The Broadway show thread where we discuss all things Broadway

[elphaba91]

I've heard there are a lot of changes from the movie: there's no Abu (Aladdin has 3 best friends instead), and Iago is a person instead of a parrot. There are some new songs and some of the songs Howard Ashman wrote for the movie have been added. "Proud of Your Boy" is back in, I love that song. My friend who works at the theater warned me when I was getting the tickets not to expect a replica of the movie because it's a bit different. But I heard the guy who plays the Genie is amazing. I love the two songs they showed on TV this week - especially "Arabian Nights", that looked incredible. So I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm disappointed that they've swapped some of the most endearing animal characters with humans when it would have been entirely possible to do them with puppets. Melbourne was the lucky city to host the premiere of King Kong (which is opening on Broadway next year and is absolutely incredible and everyone should see it!) and there is a smaller monkey in the show (who I joked is Kong's understudy) and he is so lifelike! You could definitely do Abu and Iago with puppetry!

 

[rebeccam31]

He was great in the show-my daughter said "wow this is raunchier than Rocky Horror" LOL- crappy rainy night last night to be in the city though! Before the show my daughter went for a callback on an audition she did Thursday for a commercial and today they called and booked her!

Congrats to your daughter!!! So exciting. We are on our way to NYC right now--seeing Newsies tonight.

 

[rebeccam31]

Saw If/Then Tuesday nite in a packed theater. It was Incredible! Idina Mendzel was Fabulous and i loved the rest of the cast, too. It reminded me a little bit of Rent in that it was so nice to see a contemporary-set show. LOVED IT!!

So glad to hear this! Thanks for sharing.

 

[rebeccam31]

Looking forward to you reviews. we see it in June, but two friends of ours both saw it recently and were underwhelmed. I have to wonder if hey were Broadway fans or let their Disney bias influence them.

I actually don't have terribly high expectations. Disney musicals are very hit (Lion King, Mary Poppins) or miss (I'm looking at YOU, Little Mermaid!) for me. But I got discount tickets, and no matter what it beats staying home and doing housework.

 

[elgerber]

I actually don't have terribly high expectations. Disney musicals are very hit (Lion King, Mary Poppins) or miss (I'm looking at YOU, Little Mermaid!) for me. But I got discount tickets, and no matter what it beats staying home and doing housework.

I am going to see The Little Mermaid tonight, I hope its not a miss, at our states dinner theater. They do incredible shows, so I am hoping this one is no different. The young woman playing Ariel is amazing, we saw her in Fiddler and Bye Bye Birdie, and were very glad to see she got the role of Ariel.

 

[rebeccam31]

I am going to see The Little Mermaid tonight, I hope its not a miss, at our states dinner theater. They do incredible shows, so I am hoping this one is no different. The young woman playing Ariel is amazing, we saw her in Fiddler and Bye Bye Birdie, and were very glad to see she got the role of Ariel.

You may well like it. I was not a fan, not were the two eleven year olds I took with me. But obviously loads of other people love it! I hope you do, too.

 

[elgerber]

You may well like it. I was not a fan, not were the two eleven year olds I took with me. But obviously loads of other people love it! I hope you do, too.

Part of Your World is my all time favorite Disney song, so I think that right there will make me love it.

 

[rebeccam31]

Part of Your World is my all time favorite Disney song, so I think that right there will make me love it.

It's a great song. Oh, and our Ursula was truly fantastic! I highly enjoyed her.

 

[elgerber]

It's a great song. Oh, and our Ursula was truly fantastic! I highly enjoyed her.

We have an understudy for Ariel! Wahhhhh we don't get to see the young woman we like so much.

 

[elphaba91]

We have an understudy for Ariel! Wahhhhh we don't get to see the young woman we like so much.

Most of the time I have been pleasantly surprised by understudies! There have only been a couple of times that I've been disappointed - and there have also been a couple of times I've wished we had the understudy instead! Who knows, that understudy might be a star in the making and you'll be able to say you saw her first!

 

[Nechville]

We have an understudy for Ariel! Wahhhhh we don't get to see the young woman we like so much.

Any chance you are at Chanhassen? If so, please report back how it is! Thinking of going!

 

[JenM]

I'm disappointed that they've swapped some of the most endearing animal characters with humans when it would have been entirely possible to do them with puppets. Melbourne was the lucky city to host the premiere of King Kong (which is opening on Broadway next year and is absolutely incredible and everyone should see it!) and there is a smaller monkey in the show (who I joked is Kong's understudy) and he is so lifelike! You could definitely do Abu and Iago with puppetry!

Actually, King Kong's Broadway debut is delayed. They're postponing it to work on creative changes, and a revival of "On The Town" is taking that theater instead.

It makes sense why they're not using puppets for Aladdin. Iago is a character that spouts one-liners for the whole movie. Even in The Lion King, which used a puppet for Zazu, there was a live actor controlling it on stage the whole time. They'd need to do the same thing for Iago, which would basically be repeating what they already did for Lion King, and for a lot more dialogue. Iago sits on Jafar's shoulder, which means the actor would be inches away from Jafar, which would just look silly. For Zazu the actor was able to position him so that the bird was always in flight.

As far as Abu, the puppet would need to be controlled by an actor - which, again, worked for Lion King because nearly all of the characters worked with elaborate costumes or puppets, but it would stick out if it was just one actor doing so next to Aladdin all the time. Abu also had no dialogue in the movie. In the show Aladdin's character has been fleshed out a lot more (references to his mother, which is how Proud of Your Boy worked its way back in), so they gave back the three buddies that were apparently cut from the original film.

I loved Abu and Iago in the movie, and I was surprised when I first heard they wouldn't be in the show, but it does make sense why they would have changed it.

 

[elphaba91]

Actually, King Kong's Broadway debut is delayed. They're postponing it to work on creative changes, and a revival of "On The Town" is taking that theater instead. It makes sense why they're not using puppets for Aladdin. Iago is a character that spouts one-liners for the whole movie. Even in The Lion King, which used a puppet for Zazu, there was a live actor controlling it on stage the whole time. They'd need to do the same thing for Iago, which would basically be repeating what they already did for Lion King, and for a lot more dialogue. Iago sits on Jafar's shoulder, which means the actor would be inches away from Jafar, which would just look silly. For Zazu the actor was able to position him so that the bird was always in flight. As far as Abu, the puppet would need to be controlled by an actor - which, again, worked for Lion King because nearly all of the characters worked with elaborate costumes or puppets, but it would stick out if it was just one actor doing so next to Aladdin all the time. Abu also had no dialogue in the movie. In the show Aladdin's character has been fleshed out a lot more (references to his mother, which is how Proud of Your Boy worked its way back in), so they gave back the three buddies that were apparently cut from the original film. I loved Abu and Iago in the movie, and I was surprised when I first heard they wouldn't be in the show, but it does make sense why they would have changed it.

I know King Kong has been delayed, hence why I said next year, not this year Pity, as I was hoping it would be in previews when we're in New York in late November! I still think puppets could work for Aladdin. King Kong has a LOT of puppeteers (called the King's Men) - for Kong, a snake and the smaller monkey - and you really didn't notice them. And that monkey did interact with the other characters a lot, sitting on shoulders, jumping on people, etc. and it was not at all strange (he actually had 2 puppeteers). As with a lot of special effects on stage, you just have to use tricks with lighting, movement, etc. to make the audience look where you want them to. He didn't have actual lines, but he did make monkey sounds and those (and Kong's roars) were all done live each night from the back of the theatre, so the puppeteers were only controlling the puppets but not doing their noises (unlike Avenue Q). It's fine that they have chosen not to go the puppet route for Aladdin, I just personally find it disappointing that they are making big changes like cutting/changing species of main characters and I think Disney has to anticipate that some people will feel that way and perhaps not see it as a result. Just my opinion. I have not seen this show (and won't unless it comes to Melbourne - I will not bother seeing it in NYC), but I have seen puppets work really well on stage and could imagine they could have made it work somehow.

 

[elgerber]

Most of the time I have been pleasantly surprised by understudies! There have only been a couple of times that I've been disappointed - and there have also been a couple of times I've wished we had the understudy instead! Who knows, that understudy might be a star in the making and you'll be able to say you saw her first!

We have seen some great understudies, even as Elpheba. It's just a drag when you go expecting to see a specific actor that you are a fan of. I figured this girl would be great, as they always are. She was indeed wonderful, and it was amazing how much her speaking voice sounded like Jodi Benson!!

Any chance you are at Chanhassen? If so, please report back how it is! Thinking of going!

Yes, we were ! It was really cute, and the understudy was fantastic, and I know the girl who normally plays her is amazing as well. That said, it isn't my favorite show I've ever seen. That would speak to Disney, and the music etc they added, not to Chanhassen. Everything Chanhassen does it top notch! I liked Fiddler on the Roof more, but this was also really good, and the crowd loved it. And its a wonderful show for kids if you were going to take children! My dd is 18, and one of the eels stole her shoe during Kiss the Girl LOL. Some of it was excellent, Ursula had amazing pipes!!!
The waiter at the table next to us told them the show is sold out through summer, not sure if that's true, but it was packed to the rafters last night!

 

[Nechville]

Yes, we were ! It was really cute, and the understudy was fantastic, and I know the girl who normally plays her is amazing as well. That said, it isn't my favorite show I've ever seen. That would speak to Disney, and the music etc they added, not to Chanhassen. Everything Chanhassen does it top notch! I liked Fiddler on the Roof more, but this was also really good, and the crowd loved it. And its a wonderful show for kids if you were going to take children! My dd is 18, and one of the eels stole her shoe during Kiss the Girl LOL. Some of it was excellent, Ursula had amazing pipes!!!
The waiter at the table next to us told them the show is sold out through summer, not sure if that's true, but it was packed to the rafters last night!

Thanks for the report! I believe I can still get tickets through work for a weekday performance.
I love Chanhassen. When I was growing up, my dad and I would drive seven hours to go there (before I moved to MN)!

 

[elgerber]

Thanks for the report! I believe I can still get tickets through work for a weekday performance. I love Chanhassen. When I was growing up, my dad and I would drive seven hours to go there (before I moved to MN)!

I am so excited that they are doing Hello Dolly in the fall!!!

 

[snapppyd]

We really enjoyed Aladdin. The first ten minutes or so I was thinking "this will be disappointing like The Little Mermaid".

Then the Genie appeared - he is fabulous! I thought the sets and the costumes were fantastic. The scene on the magic carpet was beautiful.
I liked the chemistry between Jasmine and Aladdin - their voices blended so well.

Hands down the actor who played the Genie completely stole the show - I loved him!

I would give this a

 

[rebeccam31]

We really enjoyed Aladdin. The first ten minutes or so I was thinking "this will be disappointing like The Little Mermaid". Then the Genie appeared - he is fabulous! I thought the sets and the costumes were fantastic. The scene on the magic carpet was beautiful. I liked the chemistry between Jasmine and Aladdin - their voices blended so well. Hands down the actor who played the Genie completely stole the show - I loved him! I would give this a

Agree 100% with your review. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[snapppyd]

Agree 100% with your review. I was pleasantly surprised.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it too.

 

[ez]

who has seen the new play with Neil Patrick Harris. Would it be appropriate for a 9 year old? also is it planning on running indefinitely or like a limited engagement sort of thing?