Disney Theatrical Productions has inundated Broadway of the past 20 years with musical after musical based on their classic and animated movies. “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Mary Poppins” among others are playing (and have been for some time now) on the Great White Way. The real glory of this is the fact that these are very definitely family shows that have opened young people up to the glories of live theatre in an era of iPhones and Instagram. The BEST part, in my opinion, is that they take the shows on tour around the U.S. affording more and more people to the pure art form that is musical theatre.
One of the latest Disney hits on Broadway is “Aladdin.” After a wonderful three year run on Broadway, DTP is taking this show on the road. The North American tour of “Aladdin” will open April 11th in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre with Adam Jacobs, who originated the title role on Broadway, moving to the tour following his final performance at the New Amsterdam Theatre last week.
The rest of the touring cast was finalized this week. Joining Jacobs will be:
- Anthony Murphy (Genie)
- Isabelle McCalla (Jasmine)
- Jonathan Weir (Jafar)
- Reggie De Leon (Iago)
- J.C. Montgomery (Sultan)
- Zachary Bencal (Babkak)
- Philippe Arroyo (Omar)
- Mike Longo (Kassim)
Based on the 1992 Disney animated film with a score by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice with songs such as “Friend Like Me” and the Academy Award-Winning “A Whole New World.” The live musical features a new book and additional lyrics by Chad Beguelin.
The tour’s creative team includes Bob Crowley (scenic design), Gregg Barnes (costume design), Natasha Katz (lighting design), Ken Travis (sound design), and Jim Steinmeyer (illusions).
The only cities on the tour so far are Chicago, Minneapolis, and Seattle. More cities with, hopefully, a DFW stop will be announced shortly.
