A Whole New World

I thought it was finally time to talk about one of the classic Disney musicals. Disney is an important part of the musical world- I already made mention of one I love: Newsies. Aladdin is a classic musical, but in some ways contemporary because the animated movie came out in the 90s, but the stage show came out around 2014 (I believe). So, it has the famous songs, the character, and the plot we know, but has a contemporary edge to it. Why do I love the musical Aladdin- I will bring in aspects of the stage show?

Songs:

They are a nature of exciting and emotional songs, but mostly exciting. The two duets are love songs- the stage show makes Aladdin and Jasmine a better couple by adding “A Million Miles Away”- you start to see a connection much quicker, well you saw that connection really in “Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, and Kassim”. But “A Million Miles Away” really shows it if you missed it earlier. When I mean emotional- I am referring to “Proud of Your Boy”- that song made me a little emotional, as in almost to tears when I saw the stage show and then the two love songs. So the additional songs do help develop the characters further- Jasmine has a solo (“These Palace Walls”), etc…….I loved the Original Broadway Songs so much that I now own the songs.

It still has the famous songs- “A Whole New World”, “Prince Ali”, “Arabian Nights”, “Friend Like Me”- the additional songs bring Aladdin to a whole new level of complexity

Characters:

Aladdin- I love the clever and charming “street-rat”. I put the word “street-rat” in quotes because he doesn’t deserve to be treated that way- he is just in a rough situation. He and Jasmine make a lovely couple.

Jasmine- She is this smart and strong princess. She wants to go outside the palace, but not allowed. She does not to marry a prince just because he is a prince- would rather marry for love instead. Her connection to Aladdin early on shows that those two will emotionally fall in love.

Babkak, Kassim, Omar- We all know about Aladdin’s monkey Abu, but he never made it to the stage show. Aladdin still has friends and they are Babkak, Kassim, and Omar. For some reason, they make Aladdin more complex, and I have no idea why. They are wonderful characters and loyal to Aladdin (you strongly saw this in “High Adventure”) and do allow for wonderful scenes and songs to happen.

Genie- Who can not love the Genie? He is funny. He does end up with Aladdin. He does help Aladdin throughout his journey.

Plot:

I love the story of Aladdin. The story of an underdog (Aladdin was poor) raising up to become a prince- that is the basic story. He still has some hurdles- Jafar getting in the way is the main conflict. Jafar wanted the lamp not Aladdin so Jafar is spending the plot trying to get it back. Aladdin had to deal with the struggles of being poor before having the lamp and the hurdles after becoming “Prince Ali”- so basically a prince in disguise. His three friends along with the Genie do help him with his journey

Dance/Spectacle:

It is a Disney musical. That means there will be dance and spectacle. It is an incredible show to look at especially during “Friend Like Me”. When you enter the Cave of Wonders, it is an incredible set. I also loved how they staged “A Whole World”.

Conclusion:

This will be the first of other classic Disney musicals I love. I thought it was finally time to talk about why I love one of them.

Favorite Song: A Whole New World