Disney's ALADDIN Announces Casting For East Lansing's Limited Premiere Engagement

Casting has been announced for the East Lansing engagement of Disney's Aladdin. The hit Broadway musical will begin performances in East Lansing at Wharton Center on Wednesday, December 4, for a limited engagement through Sunday, December 15. The press opening night is Friday, December 6, at 8:00 p.m.

The production features Jonah Ho'okano (Aladdin), Korie Lee Blossey (Genie), Kaena Kekoa (Jasmine), Jonathan Weir (Jafar), Reggie De Leon (Iago), Jerald Vincent (Sultan), Zach Bencal (Babkak), Ben Chavez (Omar), Colt Prattes (Kassim), Jeremy Gaston (Standby Genie), Adam Stevenson (Standby Jafar & Sultan) and Frank Viveros (Standby Genie, Sultan & Babkak).

Rounding out the cast are Michael Bullard, Michael Callahan, Cornelius Davis, Bobby Daye, Mathew deGuzman, Max B. Ehrlich, Carissa Fiorillo, Keisha Gilles, Erik Hernandez, Orianna Hilliard, Cameron Hobbs, Cameron Mitchell Jackson, Albert Jennings, Kenway Hon Wai K. Kua, Jason Scott MacDonald, Xavier McKinnon, Angelina Mullins, Celina Nightengale, Cassidy Stoner, Liv Symone, Annie Wallace, Michelle West and Zach Williams.

In East Lansing, Aladdin will play Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m. There is an additional matinee performance on Thursday, December 5 at 2:00 p.m. VIP Ticket Packages, which include prime seat locations, a commemorative souvenir program and an exclusive merchandise item, are also available. Tickets are available at the Auto-Owners Insurance Ticket Office at Wharton Center, by calling (517) 432-2000 or toll free at 1-800-WHARTON (Monday - Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday Noon-6 p.m.), or via the Internet at www.whartoncenter.com. Orders for groups of ten or more may be placed by calling (517) 884-3130.

Aladdin, the hit musical based on the Academy Award-winning animated film, opened on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre to critical acclaim on March 20, 2014, and quickly established itself as one of the biggest new blockbusters in recent years, breaking 14 New Amsterdam Theatre house records; worldwide it has welcomed more than 10 million people and grossed over $1 billion. Its global footprint includes productions in Tokyo, Germany and on tour across North America.

Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, under the direction of Thomas Schumacher, the show features music by Tony Award and eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, Sister Act), lyrics by two-time Oscar winner Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid), three-time Tony Award and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice (Evita, Aida) and six-time Tony Award nominee Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), with a book by Beguelin, and is directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon).

Aladdin, adapted from the animated Disney film and centuries-old folktales including One Thousand and One Nights, is brought to fresh theatrical life in this bold new musical. Aladdin's journey sweeps audiences into an exotic world of daring adventure, classic comedy and timeless romance. This new production features a full score, including the five cherished songs from the Academy Award-winning soundtrack and more written especially for the stage.

The animated film Aladdin was released by Disney in 1992 and was a critical and box office smash, 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 is designed by seven-time Tony winning scenic designer Bob Crowley, six-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, hair designer Josh Marquette and makeup designer Milagros Medina-Cerdeira. The music team is headed by music supervisor and music director Michael Kosarin, who also created the vocal and incidental music arrangements, joined by orchestrator Danny Troob and dance music arranger Glen Kelly.

For more information, visit AladdinTheMusical.com/tour, Facebook.com/Aladdin and Twitter.com/Aladdin.

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