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.
The cast of Broadway's Aladdin celebrated 1,001 performances in August, Photo by Playbill
What a year it's been! As a fan of Disney Theatrical and especially Aladdin it's been an incredible 2016 and there's so much to be thankful for! With new productions opening to rave reviews here in the UK and in Australia, the original Broadway production celebrating 1,001 magical shows right in the heart of New York, and the superb Disney's Broadway Hits concert premiering at the Royal Albert Hall last month it's been a truly magical year!
Trevor Dion Nicholas as Genie in London's Aladdin, Photo by Deen Van Meer
I say this every year but it always bears repeating - I am so thankful for Disney Theatrical taking a chance and bringing Aladdin not just to Broadway but all around the world. Of course this year I'm extra thankful that the show came to my home country, opening in London, and for all the success its had here! I've not been able to see it as much as I would have liked this year, but I've loved it every time I've been, and I'm definitely planning to go more next year!
Once again, I'm so grateful for all the incredible people who bring the show to life every day all over the world, from the cast and creative team to the front of house staff and all the people behind the scenes who make live theatre possible. The phenomenal casts of this show continue to amaze me, not only with their talent but with how welcoming they are after the show. They really are some of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet. I know this is true on Broadway and in London, and from social media I know it's true around the world as well. These people make the show what it is and I'm so grateful to them.
Ainsley Melham & Arielle Jacobs as Aladdin & Jasmine in Sydney's Aladdin, Photo by Deen Van Meer
The last few years at Thanksgiving I've recounted my experiences with the show and how thankful I am for them (even that time I thought I'd die of embarrassment giving a one man standing ovation after Friend Like Me!). I do hope to write a post like that later this year and I am so grateful for everything from the hug Trevor Dion Nicholas gave Jane and I after Aladdin's first London Preview to seeing Adam and Courtney again on Broadway to being in the audience at the Royal Albert Hall as Alan Menken sang Proud of Your Boy (oh there were tears!). For me, it's been an amazing year. But this year has also been one of the most divisive in recent memory on both sides of the Atlantic. Whichever side of the debate you were on in the EU Referendum and the US Election, there's no denying it got pretty ugly. It showed us at our worst. Which is why, this year I want to say not just that I'm thankful for Aladdin and Disney Theatrical, I'm thankful for theatre. I'm thankful for the way theatre and the theatrical community celebrates diversity, bringing together people of all backgrounds, races, religions, genders and sexual orientations to create art, to educate, entertain and uplift everyone who enters a theatre. As we look forward to a hopefully more unify 2017 it's a lesson that everyone can learn from, to come together and create something beautiful. Because when we do come together, embracing our differences and celebrating what makes us unique, there's no telling what we can accomplish. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
The cast of Disney's Broadway Hits, Photo by Manuel Harlan
Hello and welcome to the first Aladdin musical news post of 2016! (Last week's 2015 round up totally doesn't count!)
With this being a new year and Aladdin soaring to international success I figured it was time to make a few changes to the way I've done things before and make these posts a bit more organised than they've been in the past... or at least try to!
So let's start on some fantastic news! Aladdin rang in the New Year by breaking the New Amsterdam house record for the 11th time, taking $2,398,110.00 and beating the previous record, set only the week before, by over $300,000! Aladdin's record breaking run made it the 3rd highest-grossing show of 2015! Massive congratulations to the cast, creative team and everyone at the New Amsterdam Theatre who bring this magical show to life! What an incredible way to start the year!
And New Year, new cast member! Please give a warm Agrabah welcome to Giuseppe Bausilio who joined the cast on 6th January!! Welcome to the show Guiseppe, I wish you a fantastic run!
As well as looking forward, New Year is also a time to look back and reflect on the year that was. And that's exactly what Disney Theatrical did with this video of their Best Moments of 2015;
Aladdin Broadway - Cast News
This section will feature everyone's favourite citizens of Agrabah! The amazingly talented cast of Broadway's Aladdin! Here you'll find links to interviews, news about upcoming performances and maybe even a few videos!
Adam Jacobs sang the National Anthem at the Brooklyn Nets V. Boston Celtics game earlier this month. Sadly it's not turned up on YouTube yet but I'll keep looking! Congratulations Adam!
Courtney Reed as Princess Jasmine, Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann
Aladdin's Nathan Lucrezio has released tribute video to Michael Flatley showcasing his incredible dancing skills!
As someone with two left feet I wish I could move like that! Absolutely amazing!
And if you need any more reasons to love this totally crazy, but totally amazing, cast then just check out these pictures and videos from Courtney's Instagram showing just when the cast get up to in their rehearsal breaks! Here and here!
Aladdin Broadway - Creative Team News
Want to know what Aladdin's incredible creative team did next? Well this is the section for you. Expect lots of Alan Menken updates to dominate this section!
Speaking of Alan Menken - you are watching ABC's Galavant, right? If not then check it out! It's hilarious!! A weekly dose of Menken/Slater music can't help but make you smile!
And Alan was also Lin-Manuel Miranda's special guest for the first ever digital #Ham4Ham performance! You can check out their brilliant Little Mermaid medley below;
On Tuesday 19th January the Metropolitan Room will be host to Gone to Soon - Now and Forever an evening of Howard Ashman celebrating the life and music of the musical genius who helped inspire generations. You can read more about the event and purchase tickets here.
Hot off the success of Aladdin in 2014 and Something Rotten! last year, Casey Nicholaw is bringing Tuck Everlasting to Broadway this Spring!Tuck also reunites Casey with his original Omar, Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Newsies, Submissions Only), who starred in the successful Atlanta pilot last year. Previews are due to begin 31st March with Opening Night set for 26th April. If his previous shows are anything to go by then this will be a hit!
Aladdin Broadway - Old Friends
They may no longer be with the show, but they'll always be in our hearts. This section is for news and updates on those who have left Agrabah behind for new adventures.
Brian Gonzales, James Monroe Iglehart, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Adam Jacobs and Brandon O'Neill in 5th Avenue's Aladdin, Photo by Chris Bennion
Genie & Babkak's former Stand By Michael James Scott is currently starring in Casey Nicholaw's latest smash, Something Rotten!, and took some time out to talk with Broadway Box about why he loves the show and why Casey Nicholaw is his Broadway Genie!
Last week original Aladdin cast member Marisha Wallace and Nick Rashad Burroughs sold out their 54 Below show Baptized by Broadway! Due to the overwhelming response Marisha's even hinted that they could do another show! Congratulations both!!
Aladdin International
After becoming "the surprise hit of the season" on Broadway Aladdin has continued to soar to a whole new world of success. Last year saw productions open in Tokyo and Hamburg and this year will see new productions opening in London and Sydney with more still to be announced! This section is all about the international productions of the show. And I'll admit right now that it'll probably have a pretty heavy London bias as I can't wait to see that show!!
The Wall Street Journal this week posted an interesting piece on how Disney Theatrical is subtly tweaking the international productions of Aladdin to appeal to their national audiences (like renaming Kassim to Kasser in Germany as nothing rhymes with Kassim!)
You can check out footage from the Tokyo production right here;
The Hamburg production;
And finally, some interviews and footage from Hamburg's Opening Night last month;
With Aladdin due to open in London in a few short months, London Theatre Direct took a look at some little known facts about the animated classic and the Broadway sensation. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 right here.
Other Disney Stuff!
And finally this section. With the cast album coming up next week (so hyped!) I'm expecting this section to be mostly about The Hunchback of Notre Dame for now, but we'll just see what happens in the future. After all, I'm sure Disney Theatrical have lots of exciting projects coming up and there's a live action Beauty and the Beast movie coming next year.
And now for something very special. Last weekend saw the curtain fall for the final time on Disney's Californian Adventure's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular. The Orange County Register was there to talk with fans as the magic carpet soared away for the last time. This is one of those shows I always wanted to see. It was one of the reasons I wanted to go to the original Disneyland one day. My friend posted this to my Facebook page this week (they know me so well!) so now I'm going to leave you with the full last ever performance of Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular!
Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed as Aladdin and Jasmine, Photo by Deen Van Meer
Hey everyone, sorry there was no update last week. I had a vet emergency but happily all's well that ends well so it's back to the show this week!
But first a quick heads up! Merwin Foard, who has been with Aladdin from the beginning of it's Broadway run and sung in many of your favourite Disney animated classics (including providing Cassim's singing voice in Aladdin and the King of Thieves) recently tweeted "Come see me at the New Amsterdam Theatre July 21-25. Might be your last chance ;)" I was lucky enough to catch Merwin as the Sultan earlier this year and he's an excellent performer. If you want to see him please make sure you take this chance! Merwin, I wish you all the best for the future. Thank you for being a wonderful Sultan and (I'm sure) a suitably evil and villainous Jafar.
Remember those special Playbill covers that Aladdin had? Well now you can have them as a background on your tablet or smart phone! Check them out right here!
Broadway World reports that Aladdin's Dance Captain Michael Mindlin will be one of three alum returning to the Princeton Ballet School this summer to teach at the school's Summer Intensive course.
Aladdin's director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw certainly likes to keep busy! Now he's re-teaming with Aladdin's writer/lyricist Chad Beguelin, along with his The Drowsey Chaperone writer Bob Martin, on the development of another new musical - Prom Musical. Michael James Scott, who was one of Aladdin's original standbys and is currently starring in Nicholaw's Something Rotten!, is also taking part in the development lab.
If you want to help a good cause and get some great Aladdin Broadway goodies at the same time then make sure you check out the Bidding For Good auctions for the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation to help raise money for scholarships. This is your chance to bid on the souvenir package that you can normally only get with VIP tickets and if you're a Disney Pin fan then you definitely want to check it out because this pin is different to the one you get in the fan pack (along with the CD and program) in the theatre.
Young theatre group the Roswell Showstoppers recently travelled to New York when the young performers and their families took in the sights and shows of the city, including a backstage tour of the New Amsterdam Theatre and a performance of Aladdin. But it gets better - they were later joined by a cast member who taught them some numbers from the show! It certainly sounds like the trip inspired the next generation of performers!
And, of course, the biggest news of last week was the cast of Aladdin going to Washington to perform at the White House for the Kids State Dinner! I honestly expected one or two songs and that would be it but the cast actually performed for over 20 minutes! If you missed it on Friday then you're in luck because someone recorded it and has put the whole thing on YouTube (thank you Maura!) so watch and enjoy!
You can also see the official White House photos from the event right here.
That's it for the Broadway cast of Aladdin but make sure you also check out this footage from the new Tokyo production of the show!
And finally, how long has it been since you saw Aladdin on the big screen? In celebration of the film's upcoming Blu-Ray release D23 are offering fans the opportunity to vote on which cities will receive a big screen D23 screening. You can cast your vote here!
Adam Jacobs, Courtney Reed and James Monroe Iglehart as Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie
Has it really been a month since I posted one of these? I know I've covered the big headlines like Aladdin opening in Tokyo and celebrating 500 performances on Broadway but that barely scratches the surface of what this fabulous cast have been up to! So it's time to play a little catch up with all the residents of the fictional city of Agrabah!
Later this month Aladdin and The Lion King will both be hosting special matinee performances as part of Playbill's Family Day OUT. Part of Playbill's second annual Playbill Pride, the June 13th event invites LGBT families and allies to a pre-matinee party and lunch with cast members from both shows followed by a 2pm matinee performance. More details can be found at Playbill though tickets are now sold out for both shows.
At the end of last month James Monroe Iglehart hosted the A Broader Way Karaoke Benefitto raise money for A Broader Way, the initiative set up by Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs to help offer girls from urban communities an outlet for self-expression and creativity through the arts. But this is James. He didn't just host, he doesn't just sing, he freestyle raps!!
May was a big month for James as he had his first 54 Below show How the Heck Did I Get Here? Before the event Playbill had a short preview showing off his fantastic freestyle rap skills (seriously, I will never know how people do that! I'd totally run out of words!)
If that wasn't enough James was also The Broadway League's social media correspondent for Broadway's annual Stars in the Alley on 27th May. You can see a LOT more from that event on James' Twitter and Instagram.
James even found time to take part in Schmackary's annual Broadway Bakes event to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Broadway World has pictures from the event. And I have to say, this year was my 4th visit to NYC but only my first visit to Schmackary's and I now have a new favourite cookie! Seriously, never mind the shows I'd be tempted to fly back to NYC just for one of those cookies! They need to open a UK store!!
And after all that he still had time to appear on the Denzel Washington podcast live from Union Hall! You can listen to the full podcast right here!
He may not be up for an award this year but James will be back on the Tonys tonight! Along with fellow Tony Award winner Jessie Mueller he will co-host The Creative Arts Awards which celebrate the hard work of the often unsung behind the scenes heroes who make the shows possible.
And James returned The Electric Company to teach phonic "I blends" his own special way. If you live in America you can view it here.
Last month Adam Jacobs took part in a concert production of Sweet Smell of Success to benefit the American Cancer Society. Broadway.com were on hand to record some of the event, including some of Adam's performance, which you can see here;
This is a rare treat - The Japan News has posted an interview with the Tokyo casts' Genies in English! Here Mitsuyuki Doguchi and Hisashi Takiyama talk about their shared role!
Disney on Broadway's YouTube Channel has posted a few more Aladdin videos this month as they use Etch A Sketch to draw the lamp and go behind the scenes of the cast recording with "A Whole New World". I just love that one year on "Broadway's New Musical Comedy" is now "Broadway's Hit Musical Comedy".
I missed posting this at the time (England's Mother's Day is in March) but Aladdin posted a great little Mother's Day video on Instagram last month.
Remember that recipe video that Disney on Broadway released as part of Aladdin's 1st anniversary? Well now you can get a closer look at all the dishes on Pin Interest.
And if you're like me and still haven't bought one yet, Aladdin keeps posting pictures on Instagram that make you remember - yes you do want your very own Genie Bear!
Aladdin's legendary composer Alan Menken is certainly keeping busy! Last month it was announced that Galavant would be returning for second season (which is fantastic as I loved the first season and was dreading it ending on that cliffhanger!), then came the news that Tangled is getting a TV series in 2017 with Alan Menken and Glenn Slater penning new songs!As I have fond memories of growing up with Aladdin: The Series I think this is wonderful news and a big step in the right direction for the Disney Channel. The fact that they've waiting this long and not just done it quickly to cash in on the film's success and they've got Alan Menken and Glenn Slater involved gives me very high hopes for the quality of this show. And if that's not enough yesterday saw the debut of his newest stage musical The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz at the Segal Centre in Montreal. The show runs now through 28th June and tickets are available here. Oh, and he's also working on a live action adaptation of one of his greatest Disney classics - Beauty and the Beast! Like I said, he's definitely keeping busy!
It may seem hard to believe but this time last year we were all crossing our fingers that Aladdin would take home some Tony Awards! I remember watching a live stream and waking my wife up with a cheer of joy when James Monroe Iglehart won! This year Aladdin's incredibly talented director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw has been nominated again (for both direction and choreography) for his new show Something Rotten! which is also up for the best musical award. Something Rotten! re-teamed Casey with Aladdin's costume designer Gregg Barnes who is up for Best Costume Design of a Musical. I still think it's criminal that Gregg wasn't nominated for Aladdin's amazing costumes so I really have my fingers crossed for him this year! It total Something Rotten! is up for an incredible 10 awards, so congratulations to Casey and his entire team on that phenomenal achievement. Broadway.com have posted a great video interview with Casey about his Tony secrets. Aladdin's scenic designer, Bob Crowley is up for an incredible 4 awards this year including Best Scenic Design of a Play and Best Scenic Design of a Musical and also Best Costume Design in both categories as well! I want to wish them all the very best of luck! I can't promise I'll stay up until 5am watching this time but I'm rooting for you! You can see all of this year's nominees here and The Tony Awards will air live on CBS tonight!
The list of shows I want to see next time I'm in NYC just seems to keep growing. Aladdin again (of course!), Something Rotten! and now it's been announced that Casey Nicholaw's Tuck Everlasting is coming to Broadway next year! The show will begin previews March 19th 2016 with an official opening night already set for 17th April 2016. Andrew Keenan-Bolger, who played Omar in Aladdin's 5th Avenue Pilot Production, starred in this year's Premiere Production of Tuck Everlasting so hopefully he'll stay with the cast and I'll finally get to see him in something! And if Prince of Egypt with Norm Lewis does ever happen then I think I'll need to look at a much longer stay in the city than just a weekend next time!
And if you want to be in one of Casey's shows then you might want to read this fascinating interview he did with Playbill where he discusses what he looks for in the people he casts. It seems the golden rule, like Genie tells Aladdin, is to just be yourself!
I've written previously about the inspiring story of Kylie Myers who touched the heart of Broadway and of the Aladdin cast in particular. Though Kylie sadly passed away before she could make her Broadway debut in a walk-on role in Aladdin her legacy lives on and Kylie made her Broadway debut in April in a Times Square public service announcement for The Truth 365;
We all love Aladdin's fantastic costumes and know that Gregg Barnes is responsible for designing them. But what happens after that? Here's an interesting little piece on the man responsible for providing most of Broadway (including Aladdin) with its footwear. Like the article says, if you're doing big dance numbers eight shows a week then good footwear is essential!
Aladdin's TV appearances keep coming as the show will feature on ABC's The Bachelorette tomorrow night! According to the press release "a group of men audition, trying to sing and dance their way into the Bachelorette's heart with hopes of being chosen to be featured with her in that night's performance of Disney's "Aladdin", the Tony-winning hit Broadway musical." You can see some behind the scenes pictures over at Broadway World and even more at Buddy TV.
One of the best things I've learnt about Broadway whilst doing this blog is how much people want to give back and help nurture the next generation. The Purple Box Theatre Kids recently visited New York as part of the Voices of Broadway program and had an incredible experience, including singing on stage with the cast of Aladdin! You can read all about their amazing journey right here.
And speaking of inspiring the next generation, it sounds like Aladdin did just that for the Highlands High School Variations Show Choir on their trip to NYC last month! You can read their story right here.
Samantha Massell went from Aladdin at The Muny to the US Premiere Production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, now she's returning to The Muny with Hunchback's Andrew Samonsky as they join The Lion King's original Nala, Heather Headley, in Into the Woods this July. Samantha and Andrew also took part in 54 Below's #tbt Throwback Thursday: The Concert last month, which sounds like it was a great night (you can see Samantha singing "It's Raining on Prom Night" here).
VACATION ALERT - Adam Jacobs will be away June 23rd-25th, for those performances Rodney Ingram will be bringing the title character to life. If you want to see Rodney as Aladdin this is a great opportunity as it's rare to know when an understudy will be performing in advance.
And speaking of vacations! Adam, Courtney, James and most of Aladdin's talented ensemble took a little trip last weekend to Walt Disney World to take part in the 2015 IPW convention to promote US travel and tourism. You can see plenty of great photos on Twitter and Instagram of their time in the parks but it was their Sing Off with the cast of The Lion King that made the news! Delayed for 6 hours at La Guardia the two casts treated other stranded passengers to show songs and even some freestyle rap to help pass the time! Disney on Broadway have posted a 4 minute video to their YouTube page but there are longer versions on YouTube. The video below is 14 minutes but it repeats so the full Sing Off is about 7 minutes;
I'm majorly biased but I think the Aladdin cast won!
And finally, round two of Don Darryl Rivera and James Monroe Iglehart's hilarious Scare War!!
Firstly, a big thanks to Sotiris (@sotiris2006) for bringing this to my attention last week! After some rumours about London earlier this year (more on that in a second) it's now been officially announced that the first international production of Aladdin will open in Tokyo in May 2015.
Disney Theatrical Productions is once again teaming up with the Shiki Theatre Company to bring Aladdin to Japan. This will mark the 5th collaboration between Disney Theatrical and the Shiki Theatre Company following 1995's Beauty and the Beast, 1998's The Lion King, 2003's Aida and 2013's The Little Mermaid. Thomas Schumacher, President and Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions said "The heart and wit of the timeless tale of Aladdin, the Genie and those three wishes are beloved by cultures across the globe. We look forward to bringing Casey Nicholaw's joyous, spectacular production to Japan in partnership with our valued friends at Shiki."
Chiyoki Yoshida, President and Representative Director of the Shiki Theatre Company echoed Schumacher's excitement, saying "I am very honored to be able to bring Aladdin to Japan as its first production outside of Broadway. Shiki Theatre Company and Disney will celebrate our 20th year of partnership next year. Aladdin is sure to open a door to 'a whole new world' for the live entertainment industry in Japan."
The Tokyo production will be cast locally in Japan and will be performed in Japanese. The production will debut in May 2015 at the Dentsu Shiki Theatre Umi in Tokyo.
Whilst this is the first international production of Broadway's Aladdin, an earlier version of the show has previously been performed in Denmark and the Philippines in 2012/2013.
On the subject of international productions the Daily Mail's gossip columnist and entertainment writer Baz Bamigboye has hinted a few times that word is that Aladdin will be coming to London's West End, though probably not before 2016. He first mentioned this in his 1st May column, stating that it was initially hoped that Aladdin would play in the Palladium in 2016 but Disney wanted to wait for the Prince Edward Theatre (where they did Mary Poppins and where Miss Saigon was then due to open) so Aladdin's West End debut would be delayed until "late 2016 or 2017". This changed in his 26th June column where he reported that the success of Miss Saigon had changed Disney's mind about waiting and that the "top executive for Disney Theatricals will meet Palladium officials to discuss whether the Palladium would be the right venue for the Disney musical Aladdin in 2016." Whilst his first report went mostly unnoticed, or at least uncommented on, this second report had more traction, being reported on Broadway World and several West End sites. I did reach out to Disney Theatrical UK back in June but, understandably, received no reply. Whilst I would love for the show to come to the West End this remains strictly a rumour for now.
