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Bringing a Classic Family Favorite to Life on Stage

DISNEY’S ALADDIN • November 3-6

Sponsored by Cornerstone Bank

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Tickets on sale August 16

Early in the evolution of Aladdin, composer Alan Menken, book writer/lyricist Chad Beguelin and director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw got together to write a brand new song for the stage musical... a unique collaboration that could only happen on Broadway. “We needed to write a new song for the Genie, [for] when he’s going to free Aladdin from the dungeon in Act II,” recalls Menken. “And we wrote this song called ‘Somebody’s Got Your Back.’ It was just one of these old-fashioned theatre moments where you lock three people in a room. I run over to the piano and try an idea, Casey gets up and gets kind of a movement idea, Chad shouts out lyric ideas... and within a half an hour, we had the beginning of this song. And we’re very proud of it. The best part of the process is always the initial creativity, the initial writing, and that was a great moment.”

It’s hard to imagine that the late, great lyricist Howard Ashman wouldn’t be ridiculously pleased with the success of his Disney-based collaborations with longtime songwriting partner Alan Menken. The duo’s iconic scores for the animated films The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast were given continued life as Broadway musicals seen by millions all over the country and the world.

But what about the pair’s last Disney project, 1992’s Aladdin? Die-hard fans know Alan and Howard had written 11 songs for the film, only to have most of them cut from early drafts of the screenplay and production was later marred by Howard’s woefully early passing from AIDS-related complications in 1991. Did any of those original songs still exist? Could a reimagined Aladdin ever make it to Broadway? The answer, thankfully, is “yes” and the final product joins several of

Howard Ashman’s original ideas for the film with brandnew, wholly theatrical notions from the new musical’s blue-chip creative team.

It started several years ago, when Tony®-nominated lyricist Chad Beguelin was asked to help put together a draft of a stage version of Aladdin. When Menken saw Beguelin’s initial draft, he realized the time was right to resurrect the film’s little-heard deleted songs and debut them to a new generation. “It’s been really a unique process,” Beguelin explains. “The task was to create Aladdin ‘the new stage musical,’ but also integrate these lost songs which are really wonderful. It’s been like putting together a musical puzzle.” While a host of new or previously-unheard songs takes flight, fans can expect all their favorites including the Menken/Tim Rice Oscar® winner “A Whole New World” and a totally swingin’ version of “Friend Like Me.”

Bringing Aladdin to Broadway and now to audiences across North America has been a memorable experience, even for stage adaptation-maestro Menken. “Coming to the show is like opening up, in a sense, a treasure trove, or a ‘Cave of Wonders,’ if you will, of material that was intended for the animated movie,” he says. “And it’s now being brought to life on stage!” Ultimately, Nicholaw thinks audiences will hail the “new” tunes and the brand-new songs and fully embrace this fresh, joyful take on a classic. “It’s about keeping all the stuff that everyone loves from the movie and in order to get it on stage, give it a musicalcomedy heart.”

By Courtney Potter

Click to read about the inspiration for the Genie and to discover more about the magic behind Aladdin.

Introduce your loved ones to the best-loved musical of all time this February, with this brand-new production directed by Drama Desk nominee and former Annie cast member Jenn Thompson. Holding onto hope when times are tough can take an awful lot of determination and, sometimes, an awful lot of determination comes in a surprisingly small package. Little Orphan Annie has reminded generations of theatergoers that sunshine is always right around the corner, and now the best-loved musical of all time is set to return in a new production, just as you remember it and just when we need it most. Annie features the iconic score written by Tony Award® winners Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin. This celebration of family, optimism and the American spirit remains the ultimate cure for all the hard knocks life throws your way.

Annie Fun Facts:

• Jenn Thompson, the director of the Annie national tour, stepped into the role of Pepper in the original 1977 Broadway production.

• The show has been on Broadway three times since its premiere in 1977. It was revived on Broadway in 1997 and in 2012, as well as playing Madison Square Garden for five weeks in 2006.

• Annie has been adapted into a movie three times. The first was in 1982, which starred Albert Finney, Aileen Quinn and Carol Burnett. Disney then adapted the show into a 1999 movie starring Victor Garber, Alicia Morton and Kathy Bates. In 2014, Jay-Z and Will Smith produced a movie version of Annie that starred Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhané Wallis and Cameron Diaz. It was also adapted into a live NBC TV show with Harry Connick, Jr., Celina Smith and Taraji P. Henson.

• Many of the child actresses who played Annie on Broadway have gone on to have illustrious acting careers. Former Annies include Sarah Jessica Parker (Hocus Pocus, Sex in the City), Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles), Lilla Crawford (Into the Woods) and Sadie Sink (Stranger Things).

• According to The New York Times, there are 700-900 productions of Annie running every year in the United States alone.

• A sequel to Annie, named Annie Warbucks, premiered off-Broadway in 1993 and ran for 200 performances.

Sponsored by The Club at Rockland Trust

Tickets on sale November 25

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