Alan Menken News & Discussion

[disneyboy20022]

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[disneyprincess11]

Aladdin auditions are this month for "any ethnicity". From the looks of the casting call Jafar, Iago and Kassim have already been cast.

Fingers crossed Jonathan Freeman is back as Jafar!

You mean Jasmine?

I'm guessing that the guy was Iago and the girl who was Jasmine in Seattle are reprising their parts. And dude, Jonathan has to come back!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm guessing that casting announcements will come soon.

Oh, and I found this in the announcement:

Based on the much loved animated film, Aladdin: The New Stage Musical tells the story of a street-smart commoner whose whole life changes with one rub of a magic lamp. This new Aladdin incorporates all of the beloved songs from the film's Oscar®-winning score plus never-before-heard Menken/Ashman songs restored from early drafts of the score. It marks a return to the authors' original vision: a loving homage to the Hope-Crosby road pictures with a score invoking the jazz sound of stars like Cab Calloway and Fats Waller.
- See more at: http://broadwayworld.com/equity-auditio ... 8LhJq.dpuf

Well....this will be.....interesting? Jazz in the Middle Eastern?

[DisneyJedi]

What?! Auditions?!?! WHEN?!?!?!

[disneyprincess11]

What?! Auditions?!?! WHEN?!?!?!

Friday, February 8, 2013 at Pearl Studios 500

10 AM – Equity Male singers 500 8th Ave, 12th Floor

2 PM – Equity Female singers NY, NY
- See more at: http://broadwayworld.com/equity-auditio ... imn10.dpuf

[PatrickvD]

What?! Auditions?!?! WHEN?!?!?!

Just curious, can you sing? And if so, what's your range, countertenor, tenor, baritone or bass?

I'm not too familar with which is which and what type of singer the music of Aladdin would require most of. But I think to get into a production like this, you'd have to be.... really, really good. Broadway is filled with kids who've been auditioning and preparing themselves for years.

Just curious what your range and experience is. Because this is the big league.

[ChrisLyne]

What?! Auditions?!?! WHEN?!?!?!

Today for Chorus Singers, Monday for Chorus Dancers and Wednesday-Friday for Principal Auditions

A load more auditions were added to Paybill yesterday (just search Aladdin in their jobs section) for Chorus Singers and Dancers. Auditions to be held in March in Toronto, Chigaco, LA and Orlando.

Good luck if you go for it

You mean Jasmine?

I'm guessing that the guy was Iago and the girl who was Jasmine in Seattle are reprising their parts. And dude, Jonathan has to come back!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm guessing that casting announcements will come soon.

No, I meant Kassim

Jasmine is in the casting call. The stage show has added back in Aladdin's 3 friends along with most of the cut Howard Ashman songs

I'm personally hoping they get the original cast (at least as much as possible) back together for this. The Tuacahn cast was fantastic when I saw it, and I heard the Muny cast was good too, but the Seattle gang are the originals, they deserve to take it to Broadway.

For the 2011 production casting calls went out in January, Jonathan Freeman was confirmed early in May, some rumours about casting came out at the end of May and the official announcement was early June for a July production. So hopefully we'll hear something in summer.


There has been a lot of talk about re-writes and revisions to the book, but the casting calls and summary are virtually identical to those from 2011, so I'm not expecting massive changes from the 2011/2012 productions. Dialogue changes, some song changes, maybe moving some scenes around, adding more details, etc but I'd expect the basic story structure to remain the same.

[DisneyJedi]

What?! Auditions?!?! WHEN?!?!?!

Today for Chorus Singers, Monday for Chorus Dancers and Wednesday-Friday for principal auditions.

No! I'm most likely going to be working then AND I don't have the money to book a flight up there!!!

[disneyprincess11]

You mean Jasmine?

No, I meant Kassim

Oh, yeah. Duh!

No! I'm most likely going to be working then AND I don't have the money to book a flight up there!!!

I say to go for it anyway! This is a huge opportunity! Sorry for saying this, but: YOLO!

[ChrisLyne]

I agree, go for it!

What about one of the regional auditions next month? Maybe one of them is easier to get to for you?

[Sotiris]

Newsies lost the Grammy to Once.

[PatrickvD]

Newsies lost the Grammy to Once.

Ah well, it's now all about how Menken is going to secure himself an Emmy. I want him to complete his EGOT.

[TsWade2]

Newsies lost the Grammy to Once.

No surprise! Here's my reaction. Go to 0:10.


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[Sotiris]

'Les Miz': Why Today's Moviegoers Find It Hard to Accept Characters 'Breaking Into Song'
http://wtaq.com/news/articles/2012/dec/ ... d-to-acce/

At the Grammys Awards, newcomer David Alan Grier faces off against veteran Alan Menken
http://www.newser.com/article/da49qo7o0 ... enken.html

Composer Alan Menken on 'Sister Act,' the divine musical comedy coming to PlayhouseSquare
http://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index. ... ister.html

'Sister Act' brings back the disco era
http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/a ... 4fffb.html

Alan Menken's 'Sister Act the Musical' runs Dec. 17-22 at the Saenger Theatre
http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2013 ... _musi.html

The latest theater trend: Live, onstage . . . from the screen
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertain ... story.html

Composer Alan Menken finds tough 'Act' to follow
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20140 ... Act-follow

'Sister Act' stage adaptation got Whoopi's approval
http://www.omaha.com/article/20140318/G ... yjfY6iSy_g

Hit film 'Sister Act' becomes a musical blast from the disco past
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2014 ... 4170026/0/

Composer Alan Menken on 'holy disco' of 'Sister Act'
http://www.startribune.com/entertainmen ... 38701.html

'Sister Act' brings nuns and disco together
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainme ... 4044.story

Q&A with Sister Act Composer, Alan Menken
http://ancconcerts.tumblr.com/post/1152 ... lan-menken

Alan Menken ist der Mann hinter der Musik von „Sister Act“
http://www.derwesten.de/kultur/alan-men ... 23386.html

Alan Menken ist der Komponist hinter "Sister Act"
http://www.ruhrnachrichten.de/leben-und ... 41,2203701

Autor das trilhas de filmes da Disney, Alan Menken fala das criações
http://cultura.estadao.com.br/noticias/ ... so,1774985

[Sotiris]

More details about the musical episode of 'The Neighbors'.

The show's creator Dan Fogelman said an upcoming episode features the alien family wanting to experience a Broadway musical, but the humans don't want to take them from their New Jersey neighborhood into New York to see a show.

"They're like teenagers sneaking out," Mr. Fogelman said. "They go into the city and come home singing songs from a musical. In the current script, they went and saw 'Annie.' "

Upon returning, the aliens want to put on a show. Broadway/movie composer Alan Menken is writing music for the episode.

"I did the movie 'Tangled' with him," Mr. Fogelman said at the TV critics press tour last week. "He's written three songs, and it's not like they break into a song in a musical. They're trying to put together a musical. It's more like an episode about musicals."

It appears the alien family will sing of their frustrations with the Weavers.

"The theme of the first song is about all the things in the world [the aliens] wish they could go out and see that the Weavers are preventing them from seeing," he said, "everything from going to a dive bar to getting a circumcision."

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/ ... es-670551/


Also, here's what songs to expect for the Broadway adaptation of Aladdin.

So we have "Proud of Your Boy," a number that Aladdin was originally to sing in the movie to his mother directly, but now it's to his mother in heaven. There's a number "Babkak, Omar, Aladdin and Kassim," which is kind of the friends' Vaudeville number that they do in the streets of Agrabah. There's a song called "High Adventure," where they perform a rescue at the end of Act Two, which is so much fun. It's one of those numbers I was dying to see on stage. There's "Call Me Princess" for Princess Jasmine, which was a real early throw-away, but we were able to make use of that thanks to my new collaboration with Chad Beguelin, who wrote the book.

He was brilliant in finding ways to adapt songs we had originally written into the new book, and we also wrote three new songs together with him as my lyricist. We wrote one new song for the Genie, one new song for Jafar and a new duet for Aladdin and Jasmine — and we still have all the original songs from Howard Ashman and Tim Rice from the film. So much creative energy has gone into this new Aladdin, I love it. We had a production in Seattle that was one of the highlights of my life and we've even improved it since then.

Source: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/17 ... wsies-Fans

[qindarka]

"So we have "Proud of Your Boy," a number that Aladdin was originally to sing in the movie to his mother directly, but now it's to his mother in heaven."

That seems awfully forced.

[jazzflower92]

"So we have "Proud of Your Boy," a number that Aladdin was originally to sing in the movie to his mother directly, but now it's to his mother in heaven."

That seems awfully forced.

Actually they were originally going to have Aladdin sing Proud Of Your Boy to his deceased mother after they deleted her character.Lets just say it seems a lot of people really wanted that song to stay.I kinda of think that maybe it would fit the idea that Aladdin secretly sees himself as failing his mother after her death.I also think it could show another side of Aladdin who really does miss his mother after all this time and wants to make her proud even though she is gone.

I am actually glad they are using some of the older ideas for the musical which will make it disntingued from the movie.Its too bad they couldn't find a way to keep Abu but I think those replacements will do just fine.Besides they were in the early drafts so they could be interesting to look at what they could have been.I also remember "Call Me A Princess" was a song for Jasimine when she orginally had a more spoiled and bratty personality.

I guess you can say they are looking in the attic and dusting off old stuff and see if they can be refurbished for the new generation.I can say if this musical comes to California I will defiantly see it.

[Avaitor]

Well the original song is pretty forced, tbh.

[ChrisLyne]

It worked really well in the 2011/2012 version. The reprise of One Jump leads pretty much straight into the song (with a small dialogue link). I can't imagine the show without that song.

Bringing back the lost Ashman/Menken songs is one of the joys of this show and Proud of Your Boy is easily one of their best. Hearing those songs (and especially that song) brought to life was an incredible experience.

[Sotiris]

Any confirmation on when the episode is supposed to air? I haven't seen The Neighbors before, but I wouldn't mind catching an episode.

The episode is titled "Sing Like a Larry Bird" and will air on Wednesday, March 13 at 8:30-9:00 p.m., ET on ABC.

[Disney's Divinity]

Any confirmation on when the episode is supposed to air? I haven't seen The Neighbors before, but I wouldn't mind catching an episode.

The episode will be titled "Sing Like a Larry Bird" and will air on Wednesday, March 13 at 8:30-9:00 p.m., ET on ABC.

Thank you.