“Welcome to the fabled city of Agrabah. City of flying carpets, soaring heroes, famous love ballads, and more glitz and glamour than any other fictional city in the world.”

– Genie; Arabian Nights (Broadway)

Disney has taken the Broadway world by storm by bringing their beloved stories to life – The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan, Beauty and the Beast, and most recently, Frozen. These productions take the stories and characters that you know and love and turn them into more complex characters. Characters that you can relate to a bit more than you did before. You feel more connected to them. But I am here to talk about one that takes place in a fictional city called Agrabah. If you could not guess, I am about talking about Aladdin. It is the fifth Disney animated film to be adapted to the Broadway stage. Now before I start, let me just say that I am in no way a professional musical theatre critique. I am just a big fan of Disney, musicals and musical theater. Throughout this post I will be sharing some fun facts about the production as a whole and what I thought of the National Touring Company’s version. I had the honor of seeing Aladdin on Broadway a couple of years ago and I fell in love. So when I heard that it was coming to Orlando, I knew that I had to go see it!

Lets dive into some history of Aladdin on Broadway. It premiered on Broadway in previews on February 26, 2014. It officially opened on March 3, 2014 at the New Amsterdam Theatre. The show was nominated for 5 Tony Awards. It won one for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for James Monroe Iglehart. The cast album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The book was written by Chad Beguelin. The music is by the incredibly talented Alan Menken. The lyrics were written by the late Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin. The story is a mashup of the animated movie and an early version that Alan Menken and Howard Ashman wrote. Aladdin’s mother is someone who is talked about throughout the production. Aladdin has adventures with his three best friends, Babkak, Omar and Kassim. Yes, that is right…Abu was not in the original story adaptation. But that is okay because these best friends are one of the most entertaining aspects of the show. Like Aladdin has his three best friends, Jasmine has three handmaidens (which means no Raja). The friends that our leading characters have definitely added more depth to their storylines.

I am a sucker for musicals. All of them. If the music does not get my attention, I usually end up not being a fan of the production or film as a whole. I am also someone that refused to listen to the soundtrack until I see the movie/production. I want the entire experience to be new to me. This soundtrack is absolutely incredible. It is no surprise that it was nominated for a Grammy. It features three songs that were cut from the original 1992 film following the death of Howard Ashman. Tim Rice was asked to write some of our favorites like “One Jump Ahead” and “A Whole New World” after Ashman’s passing. These songs were restored for the musical and I am so glad they did because they are some of my favorites…one in particular, “Proud of Your Boy”. Aside from that song, the other two that were restored were “Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim” and “High Adventure”. Four new songs were written for the musical by Chad Beguelin and all of the music was by Alan Menken. One of the best musical numbers is “Friend Like Me”. This 2 minute song was turned into a fun 8 minute musical number…and you might hear some Disney classics mixed in there. This is the Genie’s moment to truly shine and you are definitely not left disappointed. It leaves you wanting more from him. You can definitely say that I have this soundtrack on repeat and the National Touring Company did an INCREDIBLE job bringing these songs to life. I felt like I was truly a part of this world between the music and the sets!

The sets were breathtaking, vibrant, colorful and aesthetically pleasing. They were fast moving and smoothly went along with each and every song. The ensemble so gracefully were dancing through and around each and every set with ease. It was all so captivating. Bob Crowley was the set designer. He was inspired by Middle Eastern textiles, tiles, rugs, architecture, and films like the 1940 Arabian Nights. Throughout the sets you see these beautiful colors and colors and these touches of gold. The set itself weighs the same as 4.5 double decker busses. The Cave of Wonders was built for the Broadway stage using the same gold material that was used to finish C-3PO in the Star Wars films. Did you know that Bob Crowley had only seen the animated film ONCE?! That fact blew my mind because the set literally drew you into Agrabah. It made you feel like you were there!

As amazing as the set was, the costuming and the ensemble was just as incredible. 337 costumes were used in the show. There is one scene, which is about 3.5 minutes long, that features 24 actors wearing about 70 different costumes. WHAT?! Imaging all of those costume changes for the ensemble! Speaking of the ensemble, they made the big numbers seem like there were an endless amount of members at all times. It seemed like there were new people on stage constantly, which would explain the numerous costume changes

Time to dive into our leading characters. In New York, I had the honor of seeing Adam Jacobs, the original Aladdin, and Jonathan Freeman, the original Jafar AND the animated voice from the film. Seeing Jonathan Freeman bring his original voice character to film was a dream come true. He still got it! That Jafar laugh is iconic. Adam Jacobs was beyond incredible and stole my heart as Aladdin. So going into the National Touring Company, I was excited to see these new faces take on the roles. Jonathan Weir captured the essence of Jafar in a perfect way and his chemistry with Reggie De Leon as Iago was perfect. Reggie De Leon channeled the abrasive personality of Iago as Jafar’s human sidekick. Annie Wallace stepped into those palace walls as Princess Jasmine. Though she was not the original casted Jasmine, she took the role and made it her own. She was a powerhouse that captured Jasmine’s character. Max Ehrlich stepped in the shoes of the street rat, Aladdin. He was also not the original casted Aladdin but I can say that I definitely was impressed by his take on the character. He channeled our beloved street rat perfectly. When he sang “Proud of Your Boy”, the chills and emotions that I felt were indescribable. And here I did not think anyone could do Adam Jacobs justice but Max Ehrlich proved me wrong. As much as I enjoyed this amazing cast, the one character who stole the show was The Genie, portrayed by Michael James Scott. If you did not know, he is an Orlando native. i was so excited to see him portray the Genie as I have been a fan of his. The second you saw him take the stage in the very beginning of the show, you were HOOKED! You knew that you were in for a magical ride. Michael James Scott brought so much light, fun and energy every single time he took the stage. He was larger than life. What I love about this version of the Genie is that instead of the celebrity impressions that we see in the original film, we see pop culture references, some funny shenanigans, and self aware commentary. For example, when he was starting the show and talking about how Agrabah was famous for one thing, which was the magic lamp, he pulled out Mickey Mouse ears and said “sorry, did a little pre-show shopping” which had the crowd laughing. He was truly amazing and I would see any production that he was in. You can now find him back at the New Amsterdam Theatre playing The Genie!

This show is truly magical. It takes you away to this magical world and will leave you smiling the entire show. I know I found myself showcasing this goofy grin throughout the performance. I have fallen in love with Aladdin in a different way. This stage adaptation is by far my favorite that I have seen…and that says a lot because Beauty and the Beast has a very special place in my heart. This is the same story that we know and love with just a few magical adjustments. If nostalgia is what you are looking for, this show will hit home for you and make it even more wonderful. Aladdin is a production that I highly recommend you to see. If it is coming to your city, buy tickets. You will not regret it. If you are in New York City, do yourself the favor and go see this. It is definitely in my top 5 favorite Broadway musicals!