse?  I've no idea but we'll have the answers soon enough and I can't wait to finally see it!

You can check out the new trailer below;

 

No new footage in the trailer but here's a few more production images from the La Jolla run of the show to help tide you over until the show opens at the Paper Mill next month (make sure you click the link for more images in part 2 as well).

Until next time!

Broadway News Round Up 29

Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed as Aladdin and Jasmine, Photo by Deen Van Meer

Here we go again!  Welcome to the latest news round up for Disney's Aladdin on Broadway! (with a little bit of The Hunchback of Notre Dame thrown in for good measure, but more on that later!)

Firstly, the biggest Aladdin news for this update comes not from Disney Theatrical but from Disney Home Entertainment as they finally announced the American release of Aladdin on Diamond Edition blu-ray on 6th October!

Now I know I live in the UK so shouldn't get too excited over this (we were lucky enough to get the blu-ray of Aladdin way back in April 2013) but I'm just thinking about the special features this new edition could have.  The UK edition carried over most of the old Platinum Edition's special features (meaning it's still got some of the best special features of any Disney blu-ray) but since then Aladdin has opened on Broadway.  When The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning was released on DVD it included a short special feature taking you behind the scenes of the Broadway show, so I'm just crossing my fingers and wishing for something similar for Aladdin.  Maybe something even bigger, looking at how the film went from Howard Ashman's concept to the film version then returned to some of Howard's ideas for stage.  Disney aren't exactly known for their amazing special features these days but I'm going to keep on wishing!

Oh, and "A whole new world in a whole new way"?  I've definitely heard that somewhere before... Looks like Home Entertainment have been stealing some of Theatrical's taglines!

Back on the stage, Aladdin had a very special edition to its ensemble earlier this month as Jimmy Kimmel Live's Guillermo joined the cast for one night only!

Aladdin's incredible director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw was honoured at the end of last month by the Broadway Dreams Foundation and the ArtsBridge Foundation with a special musical journey through his career so far at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre as they celebrated his contribution to American Musical Theatre.  Broadway World was on hand to photograph the event.  Congratulations Casey!!

I'm sorry to announce that later this month Aladdin will be losing three more original cast members.  Director/Choreographer Casey Nicholaw is stealing his own cast as Michael James Scott, Marisha Wallace and Bud Weber are all departing Agrabah to join his new show Something Rotten!  Rehearsals for the new show started last Monday so all three are currently doing double duty (Something Rotten! rehearsals in the day, Aladdin performances at night) in preparation for their new show's opening next month.  I'll do a full post nearer the time but for now I just want to say a massive thank you to all three for their time in Aladdin and congratulations and good luck for their new show.

And you can catch Marisha Wallace on the latest episode of 5 Minute Call with Cessalee Stovall talking about her road to Broadway and doing three shows with Casey Nicholaw (including Aladdin naturally!)

Something Rotten! isn't Casey's only new production this season.  Tuck Everlasting is currently running at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta and Playbill has your first look at the show, including Aladdin's original Omar, Andrew Keenan-Bolger.

And speaking of original cast members, Broadway's original Kassim, Brandon O'Neill has made a triumphant return home to Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre where he is starring as Billy Bigelow in Roger and Hammerstein's Carousel (running now through March 1st).  Below you can see him talk about his time in Aladdin and what it's like coming home to The 5th as well as the newly released sizzlereel for the show;

It's great to see Brandon back on stage again and you can read reviews of the show here and here.  Welcome home Brandon.

Here's a new video from Disney Theatrical's YouTube channel which shows Alan Menken, James Monroe Iglehart and Adam Jacobs recording the fantastic Genie Medley from Aladdin's Broadway Cast Recording.

Michael James Scott took part in #SoBlessed Live at 54 Below last weekend.  More information about the performance can be found at Broadway World.

And last but certainly not least, Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed did a fun little video with Pop Sugar for Valentine's Day telling you how to achieve a fairy tale love just like Aladdin and Jasmine's.  It's a lot of fun :o)

After an incredibly successful run at San Diego's La Jolla Playhouse Hunchback's creative team wisely decided not to mess with success so when the cast was announced for the upcoming production at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse it was virtually identical to last year's acclaimed production.

Michael Arden, Ciara Renee, Patrick Page, Andrew Samonsky and Erik Liberman once again lead the cast as Quasimodo, Esmeralda, Frollo, Phoebus and Clopin respectively.  And returning in the ensemble are Julian Decker, Mary Joe Duggan, Ian Patrick Gibb, Beth Kirkpatrick, Samantha Massell, Neal Mayer, Nora Menken, William Michals, Anise Ritchie, Vincent Rodriguez III and Richard Ruiz.  Joining them for this new production are Joseph J. Simeone, Jeremy Stolle and Dashaun Young and the Continuo Arts Symphonic Choir.

 

Before starting rehearsals at the Paper Mill several cast members stopped by Broadway Sessions earlier this month.

 

Congratulations are in order as La Jolla's production of Hunchback took home 3 Craig Noel Awards last week as Alexander Dodge and Howell Binkley picked up the awards for Outstanding Scenic Design and Outstanding Lighting Design respectively whilst Patrick Page took home the award for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical for his portrayal of Frollo.  Congratulations everyone!

And not to be outdone by Aladdin and Jasmine, the Belles of Notre Dame put together a little something for Valentine's Day;

 

Tickets for the Paper Mill production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame are on sale now, and don't forget if you're a member of Disney's D23 you can have the VIP Experience on 15th March!

Broadway News Round Up 19

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;

Performances run until 18th October.


And now for something a little different...

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.

So first up in this new section!  Last month Stephen Schwartz spoke in depth with Broadway World about, well about everything really, including some comments on The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

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.

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 13

Hi everyone!  A very short news update this weekend as the last one was only posted on Wednesday and I'm giving JMI's vlog episodes their own posts.  This week it's all about supporting good causes.

It's not often we get an Aladdin #SIP but Courtney Reed posted one yesterday, dedicated to #smileyforkylie.  This isn't the first time Courtney has shown her support for young Kylie
(two months ago she and Adam Jacobs posted this picture) and it's incredibly heart warming to see members of the theatre community coming together to help a young girl through dark days.

And last week Aladdin's Marisha Wallace took part in the Broadway Sings for The Trevor Project concert, raising money to help provide crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT young people aged 13-24 .  Theater Mania was there was to capture photos from the event.

Short but sweet this week.  It seems every week I'm writing about a member of the Aladdin cast doing something for a good cause and the shorter nature of this post has really helped to focus my attention on it.  It's amazing to read these stories every week about people who are going out of their way to support good causes and actually do good in the world.  Aladdin is a show about magic but this is magically in a different way, it's heart warming and serves to remind us that though we often hear about the worst side of humanity (all you need to do is turn on the news) there are people out there who are good and trying to make the world a better place, whether that's by raising money for a good cause or just helping someone to smile, it makes a difference.

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 9

To start this week's news round up here's one final piece on the Tony Awards and this one is rather special as it's written by Aladdin's own Marisha Wallace - True Story: I'm a Black Girl from North Carolina & I Performed at the 2014 Tony Awards!  Marisha is part of the ensemble and one of Jasmine's attendants, but if you're really lucky you may also get to see her playing the part of Babkak (I love this as it shows incredible gender equality by Disney for these supporting roles and it's also a nice call back to Howard Ashman's original treatment where there was a female member of Aladdin's gang).

Continuing the theme of great female performances, Courtney Reed took part in Broadway Sessions on May 23rd and Broadway World have now posted a video of her singing Gravity.

The New York Times has published an article focusing on the work of Glen Kelly that's well worth a read.  Glen Kelly provided the dance music arrangements for Aladdin and this article provides a fascinating insight into an area that I admittedly had no knowledge about.

We Blog the World has posted a short fan review of the show.  They even used the photo manip of Genie holding aloft a Tony Award that I made which, I have to admit, is kinda cool!

Emerson College's Entertainment Monthly has also posted a positive review, calling James Monroe Iglehart's Genie "one key player that elevates it to Broadway stardom", Adam Jacobs "everything you want in the character of Aladdin" and Don Darryl Rivera "a standout ... his comedic moments have the entire audience laughing out loud".

Last week Merwin Foard took the stage as Sultan Hamed.  Since I posted a photo of him as Jafar I figured I'd post this one as well (any excuse to post a photo!)

And finally another Vacation Alert!  Adam Jacobs will be away from 7th-14th July, and a quick reminder that Courtney Reed will be away from tomorrow (1st July) until 6th July.

Ok, one last thing!  On a more light hearted note JMI's Genie topped Broadway.com's weekend poll as the most wanted guest at a 4th July BBQ party!

Broadway News Round Up 7

Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed as Aladdin and Jasmine, Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann

As the countdown to the Tony Awards reaches its climax it's been a busy week for the cast and crew of Aladdin as they rehearsed for their Tony Awards performance (believed to be the show stopping Friend Like Me) in addition to their regular 8 show week.  And with Aladdin up for 5 awards, including the much coveted Best Musical award, there's been plenty of news to keep up with as well!

Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed are taking part in Broadway.com's Ask a Star so if you have a question for Broadway's Aladdin and Jasmine then this is your chance!  Click the link and ask away!

In the wake of last week's cast album debut, Broadway Direct have posted a short review of the album along with the albums of other new musicals from the 2013/2014 season.

Adam Jacobs was award the Fauxny Award for "Best Performance by Teeth in a Broadway Actor's Mouth" (I said in my review he had a winning smile!) and Aladdin also won "Best Magic Trick Stolen from Another Show that's been Open for the Last 25 Years" for the Magic Phantom Chair that's used in Friend Like Me and "Best Attempt at Making Totally Suspect Cultural References and Appropriation Like, Totally Not a Problem, Dude".  As you can probably tell the awards just for a laugh and aren't supposed to be taken seriously!

Adam Jacobs tells NewYork.com what he loves about the city, and so does James Monroe Iglehart.

James Monroe Iglehart talks with USA Today during an interval about the show and about Tony buzz!

Writer and Lyricist Chad Beguelin talks with Broadway.com about Aladdin's long road to Broadway and turning the show around from "cute" to Tony Award Nominee.

Entertainment Weekly reports that for the week ending 1st June Aladdin was the highest grossing of the new shows, "playing to full houses and nearly 88 percent of its potential gross in the cavernous 1,723-seat New Amsterdam Theatre" making it the only new show in the top 5 performers!

Broadway World Toronto looks at Toronto's connection to the 2014 Tony Awards, including Aladdin which played it's pre-Broadway run at Toronto's Ed Mirvish Theatre.

Deadline talks with Thomas Schumacher and Alan Menken about Aladdin, Tony Awards and Howard Ashman.

Broadway Spotted and Sioux City Journal have posted short reviews of the show and a new fan review can be read here.

USA Today offers their opinion on who should win and who will win the at the Tony Awards, Aladdin is mentioned a lot in the "should win" category, but for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical they had this to say; "James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin's exuberant, show-stopping Genie, is this year's safest bet."  Also putting Aladdin in the "should win" category for Best Musical is NewsTelegram.com whilst the Daily Record gives JMI as their pick for the win as well as giving a nod to Casey Nicholaw for Choreography.

Disney's Official Blog talks with James Monroe Iglehart about living his dream as the Genie and he takes the Oh My Disney Quiz (I may have posted the quiz before!)

Jonathan Smith talks with City Pulse about being a substitute percussionist for Broadway's Aladdin.

Broadway World has reported that Aladdin's Marisha Wallace will be taking part in Broadway Sings for Pride later this month.

Simply Showbiz has posted an interview with Courtney Reed and Adam Jacobs (and it sounds like more interviews are coming up!)

And that's it for this week!  Tonight all eyes will be on the Tony Awards, hosted by Hugh Jackman and featuring performances by the casts of all of this year's Best Musical and Best Musical Revival nominees and more.  The show starts at 8pm ET on CBS with online coverage starting at 6pm ET with live footage from the Red Carpet arrivals on www.tonyawards.com.  You can find more information about the Tony Second Screen (including the Red Carpet and Pressroom Cam) here.  For international fans like me you can find broadcast information here or simply watch live on the Tony Awards website.  I'll be watching live and hopefully I'll have some great news to post in the early hours of the morning (the Awards start at 1am here, it's gonna be a long night)!