Aladdin Announces Australian Premiere in Sydney Tomorrow

Disney's Aladdin, a new musical comedy based on the classic Academy Award®- winning animated film, will have its Australian premiere in Sydney at the Capitol Theatre tomorrow night, 11th August 2016.

Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (The Lion King, Mary Poppins in Australia), Aladdin features music by Tony Award and eight-time Oscar® winner Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, Sister Act, Little Shop of Horrors), 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 four-
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, Something Rotten!).

The principal cast features Michael James Scott in the role of the Genie, Ainsley Melham as Aladdin, Arielle Jacobs as Jasmine, Adam Murphy as Jafar, Aljin Abella as Iago, George Henare as the Sultan, Adam Jon Fiorentino as Kassim, Troy Sussman as Babkak and Robert Tripolino as Omar.

Aladdin is considered one of the largest productions ever mounted in Australia with a total cast of 37, a staggering 337 costumes and 70 tonnes of scenery and automation in an unforgettable theatrical event lauded by the New York Times as "fabulous".

An unprecedented 1,225 different fabrics, 712 different styles of beads, almost 500,000 Swarovski crystals and 161 pairs of custom-made shoes have been used to make the glittering costumes, predominantly handcrafted in Sydney. Thirty tonnes of exotic flying scenery and 40 tonnes of automation and staging have been built to recreate the fantasy city of Agrabah including the colourful marketplace, the lush palace of The Sultan and his princess daughter Jasmine and the legendary Cave of Wonders.

Thomas Schumacher, President and Producer, Disney Theatrical Productions, said, "We are hugely proud of this Australian production from Casey Nicholaw, his creative team and the Australian cast and crew. The more we work here, the more we are impressed by a deep pool of musical theatre talent that only continues to grow. This company represents the very best of the best from here in Australia and around the world."

NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres welcomed the production to Sydney and said it would be a major drawcard for visitors to the State. "Disney's Aladdin will be one of the grandest productions ever staged in Sydney and more than 120,000 visitors are expected to travel to the harbour city to see this spectacular show, generating around $39 million in visitor expenditure. The NSW Government's investment in Disney's Aladdin through our tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, is also driving the business behind show business, with the vast majority of the production's costumes made in Sydney and the production supporting jobs in the hospitality, theatre and the tourism industries."

Aladdin, adapted from the 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.

Aladdin opened on Broadway to critical acclaim on March 20th, 2014 and quickly established itself as one of the biggest new blockbusters in recent years, breaking 11 New Amsterdam Theatre house records and welcoming over 2.5 million people worldwide. Its global footprint has expanded to include productions in Tokyo, Hamburg, London and now Sydney with a North American tour to launch in 2017.

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 an Oscar for Best Original Score and a second for Best Original Song with "A Whole New World," which also won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

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.

To buy tickets go to: www.aladdinthemusical.com.au

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