Everyone who has ever been a child has seen Disney’s Aladdin. It’s the beloved tale of the street-rat-turned-prince on his quest to steal the heart of the woman he loves. After the overwhelming success of The Lion King musical, Disney decided to take another stab at adapting one of its movies into a Broadway show.
For anyone interested in going, this play is everything that any fan could have asked for. But rather than write what the play is about (since its storyline sticks close to that of the movie), it’s more interesting to show what was added to the play and taken away from the movie. For example, to transform the movie into a play, twice as many songs needed to be added to fill the runtime of an average Broadway performance. While some songs were exactly what the audience wished for, others failed to take them into a ‘whole new world’. In addition, new characters were needed to replace the ones who wouldn’t fit into the play, but they were a welcome change allowing the play to distinguish itself from the movie while keeping the same fun feelings.
MISSES
Songs: The songs that could have been left out were “Proud of Your Boy,” “These Palace Walls” and “Diamond in the Rough.” While “Proud of Your Boy” gives a better background to Aladdin (Adam Jacobs) as he sings about how one day he will make his (dead) parents proud, it is a slow song in a fast-moving chase scene. The action simply doesn’t fit the music. “These Palace Walls” was a poorly made song from Jasmine’s (Courtney Reed) point of view singing about how she wants to explore the world, but just makes her come off as spoiled. Instead of making her seem like a sympathetic character, it makes her petty and annoying for the audience. Lastly, “Diamond in the Rough,” although catchy, is simply a song about Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) and Iago (Don Darryl Rivera) dragging Aladdin through the desert to find the cave of wonders. The scene is boring, so extending it with a song was not a great move.
Characters: Some of the characters that were actually cut included Abu and the magic carpet (as a sentient being, not as an addition to the play, since it is quite necessary for Aladdin and Jasmine to sing “A Whole New World”). Although they were understandably cut, it was still sad to have their on-screen banter missing from the play. The only redeeming factor from this was that there were fun characters added to replace them.
HITS
Songs: The songs that helped the play immensely were “Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim”, “A Million Miles Away,” “High Adventure” and “Somebody’s Got Your Back.” Since it would be extremely difficult to add a monkey into the play, Abu was tragically—but
understandably—cut from the final script. Instead there were the Aladdin’s thieving friends Babkak (Brian Gonzales), Omar (Jonathan Schwartz) and Kassim (Steel Burkhardt). Although mostly used for comic relief, they were a fantastic addition to the production. This became clear early on in the song when they introduce themselves while trying to make an honest living as street performers. One of the better additions to the play, “Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim” helped establish and develop these characters in a short amount of time. “A Million Miles Away” takes the small, two-minute scene from the movie where Aladdin and Jasmine escape the guards together and overlook the city of Agrabah and turns it into a song where they bond over wishing they could both run away from the city and start new lives elsewhere. This helped to develop their relationship with more time and emotion. The final two additional songs, “High Adventure” and “Somebody’s Got Your Back” show Babkak, Omar, and Kassim as they attempt to rescue Aladdin, and as they are chained up alongside Aladdin after being captured. As mentioned before, the comic relief added by these characters was very well done and a fun addition to the play.
Casting: Another big hit that the play accomplished was casting of James Monroe Iglehart as the Genie. A combination of illusionist and comedian, Iglehart wowed the audience with real magic tricks while also making them laugh hysterically with his witty additions. One example was when he decided to whip and nae nae after being freed from the lamp. The play should really be renamed “The Genie” after Iglehart’s performance because he got a larger applause than anyone else onstage, including Aladdin. Finding someone to fill Robin Williams’ shoes is difficult, but Inglehart did a fantastic job.
#TBT: Probably the best throwback that Disney could have done with this production was the addition of Jonathan Freeman as Jafar. For those readers who are not extreme Disney fans, Freeman was the original voice of Jafar in the 1992 film version of Aladdin. Having been an incredible actor then and now, it added some acting chops to the play as well as giving a familiar voice to the many Disney fans in the audience.
For those who enjoyed the movie as a child, this play was made for you. It is playing at the New Amsterdam Theatre through July 2016 and tickets can be purchased online. For student prices, go to the box office when they open or go to the theater two hours before show time to be entered into the lottery.