A Whole Blu World

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so...

Yes, Aladdin on Blu-Ray is finally on sale today, at least here in the UK.  I believe the US release date is still TBC but the good news is the UK disc is region free so it'll still play no matter where you live.

Love seeing that old VHS cover put to good use.  Guess I know what I'm watching when I get a free night this week!

A New Fantastic Point of View

Where has the time gone?  I hope you all had a great Easter weekend the other week, I can't believe we're in April already!  There's not too much news to report on the Aladdin front, auditions have been and gone, and if you went to them I hope they went well, so I'd expect things to be pretty quiet until the summer.

The official twitter (@aladdin) has tweeted a single quote;

"Gotta keep, one jump ahead of the breadline, one swing ahead of the sword." - @aladdin

It's not much, but at least it's something.  It's the first tweet since January (I know, I'm a fine one to talk about that!) but hopefully it means the account will start being more active soon.

The Facebook page has been a little more active, posting the same quote as above and also sharing a new promo image;

They've also made a small change to their logo and the show's subtitle.  No longer Broadway's New Musical Fantasy, the show is now

I love the colour scheme of gold and purple, but I do still wish they'd change the font to something that feels a little more Aladdin.

Their most recent update is a bit more interactive, yesterday they asked fans "When I think of Aladdin, I can't help but start singing..."

Obviously the film songs have got most of the votes, but it's nice to see some people (and not just me!) pick Proud of Your Boy, and it was really nice to see someone saying  A Million Miles Away.  Why not head on over and add your opinions?

Whilst there's been no Aladdin casting news, two previous Aladdins have been cast as other Disney heroes.

The original Aladdin, Adam Jacobs, is currently playing the title role of Zorro at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.  Tickets are on sale at the theatre's website and the show runs until 5th May.  If you're in Atlanta make sure you check it out (and ok Zorro's not technically a Disney hero, but Walt Disney did do the series in the 50s so it can still count).

Meanwhile, Tuachan's Aladdin, Dan Domenech, has been cast as the title character in Disney's Tarzan as the show makes its Asian Premiere at the Meralco Theatre in June.  You may recognise the name of the theatre as it was also home to last year's Asian Premiere of Aladdin (I know, I really need to get that article on the international shows done!).  The show runs June 14th to July 8th and is being produced by Viva Atlantis Theatricals who are a joint venture between Viva Communications and Atlantis Productions who produced last year's production of Aladdin.  Tickets don't seem to be on sale yet (at least online) but if you're going to be in Pasig City whilst the show's on then keep an eye on Atlantis' website or try contacting the theatre directly to secure your seats.  Dan was a fantastic Aladdin last year so you're in for a great show with him as Tarzan.

And that's about everything for this time but I just want to end on this tweet from 15th March.  No casting has been announced, but it's to know that Adam Jacobs is still keeping in touch with Alan Menken...

""Watch and learn," @AIMenken says to me as he sidles up to the piano, plays and sings "Proud of Your Boy". #bowingtogenius" - @AdamJacobsNYC

More Auditions, Preview Tickets, a New Poster and a New Song for Jafar?

Firstly, if you went to any of the Aladdin auditions over the last week then I hope they went well and that you had a good time.

It looks like Disney is casting a pretty wide net for this show as Playbill have added another four open chorus calls for Orlando (March 2nd/3rd), LA (Feb 26th/27th), Chicago (March 12th) and Toronto (March 16th).  If you're going - good luck!

Toronto's The Star has published an article entitled Aladdin, Once, Les Miserables highlight new Mirvish season.  According to the article this is the Mirvish's 50th year and they're celebrating by presenting their largest subscription program ever, including "the world premiere of the new Disney stage musical Aladdin".  The article goes on to state that "Aladdin will have its premiere tryout here at the Ed Mirvish Theatre, on its way to Broadway, as previously reported in The Star, with Tony Award winning director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw helming the proceedings."

This week also saw The Mirvish launching their own page for Aladdin complete with a new poster and banner for the show!

The poster's a little small (hopefully a larger version will turn up soon) but it's great to see new artwork turning up so soon!

The Mirvish's page includes the following description of the show;

"In an exotic, faraway land, one man’s life is about to change with the lucky rub of an ancient lamp—and you’re invited to join the magic carpet ride.

Welcome to ALADDIN, Disney’s new Broadway-bound musical, adapted from the hit film and featuring some of the best-loved music by Academy® and Tony Award®-winning composer Alan Menken and lyricists Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin, with a book by Beguelin.

Brought to you by the producer of Toronto’s record-breaking hits The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, ALADDIN will be directed and choreographed by Tony® -winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon) and will feature the award-winning and acclaimed design team of Bob Crowley (sets), Gregg Barnes (costumes) and Natasha Katz (lights), with illusions by Jim Steinmeyer.

With its timeless story, extravagant sets and costumes and a host of memorable characters and songs, ALADDIN will transport you to a place you only know in your dreams. Go ahead, make a wish. And discover a whole new world, in a whole new way… at ALADDIN."

Individual tickets aren't on sale yet (I'll update as soon as they are), but if you live in Toronto and love theatre then why not consider getting a season subscription for all 7 of the 2013/2014 season shows?  Information on the Mirvish's 2013/2014 subscription can be found here.

And finally, Playbill has published an interview with none other than Alan Menken himself at the Junior Theatre Festival.  The full interview can be found here and Mr. Menken talks about Newsies, the process of adapting his film work for the stage and, of course, bringing Aladdin to Broadway;

"At the same time Howard Ashman and I were writing "The Little Mermaid," we were writing "Aladdin." So we had a whole score that involved Aladdin's mom, and his sidekicks, Babkak, Omar and Kassim, and it had a lot of plot elements that we don't have in the movie. And the movie was great, but I said, "If we are going to do this theatrical adaptation, for me, the perk would be to try to bring in the songs that Howard and I wrote for the movie that never made it in.

So we have "Proud of Your Boy," a number that Aladdin was originally to sing in the movie to his mother directly, but now it's to his mother in heaven. There's a number "Babkak, Omar, Aladdin and Kassim," which is kind of the friends' Vaudeville number that they do in the streets of Agrabah. There's a song called "High Adventure," where they perform a rescue at the end of Act Two, which is so much fun. It's one of those numbers I was dying to see on stage. There's "Call Me Princess" for Princess Jasmine, which was a real early throw-away, but we were able to make use of that thanks to my new collaboration with Chad Beguelin (Elf, The Wedding Singer), who wrote the book.

He was brilliant in finding ways to adapt songs we had originally written into the new book, and we also wrote three new songs together with him as my lyricist. We wrote one new song for the Genie, one new song for Jafar and a new duet for Aladdin and Jasmine — and we still have all the original songs from Howard Ashman and Tim Rice from the film. So much creative energy has gone into this new Aladdin, I love it. We had a production in Seattle that was one of the highlights of my life and we've even improved it since then."

Now, I may be reading too much into this, but have we just had the first bit of information on a new song for this new production?  In the above quote Alan Menken mentions 3 songs written by himself and Chad Beguelin for the show; a song for Genie (Somebody's Got My Back), a duet for Aladdin and Jasmine (A Million Miles Away) and a song for Jafar (???).  Sure Jafar had a "new" song in the 2011/2012 productions, but Why Me is one of the unused Menken/Rice songs that was done for the movie, not a new song by Menken/Beguelin.  So is the Jafar song he mentions a new one for this production?  And if so, what does that mean for Why Me?  Is this going to be an addition or a replacement?  I guess we'll have to wait until November to find out!

And it's always great to hear Alan Menken call the 2011 Pilot Production of Aladdin one of the highlights of his life :)

Good Luck!

Just a quick update this morning to wish the very best of luck to anyone auditioning for Aladdin today and next week.

Make some magic everyone!

Casting Calls Go Out for Broadway's Aladdin

Oh boy does it feel good to be writing that!

Late last week Playbill posted the official Equity listings for Aladdin, including Principal Auditions, Chorus Call for Dancers and Chorus Call for Singers for auditions early next month.  Full listings can be found by following the links.

The listings describe the show as;

"Based on the much loved animated film, Aladdin: The New Stage Musical tells the story of a street-smart commoner whose whole life changes with one rub of a magic lamp. This new Aladdin incorporates all of the beloved songs from the film's Oscar®-winning score plus never-before-heard Menken/Ashman songs restored from early drafts of the score. It marks a return to the authors' original vision: a loving homage to the Hope-Crosby road pictures with a score invoking the jazz sound of stars like Cab Calloway and Fats Waller."

For those who are successful at the auditions (and those of us who want to know when we can expect to hear the first real hints about the new production) the show dates given are;

Rehearsals begin in NYC: Fall 2013.
Playing in Toronto: Early Winter 2013/2014
Rehearsals in NYC: Winter 2014.
Begin performances in NYC: Spring 2014

The principal roles on offer are;

Aladdin
20s, any ethnicity. Clever, resourceful street urchin with a heart of gold; best friends with Babkak, Omar and Kassim; seeks a life beyond the confines of poverty. Soaring bari-tenor voice.

Jasmine
20s, any ethnicity. Intelligent young princess with insight beyond her years and station; seeks a life beyond the confines of privilege. Fantastic belter that can mix through the break to soprano.

Babkak
20s, any ethnicity. Chubby, romantic desert dweller, part of Aladdin’s band; the “Crosby” of this Arabian “Road” picture, although perhaps with a bit more flair. Power tenor.

Omar
20s, any ethnicity. Nervous, thin, reedy desert dweller, part of Aladdin’s band; the “Lamour.” Bari-tenor.

Genie
30s-40s, any ethnicity. Quick-witted, fast-talking, ancient genie who knows all time and place; an old-school song-and-dance man.

Sultan
50s, any ethnicity. Kind-hearted, widowed ruler of Agrabah; gets so caught up in following the law and tradition that he overlooks his daughter Jasmine’s desires and gets swindled by his own vizier.

For those of you who can remember these listings are almost identical to those released for 5th Avenue's Pilot Production back in January 2011.  The only additions are "any ethnicity" and the vocal descriptions.

More interesting is who's missing.  Namely Jafar, Iago and Kassim.

Back when 5th Avenue's Casting Calls were released only Jafar was missing and the role was famously filled by Jonathan Freeman, making him the first actor from one of Disney's animated classics to bring his own character to life on stage.  Obviously nothing has been confirmed (or even rumoured) but my best guess is that Jonathan Freeman will once again be bringing Jafar to life when Aladdin hits Broadway.  Now that really would be a wish come true!

Could Jonathan Freeman be bringing Jafar to life on stage once more?
Jonathan Freeman and Don Darryl Rivera as Jafar and Iago in 5th Avenue's Pilot Production

But what about Iago and Kassim?  Does this mean that they've already been cast too?  In the 5th Avenue's Pilot Production the parts were played by Don Darryl Rivera and Brandon O'Neill and, whilst I'd love to believe that they've both already been confirmed for the roles (they did originate them after all), it seems strange that Disney Theatrical would make the rest of the original cast re-audition if this was the case.  Either way, Disney Theatrical clearly has people already in mind for these roles.  I can't find any rumours on who they might have approached to play the parts (so I'm going to continue championing the original cast), but if they are recasting then only one name comes to mind - Gilbert Gottfried!

For all the lastest news on the show, including casting, make sure you like the show on Facebook, follow @AladdinBroadway on Twitter and sign up for email updates from the show's official website www.aladdinbroadway.com!

And finally two quick updates from around the web.  Firstly The New York Times confirms that Proud of Your Boy WILL be in the show (didn't really doubt it but with the re-writes it's great to have that confirmed) and says that the expected budget for the new production is between $12 and $15 million dollars, which is significantly more than budget of the Pilot Production in 2011.  And secondly, Yahoo News' Mark Kennedy has posted an interview with Disney Theatrical's Thomas Schumacher where he says that he wants the show to have a lot of humour and a lot of heart.  If it's anything like the production I saw at the Tuacahn last year, it will certainly have both.

A Whole New World in A Whole New Way - Aladdin Comes to Broadway!

It's official!!  Disney Theatrical last night confirmed that Aladdin will open on Broadway in 2014 at the New Amsterdam Theatre!!  The show's new tagline is Broadway's New Musical Fantasy.

First things first, make sure you head over to the show's official website, www.aladdinbroadway.com, and sign up for their email updates.

Now for those who've waited long enough and don't want to wait until next spring, good news!  Both Playbill and Broadway World are reporting that Aladdin will have have it's pre-Broadway preview run at Toronto's Mirvish Theatre this November!  The show will premiere in Toronto November 13th and run through to January 12th 2014.  No dates have been announced for Aladdin's Broadway premiere other than "Spring 2014".
Both Playbill and Broadway World are reporting that, according to Disney, this version of Aladdin will be an entirely new production "featuring a new script, tunestack and a wholly original design scaled to the Broadway stage and an epic story."

Disney have confirmed that most of the creative team from Seattle's 2011 Pilot Production will be returning, along with some new additions;

Alan Menken (Composer)
Howard Ashman (Lyrics)
Tim Rice (Lyrics)
Chad Beguelin (Book and Lyrics)
Casey Nicholaw (Director/Choreographer)
Bob Crowley (Scenic Design)
Gregg Barnes (Costume Design)
Natasha Katz (Lighting Design)
Ken Travis (Sound Design)
Jim Steinmeyer (Illusion Design)
Josh Marquette (Hair Design)
Michael Kosarin (Music Supervisor/Music Director)
Danny Troob (Orchestrator)
Glen Kelly (Dance Arrangements)

Casting and ticketing information has not yet been announced (like I said at the start, make sure you sign up for Disney Theatrical's email alerts!).

I'm so excited right now!  Guess I'd better start saving for next year's holiday!  To paraphrase Joey, "Broadway baby!!" (I've been watching way too much Friends recently).  It's going to be a whole new world, hope I see you there!

Broadway Rumour Report #1

Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be doing a lot of these over the next few months? :o)

Hot on the heels of Monday's initial rumour, that Mary Poppins was to close in March to make way for Aladdin, and yesterday's confirmation that Mary Poppins would indeed end its impressive 6 year run on March 3rd, comes another rumour regarding Aladdin!

The New York Post's Michael Riedel is reporting that Aladdin is to receive an extensive re-working with the book being rewritten, Alan Menken working on new songs and six time Tony Award winning set designer Bob Crowley (Mary Poppins, Aida, Once, The Coast of Utopia, Carousel, The History Boys) being brought on board to design the new production which is said to be much more elaborate than 2011's Pilot Production in Seattle.

The report does not mention if Tony Award winning director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw and book writer/lyricist Chad Begulin are involved with the new production, but considering that they both worked on revising the production between its 5th Avenue premiere and last year's regional productions I don't see any reason to assume that they aren't involved with the upcoming Broadway production.

In another exciting development Riedel is reporting that Disney is also rewriting another of their Alan Menken musicals - the long in development The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  Peter Parnell is said to be writing a new book (James Lapine wrote the original book for the Berlin production) and Alan Menken is reported to be working with Stephen Schwartz on new songs for the production.  I'll admit I'm a little sad to see the original book being replaced, I never saw the show but the cast album sounded  gorgeous and what I did see on YouTube looked incredible and very emotionally powerful.  I know the general belief is Disney felt it was too dark for a family show, but it was just so moving even on a small YouTube video that the idea of changing it does worry me a little.  I'd urge anyone reading to have a look at some of the subtitled videos on YouTube if they've still available.  Done well, I honestly think that The Hunchback of Notre Dame has the potential to be Disney's greatest show (even if my favourite will always be Aladdin) and I appreciate that they are taking the time to get it right rather than rush it to Broadway.