Aladdin Stage Musical to Premiere at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre

A stage adaptation of the popular Disney musical Aladdin is on tap for a world premiere production at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre, according to the Seattle Times. The show will be mounted in summer 2011, replacing a planned production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, which has been postponed to the 2011-2012 season.

Based on the smash-hit 1992 animated film, Aladdin features music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Tim Rice and the late Howard Ashman and a new book by Chad Beguelin (Elf, The Wedding Singer. Menken won an Academy Award for his Original Score and shared a second Oscar with Rice for the song "A Whole New World," sung in the film by Brad Kane and Tony winner Lea Salonga. The stage production will be directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw (Elf, The Drowsy Chaperone).

No casting or creative team members have been announced for the stage debut of Aladdin. The production is not planned as a pre-Broadway engagement and is intended to be licensed to regional and other professional theaters.