The Aladdin Stage Musical Takes Us to A Whole New WOrld

As a kid, my two favorite Disney movies were Aladdin and The Lion King. With Aladdin especially, I was just as much a fan of the sequels as I was the original, and “A Whole New World” has always been one of my favorite Disney jams.

Needless to say, I was pretty stoked to catch the National Tour of Aladdin on Broadway here in San Diego, and was even fortunate enough to chat with one of the stars, Aaron Choi as Iago, prior to the show.

Anand Nagraj as Jafar and Aaron Choi as Iago Aladdin National Tour - Photo by Deen van Meer Disney

Aladdin Delivered in Every Way Possible

Taking on a big show like this is intimidating. I’ve heard the same thing from some of the actors from Les Misérables, and our time at MJ: The Musical also taught us how every show has to adapt to the stage and setting they’re in each time they come to a new city. Some stages are bigger or smaller, some have more or less technical abilities than other, and every show requires a thought process that the audience never has to worry about, so long as they show is good.

The opening song, “Arabian Nights,” almost had me in tears. The way everyone on stage sounded sang to my soul and called on the nostalgic feelings I have of watching the movie as a child. It should also be noted that Marcus M. Martin absolutely slayed the role of the Genie, which is arguably one of the most important roles in the entire show.

Marcus M. Martin as Genie and Company Aladdin National Tour - Photo by Deen van Meer Disney

Let’s also talk about Adi Roy as Aladdin for a moment, too. I loved him, and it was also made a little better by the fact that he looks like one of my best friends and I felt like I was rooting on a homie watching the show. Resemblance aside, he was also an impeccable talent who has managed to get the sly half-smile of Aladdin’s charm down to a T — which makes sense, considering he’s had the role for almost two years.

Of course, no version of Aladdin would be complete without Jasmine, who was played by Senzel Ahmady and made her national debut on this show. Her voice sounded like a cartoon princess, in the best way possible. She was so perfect for the role, and the chemistry between her and Roy was so palpable and believable, I wouldn’t be surprised if they dated behind the scenes.

Senzel Ahmady as Jasmine and Adi Roy as Aladdin Aladdin National Tour - Photo by Deen van Meer Disney

Additions From the Movie

Anyone who’s seen the animated Aladdin knows it barely has a 90-minute runtime, and even though the live-action movie is longer, it may seem like there isn’t enough story to make a 3-hour musical.

Firstly, the runtime for the show, with the intermission, is hardly 2 1/2 hours long. Considering the amount of children in the show, that actually worked in its favor, and it was one of the quickest-moving Broadway shows I’ve seen. That said, my partner has also seen the show live in New York City, and he was bummed that a few songs ultimately got the chop for our show.

Still, one of my favorite parts of the additional storyline was how often Aladdin sang to his deceased mother. He sings “Proud of Your Boy” a number of times throughout the show as a reminder that everything he does, he does with the intent of making his mother proud of him.

Jake Letts as Babkak, Ben Chavez as Omar, Adi Roy as Aladdin, and Colt Prattesin as Kassim Aladdin National Tour - Photo by Deen van Meer Disney

I also absolutely loved Aladdin’s friends, Babhak (Jake Letts), Omar (Nathan Levy), and Kassim (Colt Prattes). Like Aladdin and Jasmine, these three had such a great chemistry with each other and added so much to the show for me. They were additional comic relief outside of the Genie, and the choreographed swordfight in “Somebody’s Got Your Back” was one of my favorite parts of the show.

Similarities to the Aladdin Movie

I’m not mad about any of the additions, but I absolutely loved all of the things that were the same from the animated movie. Among those was the cave, where Aladdin is the Diamond in the Rough who finds the lamp with the genie. The set design for the cave was incredible, and I just can’t imagine what it’s like to have to set up, take down, and travel with how intricate everything was.

Marcus M. Martin as Genie, Adi Roy as Aladdin, and Company Aladdin National Tour - Photo by Deen van Meer Disney

Another fun piece of ingenuity was during “A Whole New World,” where Jasmine and Aladdin actually flew around the stage on a “magic” carpet ride. All I can really say about that is that they did a great job hiding the strings or the hydraulics or whatever else they used to get that to work out. I do kind of wish there was more visuals going on, because the stage was basically black with just a light coming up from underneath them, but it was well done nonetheless.

Plus, there were multiple rounds and renditions of “Prince Ali,” which struck the same nostalgic cord in me as the “Arabian Nights” opening did. Some melodies just stick with you through life, and that’s one of them. I’m just grateful they crushed it.

I also thought Anand Nagraj did an amazing job as Jafar, though I wish we were able to see him do some more things with his staff. We never got to see him put the Sultan under any real trance, which was a bummer, but I loved it every time he and Iago came on the stage to “complain” about what was going on. Plus, Jafar’s quick-changes right in front of our eyes at the end was also well done as he made his way to being trapped in the lamp for himself.

Adi Roy as Aladdin Aladdin National Tour - Photo by Deen van Meer Disney

Overall Thoughts

I really think everyone brought the magic to life as best as they could with this show. Gregg Barnes did a great job designing the costumes, and Natasha Katz crushed it as the lighting director. Since the sets were some of my favorite things, props to Bob Crowley for making all of that happen.

There’s always so much going on behind the curtain that the audiences never know about, and oftentimes don’t appreciate, as well. It really felt like everyone involved in this show was a genuine fan of the source material, which is always evident within the production. Sometimes, performances can feel a little lackluster, but this production brought just as much energy as The Wiz, and it was also really nice to see the amount of younger people in the audience this time, as well. Disney will attract the younglings, for sure, but it’s always good to see the younger generation have an interest in live shows, regardless of the brand behind them.

Overall, I think everyone in the show should be proud of themselves. I feel fortunate to have been able to see this in person.

Have you ever seen Aladdin live on stage? What were your thoughts, or is it still on your list to see? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!