Disney Theatrical Productions’ latest hit Aladdin, a new musical comedy based on the Academy Award®-winning animated film, recently made its debut on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Playing to packed houses, the show has received Best Musical nominations from the Tony®, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards, among more than a dozen nominations.
Aladdin takes audiences on an unforgettable magic carpet ride to the fantastical world of Agrabah. The dazzling production features music by Tony Award and eight-time Oscar® winner Alan Menken and lyrics by the late two-time Oscar winner Howard Ashman, three-time Tony Award and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice and three-time Tony Award nominee Chad Beguelin. The show is also directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw.
During the original feature-animation production for Aladdin, Menken and Ashman wrote 11 songs for the film, only to have most of them cut from early drafts of the screenplay. Some of those long-lost gems were restored for this brand-new stage production. We dove into the Cave of Wonders to find 10 other little-known facts about the Great White Way’s newest hit musical:
1. There are a total of 18 scenes throughout the show, each containing multiple looks and Agrabah locales.
2. More than 150 moving lights brighten the stage.
3. There are 20 tons of beautiful scenery hanging for the production.
4. Everything worn in Disney’s Aladdin was custom-made by hand by more than 350 people working in nearly 30 different shops.
5. 337 costumes—based on 136 individual designs—were created for the show.
6. 1,225 lush fabrics were selected to bring the costumes to life, and 712 different styles of beads added even more pizzazz.
7. There are 1,428 Swarovski crystals on a pair of men’s pants in the finale of the showstopping musical number “Friend Like Me.”
8. There are more than 100 automated scenic effects in the show.
9. For all that terpsichorean toe-tapping, 161 pairs of custom shoes grace the cast’s feet.
10. It’s a frenzy backstage, with 108 costume changes taking place in less than one minute.
All the painstaking work and attention to detail is magic in the making!