RIALTO CHATTER: Disney's ALADDIN Headed to 5th Avenue in Seattle?

The Seattle Times is reporting that "The 5th Avenue Theatre has apparently forged a deal with the Walt Disney Company to stage the world premiere of a new Disney musical, "Aladdin," in the summer.

Dates and other specifics have not been set. A planned July production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" will be postponed until the 2011-12 season, according to an internal 5th Avenue memo obtained by The Seattle Times. A spokesman for the theater had no comment."

The film of Aladdin, featuring a score by Alan Menken and lyrics by both Howard Ashman and Tim Rice was released by Disney in 1992 and was the most successful film of the year, earning $217 million in the United States and over $504 million worldwide. 

The film starrEd Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Jonathan Freeman, Linda Larkin, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried, Douglas Seale and Jim Cummings and also featured the singing voice of Tony winner Lea Salonga. 

In an InDepth Interview with BroadwayWorld.com back in November, Alan Menken told us that:

PC: I was just talking to Don Hahn about all the great cut songs you wrote with Howard for ALADDIN. Could you tell me about those?

AM: We're getting them back!

PC: How so?

AM: We're doing a stage musical of ALADDIN and all those songs are going to be in it.

PC: How wonderful! Tell me everything! Who's doing the adaptation with you?

AM: Chad Beguelin wrote the book. He did a fantastic job. He and I also wrote a new song that will be going in, along with a lot of the cut Howard Ashman songs and some of the cut Tim Rice songs, and a song that I wrote music and lyrics for that was in the theatrical adaptation at California Adventure.

PC: That's quite a team, then - you, Ashman, Rice, Beguelin! Will it be substantially different from the film?

AM: It has more of the feeling of a Hope & Crosby road picture - which is what Howard and I originally wanted for the musical. We are going to try it out, hopefully, next summer.

PC: Do you have a design team in place yet? It will be especially important for a stage ALADDIN, I would think.

AM: No, not yet.

In the film, Aladdin, a clever street urchin, is wrongly accused of kidnapping the beautiful Princess Jasmine and locked away in a dungeon, leading him to a cave of wonders and the discovery of a magical lamp. One rub of the lamp releases a larger-than-life, fun-loving Genie ready to grant Aladdin three wishes. Together, they make their way into the city of Agraba, where the devious, power-hungry Jafar and his parrot Iago are threatening to take over the kingdom. Aladdin and his newfound friends must now use their wits-and three wishes-to outsmart the villains and save the kingdom in this musical adventure full of unforgettable songs and lovable characters.