By Cami Hancock
“But, oh, to be free! Such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world!”
Spoken by the vivacious Genie in the show’s first act, this sentiment is also the driving force behind Disney’s Aladdin, a musical I had the opportunity to attend on Friday at Wharton Center. Having already seen The Lion King and Frozen onstage, I was eager to see the third and final Disney show currently running on Broadway. Much to my delight, the stage production added more depth and background to the characters we already know and love.
This shared desire for freedom is what connects Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie, and it’s a theme I hadn’t previously noticed while watching the 1992 movie as a child. Near the top of the show, Aladdin, played by Jonah Ho’okano, sings his “I Want” song: “Proud of Your Boy.” This number was newly-created for the Broadway production, and it was one of the highlights of the show for me. It’s a sweeping ballad about his desire to reinvent himself and his wish to make his mother proud of the person he’s yet to become. This number provides a backstory and emotional depth to Aladdin that was stronger than in the original movie.
Jasmine, played by Kaenaona Iani Kekoaeach, has her own desires for freedom. Being simultaneously fierce, independent, and compassionate (and Disney’s first princess of color, in case you forgot), Jasmine is a female character worthy of being admired even in 2019. After her father’s relentless attempts at matchmaking her with various princes, she expresses her wishes to marry whomever she pleases, and above all, to make her own life decisions without the guidance of a man.
Although often disguised in humor, the Genie, sincerely played by Korie Lee Blossey, opens up to Aladdin and shares that he, too, desires freedom after living a solitary life for 10,000 years inside a cramped lamp. With more depth given to the characters, I had no problem hopping on board Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie’s journey to obtain their freedom.
While the story’s revamped emotion was my favorite part of Aladdin, the show had other highlights as well. Being a Disney musical, it did not go without some jaw-dropping moments. My heart couldn’t help but swell at the first sounds of tap dancing during the Genie’s act one showstopper, Friend Like Me. There’s not much I love more than a tap-dance number choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, whose work you may recognize from The Book of Mormon, Something Rotten, and Mean Girls. My only wish was that the tap dancing would have lasted longer.
Another highlight was, of course, A Whole New World, a number that exhibited the best of Disney magic. I was not prepared to get chills and tear up when I saw Aladdin and Jasmine cascading through the night sky on their magic carpet, but I most certainly did.
This show offers something for everyone. If you’re a college student debating whether or not to drop the $30 on a student ticket to see Aladdin, I recommend you do it. It simultaneously serves the perfect dose of childhood nostalgia and still manages to feel current. Book writer Chad Beguelin incorporated some fun odes to the 2000s that college kids will recognize (think: “Okurr” and “Ain’t nobody got time for that”). At a time when we’re all stressing for finals, what could be better than getting to escape to Agrabah for a few hours and see some iconic Disney characters back and better than ever before?
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