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.
Showing posts with label Steel Burkhardt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steel Burkhardt. Show all posts
Another era has come to an end, as Broadway's second Aladdin bids farewell to Agrabah.
Today Telly Leung and Steel Burkhardt will both take their final bows at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre. Telly, who took over from original Aladdin Adam Jacobs, has been with the show since 2017, whilst Steel, who took over the role of Kassim from Brandon O'Neill, has been part of the show since 2014!
Steel Burkhardt as Kassim, Photo by Steel Burkhardt
Speaking with Playbill earlier this week, Telly said "Being a part of this beautifully talented, diverse, dynamic company at The New Am has been pure joy for me. I want to thanks Casey for the opportunity, and Tom and Anne at Disney for letting me lead this company these last two years. It's been a privilege and an honor. I will miss all the citizens of Agrabah, and I will definitely miss this beautiful show that gives such magic and happiness to 1,700 people a night. What a ride! A magic carpet ride I will never forget."
For my part, I wish I could have seen Telly in the role. From everything I have seen, I know he's been an incredible Aladdin who has truly done the show proud. Steel, I have been lucky enough to see several times and I know he's an incredible performer who has been an integral part of the show for over four years. I just want to say thank you to you both, for everything you have given to these characters and to Aladdin.
I wish you both the very best for the future. Thanks for all the high adventures, and here's to many more to come!
Ainsley Melham and Michael James Scott in the Australian production of Aladdin, Photo by Deen van Meer
Disney Theatrical announced yesterday that Ainsley Melham will be returning to Agrabah next month as he takes over the title role in Broadway's Aladdin from February 19th!
Ainsley, who originated the role in the Australian production back in 2016, will take over from current Aladdin Telly Leung, who announced last year that he would be taking his final bow at the New Amsterdam Theatre on February 17th.
Ainsley will be surrounded by familiar faces as he makes his Broadway debut, reuniting with his original Jasmine, Arielle Jacobs, and his original Genie.
That's right! Michael James Scott is returning to Broadway! Michael must hold the record for the number of productions he's starred in. After making his Aladdin debut as Broadway's Stand By Genie and Babkak, he went on to originate the role of Genie for Australia before taking over the US Tour, then heading to London for a little Genie Swap with Trevor Dion Nicholas, back to the US Tour, and now taking over the role on Broadway!
Michael will play a limited engagement on Broadway from February 15th through to September 15th whilst Major Attaway, Broadway's current Genie, takes the show on the road with the US Tour. Yep, it's another Genie Swap!
Ainsley and Michael aren't the only guys returning to Agrabah! Mike Longo, who originated Kassim in the US Tour, will make his Aladdin Broadway debut on February 19th following the final bow of Steel Burkhardt, who has played Kassim since 2014!
It's going to be an exciting year in Agrabah! Congratulations and welcome (back) to Ainsley, Michael and Mike, and congratulations on fantastic runs to both Telly and Steel!
Tomorrow night cast members of Broadway's Aladdin will take part in an evening of cabaret at 54 Below with Brian Gonzales (Babkak) as Master of Ceremonies!
Featuring all your favourite sidekicks - Don Darryl Rivera (Iago), Steel Burkhardt (Kassim), Brad Weinstock (Omar) and Brian Gonzales - Aladdin's new Genie, Major Attaway, and Aladdin's incredible ensemble - Kathryn Terza, Alicia Charles, Tia Altinay, Daisy Hobbs, Lauryn Ciardullo, Kathryn Allison, Angelo Soriano, Jacob Dickey (currently starring as Aladdin), Damian Chambers, Trent Saunders, Deonte L. Warren, Nathan Lucrezio, Joshua Dela Cruz, Travis Ward-Osborne, David Gilleo, Stanley Martin, Tiffany Evariste and Amber Owens.
Every time I post about a 54 Below event I say I wish I could be there and boy do I ever mean that right now! What a show this is going to be!!
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.
Jonathan Freeman as Jafar, Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann or Deen Van Meer
A news round up? What's one of those?! Seriously though it feels like forever since I did one of these so there's like a month's worth of stuff to catch up with! Because of that this post will be extremely link heavy so sorry for that in advance!
Ok, time to catch up with what the Aladdin family have been up to in the last month!
As we get nearer awards season The Hollywood Reporter has posted a piece looking at where last years winners (including Aladdin's own James Monroe Iglehart) are now. Of course we already know the answer to that - he's still making wishes come true at the New Amsterdam Theatre every night as he brings the Genie to magical life!!
Broadway World reported that Alan Menken's new musical The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz will debut at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts in Montreal June 7th to June 28th. For the complete cast and more information see here. But that's not all! Deadline is reporting that Alan Menken is teaming up with Stephen Schwartz once more for a new movie musical by Josh Gad and Jeremy Garelick. I have no idea how Alan manages to balance so many projects at once but I can't wait to see (or at least hear) them all!
The LA Times has a great interview with Alan Menken, primarily about Newsies but it touches on a lot of his other works as well and is a really great read.
Aladdin's original Kassim (and still the spooky voice!) Brandon O'Neill is now taking to the stage once more in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the ACT Contemporary Theatre in Seattle. Tickets are available here. And speaking of Brandon O'Neill you can look forward to hearing him again in the upcoming DLC expansion for Destiny.
That's all from the cast, now for something a little different as Disney On Broadway's YouTube channel shares a menu fit for royalty inspired by Aladdin;
Whilst I was away a little Disney film called Cinderella came out in cinemas and before that was an animated short. You might have heard of it, it's called Frozen Fever. Well the song from the short is available on iTunes and the ensemble for the short features some of Aladdin's cast including Merwin Foard and Marisha Wallace! So make sure you check it out!!
Now for something a little special. Do YOU want to join the cast of Aladdin? Playbill have posted an Equity casting call for the show so if you want to join the Aladdin family this is your chance! Good luck!!
That's everything from Aladdin! Now for the last time...
Ok, this is really late but I really wanted to get my review of the show up before it closed so that was my priority over the news round up when we first got home earlier this month. So now, better late than never, is the final news round up for the Paper Mill Playhouse's production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This is going to be big so take it as a celebration of all that Hunchback was and hopefully will be again.
Andrew Samonsky is returns to his home town to take part in a one night only cabaret concert Andrew Samonsky: Coming Home at Ventura County's Rubicon Theatre. The concert is on May 3rd and you can find more information, including ticket details, at Broadway World.
Samantha Massell has updated her website. She's played Jasmine and Esmeralda so make sure you check it out to see where Sam goes next! And she also has links to the cast of Hunchback singing at Broadway Sessions so check that out!!
Sadly we now know that The Hunchback of Notre Dame isn't coming to Broadway (at least not yet) so we'll have to wait a little longer to hear those glorious bells ring again. Fans are trying to change that (you can sign the petition to Disney Theatrical here) and there's already rumours of further regional productions to come (remember this article which said that the Tuacahn Amphitheatre was being considered by Disney Theatrical to produce their own staging of the show, now that would be a sight to behold!) but until then I want to leave you with this;
Oh, and I just want to say that it was really incredible to see #PMPHunchback trending on Twitter for the show's final day. This show really touched a lot of people. Broadway may not be in the show's immediate future but it does have a future. It's too powerful, too meaningful and too relevant for it not to be brought to life again someday soon.
Ok that's everything for this news round up but before I go I just want to say happy anniversary to Beauty and the Beast! Disney's first Broadway show celebrated it's 21st birthday yesterday and looking at Disney Theatrical today that show has left an incredible legacy. Playbill has posted a nice article looking at the original cast of the show and what they're doing today. And speaking of Beauty and the Beast Tim Rice this week confirmed that he and Alan Menken are doing new songs for the upcoming live action adaptation so that's something to really look forward to! And if you want to hear more about the film make sure you check out this post that Ian Mckellen made on Facebook, I don't know much about table reads but this one sounds incredible with the cast already dancing and singing and a 30 strong choir. Sounds like this one is going to be something very special.
I'd hoped to have it ready for today but this news round up took a lot longer than I expected (and if I'm being honest I'm shattered from staying up till almost 5am watching Mark Hamill on the Star Wars Celebration live stream last night) so my 1 year review of Aladdin will now be up in a few days time. I'm really sorry for the delay, please watch out for that this week and I'll be back next weekend as the news round up returns to its regular weekly updates.
Brandon O'Neill, Jonathan Schwartz and Brian Gonzales as Kassim, Omar & Babkak, Photo by Adam Jacobs
Since the big Aladdin news this week is the departure of Michael James Scott, Marisha Wallace and Bud Weber and the remainder of the original cast extending their contracts until February 2016, both of which I've already covered in separate posts, this news round up is actually going to be pretty light on Aladdin news! But that's ok as it was the first week of Tech Rehearsals for the cast of The Hunchback of Notre Dame over at the Paper Mill Playhouse so there's plenty to catch up on there!
But first, whilst the big news this week for Aladdin on Broadway has been the remaining principle cast members extending their stay in Agrabah through to February 2016, Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre have released a video of Aladdin's original Kassim, Brandon O'Neill, performing If I Loved You with Laura Griffith and Soliloquy from Carousel which ended today.
And Aladdin's new Kassim, Steel Burkhardt, will be taking part in Baldwin Wallace at 54 Below on April 11th as he and other alumni join current seniors from Baldwin Wallace's acclaimed Musical Theatre Program at 54 Below.
Aladdin's Khori Petinaud will be making the leap from stage to screen soon. Not sure where but keep an eye on her Twitter for more details as she is able to announce them! Congratulations Khori!
This week has seen the start of Tech Rehearsals at the Paper Mill Playhouse and the show's official press day so there's plenty of great Hunchback news to get through this week.
Let's start small, and by small I mean model size as TheaterMania has posted a picture of a set model for the show. As you can see it looks very similar to the pictures of the La Jolla Playhouse set, a lot more real than Aladdin's bright colours and fantastical locations, a perfect match for the mood of the piece based on the incredible word of mouth generated by the show's San Diego run.
I must admit, this seems to be a lot more press than the La Jolla run got ahead of its debut last year. Could it be that after the incredibly strong word of mouth Disney Theatrical may be considering a Broadway run for Hunchback? Obviously it depends on how well this run goes, but the last musical Disney debuted at the Paper Mill was Newsies and we all know what happened there. Keep your fingers crossed!!
Finally, Hunchback star Patrick Page is having one of his childhood dreams come true. Having brought so many Disney characters to life on stage, from Lumiere to Scar and now Frollo, Patrick will this summer be the voice of the Disneyland Parade and Fireworks! What an incredible honour and achievement! Congratulations Patrick!
The Hunchback of Notre Dame begins performances at the Paper Mill Playhouse on March 4th and runs through to 5th April with an official opening night on 15th March.
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!
Disney Theatrical announced this week that Steel Burkhardt is to return to Broadway as Aladdin's new Kassim.
Steel is a graduate of Baldwin Wallace and most recently starred in this year's off-Broadway production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. He last appeared on Broadway as Berger in the 2011 revival of Hair (a role he had previously played in London's West End and on the US National Tour) and other stage credits include Murder Ballad, Guys and Dolls, Kiss Me Kate and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Steel will take his first bow as Kassim on Monday December 22nd 2014.
Congratulations Steel, and welcome to the Aladdin family! I wish you a long and happy run in Aladdin and look forward to seeing you bring Kassim to life when I see the show again next year.
