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 The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Show all posts
The Broadway Princess Party is returning to 54 Below!!!
Yes, tomorrow night, Courtney Reed (Aladdin), Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid), Samantha Massell (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and more will be joining Laura Osnes at 54 Below for another Princess Party!
After two sold out shows last year the princesses are back for more nights of musical magic!
And if you can't wait to meet the princesses then People has you covered as they interview the stars and ask that all important question - just what would a modern day Disney princess wear?
Last year's concerts looked amazing so I really wish I could make it to one of these! If you can, be sure to check it out! It'll be a fantastic evening of music and Disney magic!
Adam Jacobs & Courtney Reed as Aladdin & Jasmine, Photo by Matthew Murphy
Salaam worthy friends, happy Valentine's Day and welcome to the second Aladdin musical news round up of 2016! It's an exciting time in Agrabah as the West End cast are preparing to start rehearsals and the original Broadway cast are rapidly approaching the end of their current contracts (fingers crossed they extend again!) so expect to hear some casting news very soon!
Aladdin Broadway - Show News
Aladdin tickets for $45? It sounds too good to be true but it's not! There is a catch though. Broadway Roulette offers you the chance to see some of Broadway's greatest shows, including Aladdin, for an amazing price. The only catch is you can't pick your show! If you're like me and travelling thousands of miles to see a specific show then this probably isn't for you, but if you don't mind what you see (or you have a free night after seeing your main show) then this is incredible value for a Broadway show! You can find full details and a list of all the shows available on their website.
Last year Rodney Ingram appeared on the Tyler Mount Vlog, this time it's Courtney Reed's turn as Tyler challenges our Disney Princess to a game of "Disney Name That Tune" that will have you grinning from ear to ear;
Aladdin's Nathan Lucrezio (who did that amazing tap video on YouTube) returned to Penn State to join other alumni in We Are... On Broadway!, a one night only concert to help raise the profile of the theatre school and encourage students to study the creative arts. You can read some articles on the event here and here.
Last week saw the world premiere of Alan Menken's newest musical, A Bronx Tale, which officially opens tonight at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse. The show reunites Alan with lyricist Glenn Slater (Tangled, Sister Act, Galavant) and is directed by Robert DeNiro and Jerry Zaks. Last week Alan spoke with North Jersey about what attracted him to the show, the style of music and the creative process for the show and this week Glenn Slater spoke with Playbill about 20 years of making music with Alan Menken! You can learn a bit more about the production here, go behind the scenes at rehearsals right here and see production photos right here.
John Tartaglia, who played Genie in The Muny's production of Aladdin is returning to The Muny this year as the director of their production of The Wizard of Oz. The show will run from June 13th-22nd this summer.
Big news for Samantha Massell! After seeing her first cast album, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, released this month its just been announced that the new production of Fiddler on the Roof will release a cast recording next month. Two cast albums within two months has to be some sort of record! Samantha isn't the only Aladdin alumni to feature on the recording as Brandt Martinez is also part of the cast! Congratulations both!
Last month saw London's Aladdin and Jasmine, Dean John-Wilson and Jade Ewen, visit Broadway's Agrabah ahead of the upcoming West End production and met their Genie for the first time!
This week Trevor left the bright lights of Broadway;
Trevor Dion Nicholas, Photo by James Monroe Iglehart
Hope he brought that umbrella with him!!
Of course when you're a Genie, there's only one way to travel!
Yes, something truly magical is coming to London and I can't wait for it to arrive!!
London's Aladdin, Dean John-Wilson, has one final stop to make before donning Aladdin's famous fez and vest. He's starring in the world premiere of Miss Atomic Bombalongside Catherine Tate at the St James Theatre from 7th March until 9th April. So if you want to catch Dean before he comes to Agrabah then this is your chance!
The big news this week was, of course, the official announcement of Frozen: The Broadway Musical! Yes, Elsa, Anna and everyone’s favourite snowman will be joining Aladdin and The Lion Kingon the Great White Way!
Directed by Alex Timbers the show will reunite writer Jennifer Lee with song writers Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. The Broadway production will feature choreography by Peter Darling and will reunite the Aladdin team of Natasha Katz (Lighting Design) and Bob Crowley (Scenic Design), with Crowley also designing the costumes for this production. Given how amazing Aladdin looks I can’t wait to see what they come up with for Frozen!
There were two big surprises for me with this announcement. First, how far away it is! Aladdin was announced in January 2013 and officially opened on Broadway in March 2014. Frozen won't even begin it's out of town preview run until Summer 2017 (at the Denver Centre for the Performing Arts) and isn't set to reach Broadway until Spring 2018. Which leads nicely to my second surprise - how long the preview run potentially is. The Little Mermaid had a similar summer preview run in Denver (July-September 2007) before starting Broadway previews in November that year for a planned December opening (which was ultimately delayed to January by the stagehand strike), whilst Aladdin, which had a March opening on Broadway, didn't being it's Toronto run until November.
To me this shows that Disney have learnt a lot from their recent successes and failures. The Little Mermaid was the last Disney show announced straight for Broadway. It and Tarzan, which didn't even have an out of town try out, are generally considered Disney Theatrical's biggest failures (here's where I have to add that I loved Mermaid, I wish I could have seen Tarzan, and both have had success around the world and regionally since so "failure" isn't really the right word). Even Aladdin, which is a record breaking success, needed a lot of work between it's Toronto run and it's Broadway debut. Disney have recognised this and given themselves time to make sure they get Frozen right. They have a long creative window before the show begins it's Denver run (presumably July/August 2017) and with the show not scheduled to hit Broadway until Spring 2018 they'll have plenty of time to enjoy a longer preview run in Denver and a bigger break during which they can do any retooling required before the show opens on Broadway.
I'm really excited to see what Disney and this creative team come up with for Frozen. I loved the film but musically it was very front loaded so I'm looking forward to hearing all the new material that will have to be created. I also think that visually this has the potential to be absolutely stunning and the creation of Elsa's ice castle will rival The Lion King's Pride Rock and Aladdin's magic carpet ride. Disney Theatrical have been on fire recently, with Newsies, Aladdin and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (even if the last one didn't make Broadway) so I have every hope that this will be something very special as well.
Michael Arden & Ciara Renee as Quasimodo & Esmeralda in Paper Mill's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Photo by Matthew Murphy
It's been quite a day for The Hunchback of Notre Dame! As well as seeing six preview tracks released from next week's cast recording, The Paper Mill Playhouse's production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is celebrating 3 wins from Broadway World's New Jersey Awards including the award for best musical theatre production!!!
Best Actor in a Musical Theatre Production - Michael Arden (Quasimodo) Best Director in a Musical Theatre Production - Scott Schwartz Best Musical Theatre Production - The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Paper Mill Playhouse)
Massive congratulations to Michael, Scott and everyone who helped to bring this fantastic production to life!!
We're just over a week away from the release of The Hunchback of Notre Dame's Studio Cast Recording and if you've pre-ordered the album digitally then the chances are that you've already heard the fabulous opening 'Bells of Notre Dame', 'Top of the World' and Ciara Renee's beautiful rendition of 'God Help the Outcasts'. I believe US readers may also have received 'Topsy Turvy, Pt. 1' as well.
Well, now Disney have opened the marketing floodgates and unleashed a wave of previews in anticipation of the albums release!
Buzzfeed has an exclusive first listen to Michael Arden's breath taking performance of 'Out There'
Broadway.com has a special preview of Ciara Renee's 'God Help the Outcasts' for anyone who hasn't already pre-ordered the album or is waiting patiently for the CD to arrive.
Theatre Mania has the exclusive first listen to Patrick Page's show stoppingly villainous 'Hellfire'
Playbill has an exclusive first listen to the Act 1 Finale, 'Esmeralda'. Out of all the tracks on the Berlin album, this was easily my favourite, I listened to it that much I practically hear it in English these days, and now I can listen to it in English for real! A truly magnificent performance from the entire cast!
Broadway World has an exclusive first listen to Ciara Renee and Andrew Samonsky's incredible duet, 'Someday'
And finally, this is another one I can't believe they released before the album, EW has the exclusive first listen to Michael Arden's phenomenal 'Made of Stone'
If these don't send shivers down your spine and make you want to buy the album then I don't know what will! This album is going to be glorious. Incredible music sung by a superb cast. Next Friday can't come soon enough!
The Hunchback of Notre Dame Studio Cast Recording is due for release Friday 22nd January and features music by Alan Menken and lyrics Stephen Schwartz. The book is by Peter Parnell and the album is produced by Michael Kosarin, Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz, Chris Montan and Executive Producer Kurt Deutsh.
The cast stars Michael Arden as Quasimodo, Patrick Page as Dom Claude Frollo, Ciara Renee as Esmeralda, Andrew Samonsky as Captain Phoebus de Martin and Erik Liberman and Clopin Trouillefou.
The Congregation includes Julian Decker, Mary Joe Duggan, Ian Patrick Gibb, Beth Kirkpatrick, Samantha Massell, Neal Mayer, Nora Menken,William Michals, Anise Ritchie, Vincent Rodriguez III, Richard Ruiz, Joseph J. Simeone, Jeremy Stolle and Dashaun Young.
Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed as Aladdin and Jasmine, Photo by Matthew Murphy
Ok, new year, new start!
The second half of last year just flew by and I really fell behind with these news updates (I still can't believe the last one was done in July!). For that I can only apologise and say I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again. Like I said, new year, new start.
This post is going to be really link heavy as I try and get this blog back on track and I'm afraid this post won't cover everything. I've gone through all my Google Alerts but trying to go back that far through Twitter is insane so there will be things I've missed so let me apologise in advance for anything I've not covered!
Two things that do stick in my mind that weren't in my Google Alerts are the royal family of Agrabah's TV appearances! Courtney Reed appeared on Showtime's The Affair (season 2 episode 8) and Clifton Davis appearing on Madam Secretary (season 2, episodes 8-10) so if you've not caught them already that's certainly something to catch up with on demand!
Ok, I'll try and break up all the links with as many pictures and videos as I can to help keep things interesting! Here we go :o)
OnStageBlog has posted a new (and glowing) review of the show.
The new Bway Zone website dedicated to everything Broadway has a page dedicated to Aladdin. Nothing you won't have already seen I'm sure but it's a nice page and the site has a LOT more to explore.
But if you want something even more in depth then check out this video on Adventures by Disney's new New York City Adventure! You get to take part in a Broadway dance class (seen in the video learning some of the choreography for "Arabian Nights"), visit the New Amsterdam's prop room and all the wonderful props from all of Disney's magical shows, see Aladdin and then go back stage for a Q&A with some of the cast (like Don Darryl Rivera and Jennifer Rias in this video). This one is definitely on my list next time I head to NYC!
The cast of Aladdin perform at the White House! Photo by Scott Suchman
Back in July the cast of Aladdin gave a very special performance at the White House! Afterwards, Broadway World posted a wonderful look behind the scenes of the cast's visit!
Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed as Aladdin and Jasmine at the White House! Photo by Scott Suchman
And, in case you missed it, you can still catch the entire performance right here courtesy of the White House's YouTube channel!
I never get tired of that!
As part of Good Morning America's 40th Anniversary they went back behind the scenes of Aladdin and you can watch the whole segment right here!
Aladdin also continues to set house records at the New Amsterdam Theatre, first taking over $2 million during a 9 show week this summer and then again at the end of November! Then, as I already reported, they incredibly broke their 9 show record with an 8 show week at Christmas! That means Aladdin has now set an astonishing 10 house records at the New Amsterdam Theatre! In addition to its Broadway success, Forbes reports that Aladdin's Tokyo production has been sold out since it open earlier this year.
Ok, this next part I should probably just call the James Monroe Iglehart section! That man was one busy Genie last year!
James Monroe Iglehart hosted the 15th annual Make Believe on Broadway gala, a special event to raise money to bring interactive theatre to chronically ill children. As James told Backstage, "When you get into a hospital and you see kids are going through something and you realize you have a gift that you've been blessed with and that you can use...it opens up a whole different world. All of a sudden you're not performing just for the applause, just for the money. You're performing because you're brightening someone else's day."
But I've still not mentioned D23! Yes, as you all know James was a very special guest at this year's D23 convention in Anaheim! And we didn't event have to wait for The Originals concert to hear him sing!
In the opening Legends panel, which saw Jafar's animator Andreas Deja become an official Disney Legend, James took to the stage to perform Oogie Boogie's Song from The Nightmare Before Christmas to honour another new Disney Legend, Danny Elfman.
And then there was the concert!! Hopefully I'm ok posting this since videos are all of YouTube and it's just so good I wanted to share the full thing!
If you're reading this blog then I'm 99% certain you've seen this, but just in case you managed to miss it here's Aladdin's Courtney Reed singing the most adorable version of "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman" that you will ever hear;
(And you can read her heart warming reasons for making the video here)
Adam also took part in a fantastic interview with Going for Broadway, covering everything from his early education to current success in Aladdin.
Adam Jacobs spoke with Celebrity Radio about Aladdin and his new album Right Where I Belong and you can listen to it right here!
Last summer Richard-Salvador Wolff and Myrthes Monteiro, who play Aladdin and Jasmine in the Hamburg production, came to Broadway to see the show and Adam Jacobs captured the moment on Instagram.
And now here's a few pieces I missed from my post about Aladdin's recent Blu-Ray release! Scott Weinger spoke with Nuke the Fridge about the film and the new Blu-Ray (and touched upon the Broadway show as well). The cast of Broadway's Aladdin spoke with E! about the challenges the show faced in the beginning and it's rocky road to Broadway success. And something a little extra special - Brad Kane and Lea Salonga reunited on ABC to sing "A Whole New World" for the first time in over 20 year!
Aladdin is full of magic, but not all that magic takes place on stage. Aladdin's Joshua Dela Cruz (with help from Donald Jones Jr. and Angelo Soriano) popped a very special question this summer;
Aladdin's Tia Altinay joined up with Newsies Adam Kaplan to speak at the Actors Connection's Perfroming Arts Camp to help educate and inspire Broadway's next generation. Broadway World was there and has a video from the event!
Aladdin's Rodney Ingram recently appeared on the Tyler Mount Vlog;
Aladdin's original Standby Jafar and Sultan, Merwin Foard, has hit the road with a new production of The Sound of Music and is the focus of a new article in the Charlotte Observer. I hope that the show does make it to Broadway, Merwin certainly deserves his time in the spotlight.
Aladdin's incredible book writer and lyricist Chad Begulin has a new show coming up this year! Gotta Dance just finished it's out of town run in Chicago and is due to premiere on Broadway this Spring!
I think that's just about it for Aladdin but there's still some important Hunchback news I want to share!
Samantha Massell at Fiddler on the Roof Opening Night, Photo by Walter McBride/Broadway World
Fiddler on the Roof recently made a triumphant return to Broadway and with it Samantha Massell made her Broadway debut as Hodel! Congratulations Samantha!! Samantha was voted Best Theatre Discovery of 2012 by St. Louis' River Front Times for her performance as Jasmine in The Muny's pre-Broadway production of Aladdin and was recently part of The Hunchback of Notre Dame's incredible cast (and will be on the cast recording due for release this month). Sam's not the only Disney alum in Fiddler though as Aladdin's Brandt Martinez also stars in the show!
Ciara Renee as Hawkgirl
Continuing the trend of Disney's Broadway stars making the jump to DC Comic's TV multiverse, Hunchback's Ciara Renee made her DC debut on The Flash last year as Hawkgirl! This month she'll star in CW's latest DC series Legends of Tomorrow! As a pretty big comic geek I'm really excited to see this one!
Speaking of Disney stars who made the jump to the DCU - here's Newsies and Supergirl star Jeremy Jordan singing a fantastic Disney medley! You just have to listen to this, Jeremy's amazing! And when you're done, search for him singing Let It Go, you'll be glad you did!
I'm still crossing my fingers the circus comes back to town in Gotham so James can be on the show again. Or, better yet, come back in a new role as a major character (hey, it worked for Mark Hamill in the legendary animated series!). It was nice seeing The Little Mermaid's Norm Lewis this season as well!
Back to Hunchback! The Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Utah had another incredible season last year and their relationship with Disney seems to be going from strength to strength. I loved their pre-Broadway production of Aladdin in 2012 and last year they teamed with Disney to launch a new musical, When You Wish (you can read the Salt Lake Tribune's review for that and their productions of Beauty and the Beast and Alan Menken's Sister Act here). Well, this year they're staging another two Disney productions! First they're bringing Tarzan back to stage in June, then in August they'll be staging The Hunchback of Notre Dame!!! I might be wrong but I think this will be the first regional production following the US Premiere Productions at La Jolla and PaperMill Playhouse. Both shows will run through to October along with Peter Pan.
If you've ever wanted to see these shows then I would urge you to go to the Tuacahn's productions this summer. I've said it before but the outdoor amphitheatre is the most beautiful venue I've ever seen a show in and they use their unique venue to stage their productions in some truly breath taking ways. Believe me, if I could be there I would be!
Adam Jacobs, Courtney Reed and James Monroe Iglehart as Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie, Photo by Disney
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
I've said it a few times this year but I just can't believe how quickly this year has gone! We're just 4 weeks away from Christmas (and only 3 weeks away from Star Wars!!) But anyway, back to Thanksgiving!
We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in the UK but I've got friends and family in America, and this blog is celebrating an American show, so I decided I'd get in the spirit of the holiday and share what I'm thankful for in the world of Aladdin!
Let's start at the beginning - I'm thankful to Disney Theatrical and Thomas Schumacher, that they saw the potential in Aladdin and weren't content to just license it out for easy money, that they came back to it after 2011's initial pilot production and turned it from a diamond in the rough to the Broadway sensation that it is today. There's a beautiful feature on the show on the new Diamond Edition Blu-Ray of Aladdin where Thomas Schumacher says that the reason Aladdin is what it is today, the reason it works, "is because nobody quit. Nobody quit on it, and it was the sheer will of an enormous number of committed people that made the show happen." I'm thankful to each and everyone of them.
Moving away from Aladdin for a moment, I'm thankful of how supportive Disney Theatrical been to The Hunchback of Notre Dame, allowing the show to go back to the book to tell the story they wanted to tell. And then, when it became clear the show wasn't going to Broadway, getting the cast back together to produce a cast album so there will always be a record of that incredible production.
Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed as Aladdin and Jasmine, Photo by Deen Van Meer
Back to Aladdin and the one thing I can never be thankful enough for is this amazing cast! I've said it before and I will say it again, this cast is incredible! No only are they phenomenally talented and hard working, putting on the best show on Broadway 8 times a week, but they're also some of the nicest, most generous people you could ever hope to meet!
Backstage with Trevor Dion Nicholas
I'm thankful that I got to see Trevor Dion Nicholas make his show and Broadway debut as Genie, and that I got to see Merwin Foard before he left the show. But more than anything I'm thankful for the heart warming welcome back we received. I will never forget standing at the stage door having just seen the show for the first time in over a year and then Jane and I being recognised by both Courtney, who pulled us both into a massive hug, and Adam!
Then it was back stage to see Don Darryl Rivera! And I just have to say here, I'm thankful for every member of this wonderful cast but I'm extra thankful for Don. He's treated me as a friend from the beginning and has been incredibly generous with both his time and support. When it was announced that Brandon was leaving, I'd asked Don if he could get one of the show posters signed for me before he left. I'd thought I'd ask the others to sign it whilst I was there but Don was one step (or one jump if you will!) ahead of me. He met us at stage door with a fully signed poster each!
And then he took us back stage and gave us an incredible guided tour, showing us everything from the props to the costumes to the orchestra pit (I have no idea how they move in there, I had no idea how small it was!!). We also got to meet his wife, Kate, who was just as generous and kind as Don. When she heard we were going to see The Hunchback of Notre Dame she offered to take us backstage there as well!! And I have to say, seeing that set that close up was simply amazing. The set was truly a work of art and the bells were magnificent!
Yes, it's Jafar's staff! Yes, it's awesome!
Don showing off the hidden lamp in Omar's sword! Look for it in "High Adventure"!
And speaking of The Hunchback of Notre Dame it was amazing to finally meet Samantha Massell in person! Which brings me to another thing I'm thankful for - this blog! I never dreamed when I started this that I'd get the chance to interview the cast, I certainly never dreamed I'd get to meet any of them or go back stage at a Disney show! Heck, I thought this would all be over by the end of 2011! This blog has been a gift to me.
But even after going back stage at Aladdin and Hunchback, Don wasn't done yet! When we came back to see the show again before going home he took us to visit the Disney Theatrical offices upstairs at the New Amsterdam Theatre!! I was in Disney and Theatre geek heaven! I'm kicking myself at the moment as I can't find the folder with the pictures I took! The offices are incredible! There was beautiful prints of show photos on the walls, props from the shows, even the prototype of the magic lamp from Aladdin! It was a once in a life time experience that I can never thank Don enough for.
Edit - Found the pictures!!!
I'm also thankful for fun holiday memories. Like the time I gave a one man standing ovation for "Friend Like Me"! It was a great performance ("Friend Like Me" always is) so I leapt to my feet as you do and then slowly realised I was on my own. Even my wife wisely gave me that "you're on your own" look before giggling at my predicament. We were on the front row so I was probably blocking the view of the rows behind me and in full view of the cast on stage! But I would totally do it again! The bows that night were amazing, with Don giving us a thumbs up and Courtney waving to us as the curtain came down. The feeling is something I can't put into words, I'm just so grateful to everyone for it.
Back stage afterwards it was great to see everyone again to say goodbye. Adam gave me a hug and a "thanks for trying" for the standing ovation and Courtney gave us a lovely card before we left.
I had another "pinch me I'm dreaming" moment when Don introduced us to Jonathan Freeman!! It was so surreal stood talking about Aladdin and the various productions in had on the way to Broadway with the original Jafar!! Of course me being an idiot I didn't ask to get a picture! But it was an incredible moment for this lifelong Disney fan!
After how fantastic everyone was to Jane and I last year, we made sure this year we went bearing gifts! Schmackary's for everyone and then some special gifts for a few people who have always gone the extra mile for me. The only reason I'm mentioning this is because I want to share a picture of Don's gift with you now, simply because it's a brand new piece of Iago art by Iago's supervising animator Will Finn!!
Big thanks to Don for this picture with him in costume!
And, of course, I'm thankful that Aladdin is coming to the UK next year! I hope they bring these with them!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you have a wonderful time filled with friends, family, love and laughter.
We've know this was coming but now the first details have been released regarding the American Premiere Studio Recording of The Hunchback of Notre Dame!
"The American Premiere Studio Recording of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the only stage collaboration from two masters of the American musical, Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, will be released on Friday, November 20th.
This studio recording, the first ever of the acclaimed American stage score based on the Academy Award-nominated film, will feature a 25 piece orchestra, a choir of 32 and some of Broadway's most formidable talent: Michael Arden (Big River) as Quasimodo, Patrick Page (Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark) as Dom Claude Frollo, Ciara Renee (Pippin) as Esmeralda, Andrew Samonsky (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) as Captain Phoebus de Martin and Erik Liberman (Lovemusik) as Clopin Trouillefou.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a dramatic retelling of the famous love story on a grand scale, with a lush, emotionally rich score. The musical features a score by Alan Menken (Aladdin,Beauty and the Beast) and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin)."
I am so happy right now! I mean it was pretty much a given that the cast would return but it's nice to have it officially confirmed.
Disney is still keeping their brand name away from the production (you can see above Disney isn't mentioned at all in the product description and the logo just says "based on" the novel and the Disney film) and the CD is actually coming from Ghostlight/Sh-K-Boom Records instead of Walt Disney Records who usually handle Disney Theatrical's releases. But that's perhaps the smart play for this piece, which is a lot heavier and features more adult themes than Disney's traditional productions. Ultimately it's not important, what matters is that this fantastic cast and this incredible music is going to be preserved forever in a cast recording. I sincerely hope that this CD contains, as much as possible, every single note from this magnificent production.
Michael Arden and the Congregation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Photo by Matthew Murphy
Broadway World exclusively revealed last night that the US Premiere Production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame that played at La Jolla Playhouse and the Paper Mill Playhouse is to receive an official cast recording!!! There's no more details at the moment but given that several cast members have tweeted about it I think it's (hopefully) safe to say that pretty much all of the original cast will be returning for the recording, including stars Michael Arden (Quasimodo), Ciara Renee (Esmeralda), Patrick Page (Frollo), Andrew Samonsky (Phoebus) and Erik Liberman (Clopin).
I don't think I can put into words how happy I was to read this news on Twitter earlier today. Sure, I'm a little sad as I think this is, for now, definitive confirmation that Disney Theatrical have no intention at all of bringing Hunchback to Broadway. But, for Disney to take this decision, to produce a full cast recording without any Broadway show to support it, just shows their faith in this material and, I believe, in the fans who have been so passionate in their support of it. Quasimodo may not get to Broadway, but his story will be heard. Now, people all around the world will have the chance to hear this masterpiece of musical theatre. I, for one, can't wait to hear it again!
And since this is an Aladdin blog I just want to give a quick shout out to Samantha Massell who's gone from making her Disney debut in The Muny's production Aladdin in 2012 to featuring on an original Disney Theatrical Cast Recording in 2015!
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.
