*My fellow blogger Jamie at The Daily Adventures Of Me wrote this post. All her opinions are her own and not swayed by outside sources.*
Disney’s Aladdin the Musical at the New Amsterdam Theater on Broadway, NY
*While in NYC this weekend, I went to see Disney’s Aladdin the Musical with my friend and our kids. I do love shows, but this wouldn’t have been my first choice of which one to see, especially for the large price tag, but was I wrong! This was my son’s first experience at a Broadway show and I know he will now develop a love for theater like his mom. It was so great for him because the music was fabulous, but there was also so much going on during the show, like fight scenes and big dance numbers, it keeps even the most active child entranced. This show was fabulous and now ranks among my favorite shows ever.
Part of why I was a little skeptical is that I thought the movie Aladdin was wonderful and wonder why the entertainment industry tries to remake things that are close to perfection. Although this show included all my favorite Aladdin songs, like Arabian Nights and Friend Like Me, it also had a couple of new numbers. The best new number was the Genie’s Disney melody. It really made us all smile.
I love interesting architecture and the New Amsterdam Theatre where the show is running was built in 1903 and is one of the oldest running theaters on Broadway. The interior is decorated in an art deco style and its embellishments are charming and worth seeing. We loved our seats, that we were lucky enough to pick up same day, as they were free-standing chairs in the back of the orchestra. You can tell this theater is run by Disney, because they even had booster seats for the kids to use.
The highlights to the show for me were the scenery, special effects and the actors playing Aladdin and Genie. The scenery was sparkly and made the scenes come alive. The special effect left me wondering how they made that happen, although in one instance my seven-year old explained the magic to me- kids. Aladdin was played by Adam Jacobs who had a wonderful voice, but also played Aladdin’s charm and good heart perfectly. Robin Williams was so good in the movie Aladdin, I didn’t know that I would accept another actor playing the role, but James Monroe Iglehart played Genie with aplomb and humor, a strong voice and really excelled at the role.
The wine comes in cool Aladdin sippy cups!
I would highly recommend this show to everyone and hope to return to watch it with my other boys.