A Whole New World! Broadway Hit Aladdin Will Fly Into Japan in First International Production

The first international production of the hit Broadway musical Aladdin will open in Japan. Performances will begin in May 2015 at The Dentsu Shiki Theatre Umi in Tokyo. The show will be cast locally in Japan and will be performed in Japanese.

Adapted from the 1992 Disney animated film, Aladdin is the story of a street urchin who uses the help of a magic Genie to win the heart of Princess Jasmine. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, the production features a book by Chad Beguelin, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice and the late Howard Ashman. Lyrics will be translated into Japanese by Chikae Takahashi, who worked on the Japanese translation for the mouse house's animated feature film, Frozen.

Aladdin is currently running on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre. The production officially opened on March 20, 2014, starring Adam Jacobs as Aladdin, Courtney Reed as Jasmine, Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart as the Genie, Jonathan Freeman as Jafar, Clifton Davis as the Sultan, Don Darryl Rivera as Iago with Brian Gonzales, Brandon O’Neill and Jonathan Schwartz as Aladdin’s sidekicks Babkak, Kassim and Omar.