Jonathan Freeman Talks ALADDIN & Bringing Jafar From Screen To Stage

Broadway headliner and popular voice actor Jonathan Freeman discusses reprising his iconic role of the villainous Jafar in the new stage adaptation of the hit animated Disney film ALADDIN and the differences between the stage and screen versions as part of a new interview.

In describing the major differences between the two iterations of the largely desert-set musical piece, Freeman says, "My voice is the same. You can't teach an old Jafar new tricks! Physically we try to get him to look similar, but I want to show the audience some new things about the character."

Additionally, Freeman sheds some light on the out of town tryout of the new stage show and what rehearsals have been like for him personally, sharing, "Having worked on the show all these months, we made a lot of decisions. As theater artists, it's a great luxury to have time. That's why people love to go out of town. You can make mistakes and not have everyone look at you under a microscope. I've learned to trust the creative team. Like I mentioned, we have such a strong team. Going out of town, you have time to get the character into your body. Jafar isn't an easy person to create for the stage - he has a smooth surface interrupted by psychotic breaks - and all of this takes time to create. The work process is what makes it fun. You get to work with other people and you create a family."

Plus, Freeman offers some astute insight into the character of Jafar himself and what drew him to the role originally, stating, "I grew up on Disney movies and, as a kid, I always liked the villains. I loved everything about them - their scale and magic powers - that always appealed to me. So when I got the opportunity to take on Jafar for the film, it was a childhood dream come true."

Check out the original article on the matter here.