“A Whole New World” is more sparkly than the original, presenting a delightful bromance between Aladdin and Genie”

American musical ‘Aladdin’ to premiere in Korea in November
Video production presentation with director, composer, etc.
“Korean actors’ skills are better than before”

The musical ‘Aladdin’ depicts Aladdin’s adventure and love in the mysterious kingdom of Agrabah. The ‘magic carpet’ that flies over the stage and the gorgeous costumes and stage using 2,000 fabrics imported from 9 countries including Morocco and Turkey are the main attractions of the performance. ⓒMatthew Murphy

“The goal was to make the Genie look human. I wanted to emphasize his ‘bromance’ with Aladdin. That’s why I made him a dancing, funny stand-up comedian instead of using cutting-edge technology to transform him.”

Director and choreographer Casey Niccolò, who directed the Broadway musical “Aladdin” in New York, USA, revealed the background of the production of the show at a press conference held via video conference in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 20th. The production team gathered at Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theater and this remote press conference was also attended by star composer Alan Menken, who created the OSTs for Disney animations such as “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast,” and Anne Quart, executive producer of Disney Theatrical Group.

Anne Quart/Casey Nicolo/Alan Menken

‘Aladdin’, which will premiere on November 22nd at the Charlotte Theater in Songpa-gu, Seoul, is a large-scale musical based on the Disney animation of the same name released in 1992. Since its premiere in Seattle, USA in 2011, it has been performed by 11 production companies around the world, including the UK, Australia, and Japan, and has attracted an audience of 20 million. The Korean performance is being produced by S&Co, which has performed musicals such as ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘The Lion King’.

The show will feature newly composed or rearranged music to fit the musical. Menken said, “I added ‘These Palace Walls’ because I thought we needed new music that focused on Jasmine’s love and relationships. I had the basic melody done in 45 minutes.” The film’s two- to three-minute song, ‘Friend Like Me,’ was transformed into a gorgeous eight-minute-long, swinging jazz-style piece. Nicolo added, “We rearranged the signature song ‘A Whole New World’ to make it more romantic and sparkly than the original.”

The creative team also revealed the backstory behind ‘Aladdin’. Menken said, “‘A Whole New World’ that Aladdin sings was originally a song expressing the excitement of riding a magic carpet and feeling ‘the world is at my feet’, but it was transformed into beautiful lyrics singing about love after meeting lyricist Tim Rice.” Characters that were in the original animation production plan but inevitably left out also appear on stage. Aladdin’s three friends, Kasim, Omar, and Bobkak, serve as helpers.

The 37 cast members participating in the premiere were selected through 10 auditions. Kim Junsu, Seo Kyung-soo, and Park Kang-hyun will play the role of Aladdin. Jung Sung-hwa, Jeong Won-young, and Kang Hong-seok will play the role of Genie, and Lee Sung-kyung, Min Kyung-ah, and Choi Ji-hye will play the role of Jasmine. Lee Sung-kyung will be challenging stage acting for the first time through ‘Aladdin’. Quart said, “Compared to when the musical ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was performed in Korea 20 years ago, I could see that the capabilities of Korean actors have greatly improved.”

Reporter Lee Ji-yoon [email protected]

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2024-08-21 08:42:32