Disney's Aladdin is coming to the Academy of Music

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Sunday, May 20, 2018
Disney's Aladdin is coming to the Academy of Music
Disney's Aladdin is coming to the Academy of Music. Karen Rogers reports during Action News Mornings on May 20, 2018.

Get ready for a magic carpet ride!

Disney's Aladdin is coming to the Academy of Music, closing out The Broadway Philadelphia season and making wishes come true with an all-new production of the Tony Award-winning show that has proven to be a blockbuster.

"It's been running on Broadway to soldout houses for several years and we're one of the first markets to have it for its first season," says Fran Egler, Director of Programming and Presentations for The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

The musical promises to transport theater audiences to a whole new world while staying true to its 1992 animated film roots.

"It's a really wonderful story about a young boy who has lost his parents and he is mischievous but at the center, at his core, he has a heart of gold," says Deonté L. Warren, the standby for Genie, "what I love about Genie is he really represents the best of all of us."

The new production includes new music written just for the stage.

"You'll walk away singing songs you didn't know before and singing all the songs you knew before," Warren promises.

There are gobs of glitter: "The glitter never comes off," Warren says, "It's just part of the job I've accepted; I wear it with pride now."

And larger-than-life set designs. "It's so beautiful," Warren says, "I mean Disney magic is some of the most amazing magic I have seen."

The magic isn't just for children, either.

"It's just as good a time for us adults," Warren says. "There are many adult themes-the love, the brotherhood, a boy seeking redemption."

Warren says the show never gets old. "I watch it night after night and I still get blown away; I'm just like it's so pretty!"

Broadway Philadelphia: Aladdin | Aladdin tickets

Academy of Music (June 13- July 1)

240 S Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102

215-893-1999