Disney's Aladdin has been taking audiences in Toronto on a magic carpet ride for just over a week now, but if you were there last night then you weren't seeing exactly the same show as previous audiences. Like with all good preview runs, Aladdin's creative team is watching, seeing what works and what can be improved.
Yesterday afternoon Adam Jacobs (Aladdin) posted on his
official Facebook page "New lines, new changes! C'mon brain! #AladdinTO #PreviewRealness"
This is an incredibly exciting and creative time for any show and I'd love to be there to watch
Aladdin as it evolves from that first preview last week to the show that will be coming to Broadway next year.
And speaking of exciting and creative, here's a short interview that Alan Menken did with
The Canadian Press during Toronto rehearsals.
A very favourable early review can be found
here and discussion on the
Broadway World message boards is generally positive. However it's important to remember that the show is still in previews and still changing (as evidenced above) so these comments, whilst certainly valid and interesting to read, are based on a "work in progress" production.
For me the most exciting thing to come out of these early reviews and discussions has to be the new song list for the Toronto production (if you want to compare, the Seattle song list is
here);
ACT 1
Arabian Nights - Babkak, Omar, Kassim and Company
One Jump Ahead - Aladdin and Crowd
Proud of Your Boy - Aladdin
Arabian Nights Reprise 1 - Babkak, Omar and Kassim
Call Me a Princess - Jasmine and Attendants
Call Me a Princess Reprise - Jasmine
Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim - Babkak, Omar, Aladdin and Kassim
A Million Miles Away - Aladdin and Jasmine
Diamond in the Rough - Jafar, Iago and Aladdin
Friend Like Me - Genie and Company
Arabian Nights Reprise 2 - Babkak, Omar and Kassim
Act 1 Finale (Friend Like Me Reprise/Proud of Your Boy Reprise 1) - Genie and Aladdin
ACT 2
Prince Ali - Genie, Babkak, Omar, Kassim and Company
Arabian Nights Reprise 3 - Babkak, Omar and Kassim
A Whole New World - Aladdin and Jasmine
High Adventure - Babkak, Omar and Kassim
Somebody's Got Your Back - Genie, Aladdin, Babkak, Omar and Kassim
Proud of Your Boy Reprise 2 - Aladdin
Prince Ali Reprise - Jafar, Sultan and Company
Genie's Exit (Somebody's Got Your Back Reprise) - Genie
Finale Ultimo (Arabian Nights Reprise 4/A Whole New World Reprise) - Company
There's definitely been some interesting changes since the original 5th Avenue Pilot Production and last year's regional productions.
Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim has been moved to later in the show. This used to follow
Arabian Nights so Aladdin's introduction is now more in line with the film with
One Jump Ahead (and I have to wonder if this means they've added in the original "It begins on a dark night..." Cave of Wonders scene as well).
One Jump Ahead Reprise is missing from the song list. It could simply be that they're counting it with
Proud of Your Boy as the original production used it as a lead in, or it could be cut as it's no longer needed with
Proud of Your Boy in the show. Personally I liked it as a lead in but I can also understand why they would cut it as
Proud of Your Boy covers the same emotional beats.
Why Me (the only "new" Menken/Rice song in the Pilot Production) has been cut. This was sung by Jafar and Iago as they cast a spell searching for the Diamond in the Rough.
Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim now takes place in the marketplace before Aladdin meets Jasmine. Thinking about it this actually does work better.
The original
Arabian Nights Reprise 2 has been cut (Toronto's Reprise 2 was Seattle's Reprise 3) This Ashman/Menken verse was sung by Babkak, Omar and Kassim as Aladdin's "uncle" Jafar led him to the Cave of Wonders. It has been replaced by the new Menken/Beguelin song
Diamond in the Rough.
In Act 2 new reprises of
Arabian Nights and
Proud of Your Boy have been added. I'm not sure about
Arabian Nights Reprise 3 but I'd guess that
Proud of Your Boy Reprise 2 takes place after Aladdin breaks his promise to Genie and realises he needs to tell Jasmine the truth about who he really is.
It appears that the pre-wedding reprise of
High Adventure has been cut and that Sultan and the crowd have been added to
Prince Ali Reprise (unless the
Wedding Day Suite which included
High Adventure Reprise and
Prince Ali Reprise has just been renamed to the more well known
Prince Ali Reprise)
That's all for this Arabian Night ;)
Edit - Thanks to Everdream0's comment below we can now confirm that (at least at the moment)
One Jump Ahead Reprise is still in the show and serves as a lead in to
Proud of Your Boy like it did in the Seattle Pilot and the subsequent regional and international productions. We can also confirm that
High Adventure Reprise is indeed cut from the show.
Thanks again Everdream0.
