A hit Broadway musical brought to the stage by the same producers as Lion King, Aladdin is also based on a beloved Disney animated film of the same name. It has a book by Chad Beguelin, music by Alan Menken, and lyrics by Tim Rice, Howard Ashman, and Beguelin. The musical is set in the fictional Arabian city of Agrabah, telling the familiar tale of a poor thief who is granted three wishes by a genie from a lamp, which he uses to win a princess’s heart and to stop the sultan’s evil Grand Vizier.
Aladdin premiered on Broadway in 2014, and it was produced globally since then. Currently, it’s the twelfth highest-grossing show in the history of Broadway.
Production History
Various productions of Aladdin was staged around the globe before it reached Broadway. The stage musical version of Aladdin premiered in Seattle, Washington, in 2011. The next year, production of the musical played at Utah, then in St. Louis. Aladdin was also staged in Manila, Philippines, in 2012. Then, the musical was staged in Bogota, Colombia, in 2013 in the Spanish language.
Broadway production
Aladdin premiered on Broadway in February 2014 in previews and formally opened in March at the New Amsterdam Theatre. The show was nominated for five Tony Awards. The original Broadway cast included:
- Adam Jacobs as Aladdin
- Courtney Reed as Jasmine
- James Monroe Iglehart as Genie
- Jonathan Freeman as Jafar
- Clifton Davis as Sultan
- Don Darryl Rivera as Iago
- Brian Gonzales as Babkak
- Jonathan Schwartz as Omar
- Brandon O’Neill as Kassim
As of March 2020, the show was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The production is suspended until January 2021 at the earliest.
West End production
The West End production of Aladdin officially opened in June 2016 at the Prince Edward Theatre. It closed in August 2019 after 1,361 performances and being seen by more than 2 million audiences. The original cast included:
- Dean John-Wilson as Aladdin
- Jade Ewen as Jasmine
- Trever Dion Nicholas as Genie
- Don Gallagher as Jafar
- Irvine Iqbal as Sultan
- Peter Howe as Iago
- Nathan Amzi as Babkak
- RachidSabitiri as Omar
- Stephen Rahman-Hughes as Kassim
Plot Overview
Aladdin is a story of Aladdin, a kind and charming street urchin who falls in love with the beautiful Princess Jasmine, but knows she is way out of his league.
In the middle-eastern city of Agrabah, Princess Jasmine is feeling hemmed in as her father, the Sultan, gets disappointed again after she rejected another royal groom. Meanwhile, Sultan’s Grand Vizier, Jafar, is plotting to take over the throne. Jafar visits the Cave of Wonders in the desert, which is said to hold untold power.
When Jasmine sneaks out of the palace in disguise, she forms an instant connection with Aladdin. Aladdin did not know she was the princess, but he is immediately smitten. The guards discovered the two, and Jasmine is escorted back to the palace. Aladdin is sentenced to death, but Jafar saves him by ordering him to fetch a lamp from the Cave of Wonders. When Aladdin got trapped inside the cave, he accidentally rubs the lamp, which unleashes a magical Genie who offers to grant him three wishes.
Aladdin used his first wish to become a prince so he can introduce himself as a worthy and wealthy suitor to Jasmine. Meanwhile, the evil Jafar tries to convince the sultan to force Jasmine to wed him. After some twists and turns, the story ends well with Jafar being trapped as a genie into a lamp of his own. Aladdin and Jasmine are married, and the Genie is freed.
Songs
Act One
- “Overture” – Instrumental
- “Arabian Nights” (Ashman) – Genie and Company
- “Once Jump Ahead” (Rice) – Aladdin, Ensemble
- “Once Jump Ahead (Reprise)” (Rice) – Aladdin
- “Proud of Your Boy” (Ashman) – Aladdin
- “These Palace Walls” (Beguelin) – Jasmine and Female Attendants
- “Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim” (Ashman) – Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim, Jasmine, Ensemble
- “A Million Miles Away” (Beguelin) – Aladdin, Jasmine
- “Diamond in the Rough” (Beguelin) – Jafar, Iago, Aladdin
- “Friend Like Me” (Ashman) – Genie, Aladdin, Ensemble
- “Act One Finale” (Friend Like Me (Reprise) / Proud of Your Boy (Reprise 1)) – Genie, Aladdin
Act Two
- “Prince Ali” (Ashman) – Genie, Babkak, Omar, Kassim, Ensemble
- “A Whole New World” (Rice) – Aladdin, Jasmine
- “High Adventure” (Ashman) – Babkak, Omar, Kassim, Ensemble
- “Somebody’s Got Your Back” (Beguelin) – Aladdin, Genie, Babkak, Omar, Kassim
- “Proud of Your Boy (Reprise 2)” (Beguelin) – Aladdin
- “Prince Ali (Sultan Reprise)” (Beguelin) – Sultan and Company
- “Prince Ali (Jafar Reprise)” (Rice) – Jafar
- “Finale Ultimo (Arabian Nights (Reprise) / A Whole New World (Reprise))” (Ashman/Rice) – Company
- Bows (“Friend Like Me (Reprise 2)”) (Ashman) – Company
Awards
The original Broadway production of Aladdin was nominated five times at the 2014 Tony Awards and won Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for James Monroe Iglehart. It was also nominated eight times at the 2014 Outer Critics Circle Award, and seven times at the 2014 Drama Desk Award, with James Monroe Iglehart winning Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.