Breaking News: Disney's ALADDIN to Play Pre-Broadway Tryout in Toronto Starting November 2013; Broadway Spring 2014

We reported a few weeks ago that MARY POPPINS will close on Broadway on March 3, 2013 to make way for renovations at the New Amsterdam Theater, followed by its next tenant, and a musical adaptation of the company's 1992 animated film Aladdin, likely in the Spring of 2014.

Now, Disney Theatrical Productions has confirmed that Aladdin, a new musical based on the Academy Award winning animated film, will play its pre-Broadway engagement at Toronto's Ed Mirvish Theatre(formerly the Canon) November 13, 2013 to January 12, 2014 and will open at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre in 2014. The show will feature music by Alan Menken; lyrics by the late Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin with a book by Beguelin. Casey Nicholaw will direct and choreograph.

Casting, Broadway dates and ticket information for both Toronto and Broadway will be announced at a later date. To receive news about Aladdin in the coming months, please sign-up for email alerts at www.aladdinbroadway.com.

This will be the first staging of this full-length two-act Aladdin. Nicholaw and the writers had previously collaborated on a well-received pilot production of the musical at Seattle's 5^th Avenue Theatre in summer 2011 mounted for a limited run with the goal of trying out new material and structure. Broadway will be an entirely new production featuring a new script, tunestack and a wholly original design scaled to the Broadway stage and an epic story.

Aladdin, adapted from centuries-old Arabian folktales including "One Thousand and One Nights," will feature a full Broadway score including the five beloved songs from the film.

The animated film Aladdin was released by Disney in 1992 and was a critical and box office smash, grossing over $500 million worldwide (not adjusted for inflation) and becoming the highest-grossing film of the year.

The film won the Oscar for Best Original Score and introduced the hit song "A Whole New World," which won the second of the film's two Academy Awards as Best Original Song. The Peabo Bryson/Regina Belle recording of the tune soared to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Aladdin will be designed by six-time Tony winning scenic designer Bob Crowley, three-time Tony winning lighting designer Natasha Katz, two-time Tony winning costume designer Gregg Barnes and sound designer Ken Travis.

The production team also includes illusion designer Jim Steinmeyer and hair designer Josh Marquette. The music team is headed by music supervisor and music director Michael Kosarin, who will also create the vocal and incidental music arrangements, joined by orchestrator Danny Troob and dance music arranger Glen Kelly.

Previous live versions of the film, unrelated to the new Broadway production, have included Disney's Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular at Disney California Adventure, regional productions of the show licensed last summer and versions of the script which have been available to schools for several years.

CREATIVE TEAM

ALAN MENKEN (Composer). Theater: God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, Little Shop Of Horrors, Real Life Funnies, Atina: Evil Queen Of The Galaxy, Kicks, The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz, Beauty And The Beast, A Christmas Carol, Weird Romance, King David, Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame, The Little Mermaid, Sister Act, Leap Of Faith, Aladdin and Newsies. Film: Little Shop Of Horrors, The Little Mermaid, Beauty And The Beast, Newsies, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Hercules, Life With Mikey, Lincoln, Home On The Range, Noel, Enchanted, Shaggy Dog, Tangled andMirror Mirror. Songs: Rocky V, Home Alone 2 and Captain America. Awards: 8 Oscars (19 nominations), 11 Grammys (including Song of the Year), 7 Golden Globes, Tony (plus 4 nominations), Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, New York Drama Critics, Olivier and London's Evening Standard Award, Drama League. Honors: Songwriter's Hall of Fame, Doctorates from New York University and University of North Carolina School of the Arts.