Aladdin on "Broadway"?

[Johnny Quest]

Just saw Aladdin on Broadway last night. It's a major disappointment and a complete waste of money. Today I feel like I was ripped off! These tickets are not cheap.

Telly Leung isn't cruise ship level talent, let alone "Broadway". He gave an extremely poor performance as Aladdin, which had no chemistry and was out of sync with the entire cast, especially Jasmine. No dance talent whatsoever and a cringe worthy voice. The absolute worst Broadway lead ever! To the point where it dragged down the entire show. The audience's final applause for him was delayed and forced. Don't spend a dime on this unless they bring back Adam Jacobs or an equivalent "Broadway" talent.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Just saw Aladdin on Broadway last night. It's a major disappointment and a complete waste of money. Today I feel like I was ripped off! These tickets are not cheap.

Telly Leung isn't cruise ship level talent, let alone "Broadway". He gave an extremely poor performance as Aladdin, which had no chemistry and was out of sync with the entire cast, especially Jasmine. No dance talent whatsoever and a cringe worthy voice. The absolute worst Broadway lead ever! To the point where it dragged down the entire show. The audience's final applause for him was delayed and forced. Don't spend a dime on this unless they bring back Adam Jacobs or an equivalent "Broadway" talent.

OMG! And those tickets aren't cheap! I hope that at least the orchestra sounded good-DS is a musician in New York City and he has a good friend who works in the orchestra on "Aladdin".

 

[Hootenany]

Maybe an "off-night" for Telly Leung? We saw Aladdin this past August on Broadway and it was AMAZING! I will say that while Telly Leung was not a stand-out, we were so surprised by the performance of Major Attaway as Genie! He 100% carried that show! It's amazing that Aladdin is his Broadway debut!

 

[Johnny Quest]

OMG! And those tickets aren't cheap! I hope that at least the orchestra sounded good-DS is a musician in New York City and he has a good friend who works in the orchestra on "Aladdin".

Yes, the orchestra sounded great.

 

[Johnny Quest]

Maybe an "off-night" for Telly Leung? We saw Aladdin this past August on Broadway and it was AMAZING! I will say that while Telly Leung was not a stand-out, we were so surprised by the performance of Major Attaway as Genie! He 100% carried that show! It's amazing that Aladdin is his Broadway debut!

This was much worse than an "off night"...he doesn't belong. Major Attaway carried the show for us as well.

 

[Micca]

@Johnny Quest How ya doin'? Good to see your post but I'm sorry to hear about Aladdin. I'm not much of a theater guy but I love Aladdin and the music so thought it might be a good choice. I guess I'll take a pass, it seems like a show with a lot of potential. OTOH the best part of Aladdin (the movie) was Robin Williams--a hard act to follow. Maybe impossible.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Yes, the orchestra sounded great.

Thanks-Augie will be glad!

 

[Johnny Quest]

@Johnny Quest How ya doin'? Good to see your post but I'm sorry to hear about Aladdin. I'm not much of a theater guy but I love Aladdin and the music so thought it might be a good choice. I guess I'll take a pass, it seems like a show with a lot of potential. OTOH the best part of Aladdin (the movie) was Robin Williams--a hard act to follow. Maybe impossible.

Nice to hear from you Micca. If I were you I would look for the North American tour and see that show. The original lead actor is in that show.

 

[Mattimation]

We saw it back in February for what turned out to be the second-to-last show with the entire original cast, and the guy who played Aladdin was great! The Genie was definitely the best though. We thought Jasmine was terrible - her voice was so high pitched and scratchy, and she wasn't as strong a dancer as the rest of the cast. By the end we were convinced she was sick, because we just couldn't believe someone so untalented could actually get a lead on Broadway. I don't think we'd say it's a waste of money, but it's definitely not Broadway caliber. That being said, we are seeing it on tour and I am intrigued to see it again.

 

[FlowerGleamAndGlow]

I like Telly Leung, but I don't know if he's necessarily right for the role of Aladdin. I'm thinking about seeing it on tour, since Adam Jacobs is performing in it. I might be able to get tickets for significantly cheaper than on Broadway.

 

[Johnny Quest]

We saw it back in February for what turned out to be the second-to-last show with the entire original cast, and the guy who played Aladdin was great! The Genie was definitely the best though. We thought Jasmine was terrible - her voice was so high pitched and scratchy, and she wasn't as strong a dancer as the rest of the cast. By the end we were convinced she was sick, because we just couldn't believe someone so untalented could actually get a lead on Broadway. I don't think we'd say it's a waste of money, but it's definitely not Broadway caliber. That being said, we are seeing it on tour and I am intrigued to see it again.

I just think due to the producers ranking talent pretty low on the priority list, the whole show brings down "Broadway standards".
Totally agree about Jasmine. Absolutely not Broadway level.

 

[Johnny Quest]

I like Telly Leung, but I don't know if he's necessarily right for the role of Aladdin. I'm thinking about seeing it on tour, since Adam Jacobs is performing in it. I might be able to get tickets for significantly cheaper than on Broadway.

I might see the tour show if it's absolutely convenient for us, but I don' really want to waste more money on this production.

 

[Jason_V]

I saw Aladdin when it was doing previews a few years ago here in Seattle. A female friend and I enjoyed the show and certainly didn't have any issues with it...and my companion is very VERY critical of singing talent. It stinks this was your experience, Johnny. For what it's worth, I'm sorry.

 

[SWRdtWD]

I just read this and I'm glad it wasn't me...

The Aladdin actor was AWFUL...the genie was good and Jafar was cool as jafar...

Overall, I agree the show is massively overrated/overpriced.

 

[Johnny Quest]

This experience will make me very "cautious" when considering another Disney on Broadway...online reviews can be misleading.

 

[FlowerGleamAndGlow]

This experience will make me very "cautious" when considering another Disney on Broadway...online reviews can be misleading.

I would say, the only Disney Broadway show I've seen that had fantastic choreography and a great cast, is "Newsies." It just finished touring North America, but it was recorded in full and is on Netflix currently.

 

[Destinyz12]

That's disappointing to hear. I was lucky enough to see it with the original cast and they were amazing, especially the genie. But I have second thoughts now about seeing it for a second time since nothing will likely compare to that original cast.