Disney’s Aladdin, a new musical comedy based on the classic Academy Award®-winning animated film, will have its Australian premiere in Sydney at the Capitol Theatre tonight, 11th August 2016.
The principal cast features Michael James Scott in the role of the Genie, Ainsley Melham as Aladdin, Arielle Jacobs as Jasmine, Adam Murphy as Jafar, Aljin Abella as Iago, George Henare as the Sultan, Adam Jon Fiorentino as Kassim, Troy Sussman as Babkak and Robert Tripolino as Omar.
“We are hugely proud of this Australian production from Casey Nicholaw, his creative team and the Australian cast and crew. The more we work here, the more we are impressed by a deep pool of musical theatre talent that only continues to grow. This company represents the very best of the best from here in Australia and around the world.” Thomas Schumacher, President and Producer, Disney Theatrical Productions commented.
Aladdin is considered one of the largest productions ever mounted in Australia with a total cast of 37, a staggering 337 costumes and 70 tonnes of scenery and automation in an unforgettable theatrical event lauded by the New York Times as “fabulous”. Director Casey Nicholaw explained that an unprecedented 1,225 different fabrics, 712 different styles of beads, almost 500,000 Swarovski crystals and 161 pairs of custom-made shoes have been used to make the glittering costumes, predominantly handcrafted in Sydney. Thirty tonnes of exotic flying scenery and 40 tonnes of automation and staging have been built to recreate the fantasy city of Agrabah including the colourful marketplace, the lush palace of The Sultan and his princess daughter Jasmine and the legendary Cave of Wonders.
NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres welcomed the production to Sydney and said it would be a major draw card for visitors to the State.
“Disney’s Aladdin will be one of the grandest productions ever staged in Sydney and more than 120,000 visitors are expected to travel to the harbour city to see this spectacular show, generating around $39 million in visitor expenditure. The NSW Government’s investment in Disney’s Aladdin through our tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, is also driving the business behind show business, with the vast majority of the production’s costumes made in Sydney and the production supporting jobs in the hospitality, theatre and the tourism industries.” Minister Ayres commented.