Sorry for the lack of updates recently, after seeing
Aladdin we spent some time with relatives in America so I only got back home earlier this week. So without further ado it's time to play a little catch up, starting with the
Aladdin's Purple Carpet Opening Night!
Following a very wet Wednesday night the sun was shining on Thursday as Disney Theatrical rolled out the purple carpet at the New Amsterdam Theatre for
Aladdin's Broadway opening.
Jane and I arrived early enough to watch as the carpet was rolled out, pulled up and rolled out again to make sure that everything was just right for when the evening's guests started to arrive.
As well as getting a great spot to watch as everyone arrived, getting there early also meant I had the opportunity to briefly meet and thank Disney Theatrical's Dennis Crowley. Back in 2011 it was Dennis who put me in touch with Bridget Summers at The 5th Avenue Theatre for
Aladdin's Pilot Production, truly changing this blog for the better.
The first to arrive on the purple carpet was writer and lyricist Chad Beguelin;
He was soon joined by others from
Aladdin's creative team;
 |
| Composer and Disney Legend Alan Menken |
 |
| Composer Alan Menken and Writer/Lyricist Chad Beguelin |
 |
| Musical Supervisor/Incidental Music/Vocal Arranger/Conductor Michael Kosarin and his family |
 |
| Lighting Designer Natasha Katz and her family |
 |
| Director/Choreographer Casey Nicholaw and Hair Designer Josh Marquette |
Walt Disney CEO and Chairman Bob Iger;
 |
| Bob Iger with his wife Willow Bay |
Head of Disney Animation and Pixar Studios John Lasseter;
 |
| John Lasseter with his wife Nancy Lasseter |
And a host of Disney's Broadway stars both past, present and future;
 |
| Gavin Lee, Bert in Mary Poppins on Broadway and in the West End |
 |
| Andy Richardson and Luca Padovan, Crutchie and Les in Newsies on Broadway |
 |
| Corey Cott, Jack Kelly in Newsies on Broadway |
 |
| Liana Hunt, Katherine in Newsies on Broadway |
 |
| Josh Strickland, Broadway's Tarzan |
 |
| Josh Strickland (Broadway's Tarzan) and fiancé Todd DuBail who played both Clayton in Tarzan and Kassim in Aladdin at the Tuacahn |
 |
| Zachary Unger and Luca Padovan, Les in Newsies on Broadway |
 |
| Andrew Keenan-Bolger, the original Omar from Aladdin's 5th Avenue Pilot Production and Newsies' original Crutchie, with Submissions Only co-creator Kate Wetherhead |
 |
| John Tartaglia, Lumiere in Broadway's Beauty and the Beast and Genie in The Muny's Aladdin |
 |
| Laura Michelle Kelly, Mary Poppins on Broadway and in the West End |
 |
| Harvey Fierstein (book writer, Newsies) with Gabriel Ebert |
 |
| Patrick Page, Scar in Broadway's The Lion King and soon to be Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame |
 |
| Patrick Page and Michael Arden, Frollo and Quasimodo in the upcoming The Hunchback of Notre Dame |
 |
| Sierra Boggess and Sherie Rene Scott, Ariel and Ursula from Broadway's The Little Mermaid |
So the guests had arrived. Backstage the cast and crew were ready;
It was show time!
Then it was time for the cast to take their well earned bows!
 |
| The Cast of Aladdin, Photo from Zimbio |
You can find many more curtain call photos (as well as professional purple carpet arrival photos) at
Zimbio,
Playbill and Broadway World (
purple carpet and
curtain call).
For me, the best part of the purple carpet experience was getting to shake hands with and say thank you to Chad Beguelin and Casey Nicholaw before they met with the press photographers. It was fantastic moment for me, just to be able to say thank you to two of the men responsible for finally bringing
Aladdin to the Broadway stage.
