Disney’s creative team reveal the magic behind the making of Aladdin, the latest new musical to hit London’s West End
In a special launch preview on Monday 15 February 2016 Thomas Schumacher, producer and president of Disney Theatrical gave a presentation of their new show Aladdin at the Lyceum Theatre, home of Disney’s big hit musical The Lion King.
Disney’s Broadway blockbuster musical Aladdin is heading to London’s Prince Edward Theatre. The show will open on 9 June 2016, with previews beginning 27 May. Tickets for Aladdin the musical are available now.
The question being posed is will Aladdin follow in The Lion King’s footsteps or will it follow the less auspicious route of Beauty and the Beast?
The Lion King has set a pretty high benchmark with a West End run stretching 16 years and a hit on Broadway for 19 years. The secret of The Lion King’s success is that not only is it a great show but the production has a wide market appeal and isn’t just focused on the family market. In part that is because of the excellent songs in the show.
Beauty and the Beast was Disney’s first foray in to the West End at the Dominion theatre in 1997 following a successful Broadway run which started in 1994. The production in London lasted two and a half years, which at such a big venue, the Dominion theatre seats over 2,000, is a success but pales when compared with the worldwide enormity of The Lion King.
Beauty and the Beast had the songs, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, in fact the same creative musical force behind Aladdin, it had the classic love story, yet it failed to last as long as The Lion King. One fierce critic labelled it an overblown pantomime; whilst this jibe was cruel it was also somewhat inaccurate. Unlike The Lion King, the costume designers kept more faithfully to the film and perhaps the characterisations bordered on caricature. But how else could you depict a candle, a clock and talking teapot?
Mary Poppins co-produced with Cameron Mackintosh opened at the Prince Edward Theatre in December 2004, closing in January 2008, a run of just over three years. It was a deliciously dark production which despite the publicity failed to capture the market beyond the family audience. One of Disney’s older films, released in 1964, the songs, such as ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee’, ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ and ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ are somewhat childlike and don’t have that wider modern appeal. Even children demand more sophistication from their music these days. And whilst a lovely story there was no love interest and it felt dated.
My colleagues were fortunate to be flown out to New York to see Aladdin on Broadway and reported back that it was a great show, however the cynic in me wondered whether they had been influenced by Disney’s very kind generosity.
From the exclusive sneak preview I was lucky enough to attend on Monday I think Disney have a massive hit on their hands in what promises to be London’s hit show of 2016.
Schumacher revealed the road from Disney’s 1992 animated film to the show in London. The film grossed over $530 million making it the number one movie release in 1992. Subsequently it has sold more than 25 million DVDs and well over two million soundtracks.
He went on to explain that unlike Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King where the stage shows appeared within three years of the movies Aladdin was following on 22 years after the 1992 film. Schumacher believes that its core audience has literally grown up with the film, and the characters depicted on stage are in their mid-twenties so totally relating to the audience from over 20 years ago who are all in their thirties now.
The music won Academy Awards and Golden Globes for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for ‘A Whole New World’. The pop version of the song also won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and is the first and to date only song from a Disney animated film to reach number one spot on America’s Billboard Hot 100. We were treated to a live version of the song by Dean John-Wilson who is to star as Aladdin in the West End version and Jade Ewen who stars as Jasmine. Their chemistry was already clear for everyone to see.
Ex-Sugarbabe, Jade was quite emotional about being back on the West End stage where she made her debut as a 10-year-old playing the role of young Nala in Disney’s Lion King.
Schumacher explained that in addition to the songs from the film, the show will include three songs written for the movie by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman but not used in the film and four new songs written by Menken and Chad Beguelin.
Dean John-Wilson gave a beautiful rendition of one of the new songs, ‘Proud of Your Boy’ to the accompaniment of a piano. It was a confident and assured performance by John-Wilson, who was a Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist back in 2008 – how come he didn’t win?
The fantastic costumes which were displayed are the work of costume designer Gregg Barnes. Schumacher revealed there was a staggering 337 costumes in the show based on 136 individual designs, which apparently took Barnes six hours to draw each sketched design. 1,225 different fabrics were used having been sourced worldwide and 712 different styles of beads. One costume alone has an incredible 17,000 sequins and beads hand-sewn on to the garment, with a single pair of men’s trousers featuring in the finale of ‘Friend Like Me’ having an unbelievable 1,428 Swarovski crystals! Schumacher joked that the Swarovski sales person was surely in for a bonus.
With all these intricate hand-made costumes it seems utterly unbelievable that there are 108 costume changes that take place in under a minute, 58 costume changes in under 30 seconds, and three costume changes taking place in less than one second! Blink and you’ll miss it.
Award winning set designer Bob Crowley was on hand to explain his imaginative creations for the production and the demands placed on him by the brief. He was honest enough to admit he had never seen the film when first approached by Schumacher, and Schumacher visibly cringed at Crowley’s references to pantomime being his first love. As Schumacher went on to explain they had been busily briefing the marketing team that Disney’s Aladdin was not to be confused with the pantomime. To be perfectly honest from the costumes to the lavish and extraordinary set-designs there is no way that this production can in anyway be associated with the traditional British panto.
The flying carpet sequence drew audible gasps from the invited guests. In the film they journey across the world but this proved too much of a challenge for the set designer, so instead a more magical scene has been constructed and the transition from palace to an almost dreamlike flying sequence is awesome.
Schumacher stated that the Genie character in the film was originally conceived as a Jazz figure in the mould of Cab Calloway and Fats Waller. Robin Williams wowed film audiences with his completely different interpretation; however, the stage show has gone back to the original roots of the character, with current Broadway standby, the charismatic Trevor Dion Nicholas, starring as the Genie in London in his West End debut. Trevor gave us a stripped down jazz version of a ‘Friend Like Me’, which clearly demonstrated his range, stage presence and star quality.
Bob Crowley explained that in the stage production the musical number ‘Friend Like Me’ is an homage to Busby Berkeley’s 1933 classic musical 42nd Street, with a stunning tap routine, glittering gold costumes and a set featuring massive Art Deco towers.
This eagerly awaited new musical has been wowing audiences and critics alike on Broadway. The New York Times calls it “Fabulous!” and “Extravagant!” and NBC-TV pronounced “Exactly what you wished for!”
Broadway shows haven’t always translated successfully to the West End, and Disney always have the added challenge of taking an animated film and extending that appeal to a wider audience. However, Schumacher revealed that Aladdin was originally composed as a musical which was then turned into an animated film, so essentially the show was always destined for the stage. The stage version omits some of the characters from the film, Abu the monkey and Rajah the tiger are excluded and Iago is not a parrot, but is played by Peter Howe, a real man. Aladdin himself is given three partners named Babkak (Nathan Amzi), Omar (Rachid Sabitri), and Kassim (Stephen Rahman-Hughes).
The show follows the familiar story of how a poor young man discovers a genie in a lamp and uses his wishes to marry the princess that he loves and to thwart the Sultan’s evil Grand Vizier. A classic tale located in an exotic world full of daring adventure, classic comedy and timeless romance.
Aladdin is billed as a bold new musical comedy, with exhilarating choreography, show-stopping performances and astonishing visual effects. Not forgetting the fantastic music, which includes all the cherished songs from the Academy Award-winning 1992 animated film, such as ‘A Whole New World’, ‘Prince Ali’ and ‘Arabian Nights’. Disney have high hopes for this new musical and I share their optimism, as from this sneak preview it certainly has all the ingredients of a hit show.
Aladdin opened on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre in March 2014, which was also the launch pad for Disney’s most successful musical to date, The Lion King, which bodes well for Aladdin.
Aladdin the musical in London is directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon), and composed by Tony Award winner Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast). Lyrics have been written by Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast) and Tony Award winner Tim Rice (The Lion King), with book and additional lyrics by Chad Beguelin (Elf). The amazing set design, lighting and costumes are by multiple Tony Award winners Bob Crowley, Gregg Barnes and Natasha Katz.
As hard-bitten and cynical as I am, it was not possible to be anything but awestruck by the visual treats on offer from what promises to be a dazzling show, I am already preparing my visit, I suggest you do likewise before all the tickets for Aladdin are snapped up.
Andrew Peterson
16 February 2016
