CMU School of Drama


Thursday, January 28, 2016

Disney’s Aladdin National Tour Will Fly Out Of Chicago

Luner on Theatre: The Midwest better make way for Prince Ali! A flying carpet, vicious villains and a genie who will grant just about anything you wish for is headed to the Windy City in 2017. Chicago has often found itself as the launching pad for many of Disney’s musicals heading out on national tours. It’s latest hit will be no exception.

3 comments:

Javier Galarza-Garcia said...

It is so great to hear all these National Tour announcements. Just like the announcement about Hamilton, this news about Aladdin will make so many people so happy. A lot of parents will have such a better chance to bring such an iconic Disney movie to life for their kids. I think ever since Disney started bringing their movies to the stage, the game has been changed and the limits have been extended. Converting a cartoon film into a realistic masterpiece is such a process, and now that process is being taken across the country. I can't wait till they reveal the cast for the tour and hopefully they'll come here to Pittsburgh. And hopefully the touring company will include some CMU school of drama alum.

Drew H said...

Disney theatrical is such a high grossing production company that I am not surprised at all that Aladdin is going on tour. It is one of those shows that kids will love but not enough to travel to Broadway so it is exciting that the show will travel to them. It was also interesting to hear how important your starting city is and how that is decided and announced even before the cast. The show is Point-of-Origin Chicago which means it will not just open in Chicago but everything will happen in Chicago from the rehearsal to the set (I am assuming). I know Chicago gets a lot of work but I bet building a traveling show is a lot of fun and it is cool so many shows are using Chicago as a starting place for that. I have heard really good things about Aladdin and I hope it comes to Pittsburgh at a time when I can see it. One last thought, I know there is a good amount of automation and general stage technology and I wonder how that will scale for a touring production.

Jake Poser said...

Aladdin, similar to all other Disney theatrical productions, seems to be larger than life. From the TONY award performance, to some research on Youtube, I am constantly impressed.
It was very interesting to learn about which city a show starts in impacts the rest of the tour's run. Chicago seems to be the place to be for many Broadway gone tour productions.
Aladdin's technical aspects from all ends seem impeccable. The scale of the production alone is mind boggling. I hope to be able to see this when it comes to Pittsburgh. The costumes by Gregg Barnes are glamorous and grand, the lighting and the scenic elements completely follow that trajectory. It will be interesting to see how a touring version of this immense production will translate the shear size of these technical elements. I am sure a Disney production will not disappoint.