Michael James Scott Says Goodbye to Aladdin After 4,000 Performances as Genie

For over 4,000 performances on Broadway, Michael James Scott has made wishes come true as Genie in Disney’s Aladdin. Now, he’s passing the lamp. Scott spoke to Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek in an exit interview detailing Disney magic, his three wishes and his journey as Genie.

Carol Channing. Yul Brynner. Now, Michael James Scott. The long-runners club is a small one, and Scott has earned his place after more than a decade performing as Genie.

“I watched The Lion King, waking up at four in the morning to get a standing room ticket at the New Amsterdam Theatre when I was in high school on my first theater trip, to stand in that theater where I am doing the Genie in Aladdin,” Scott says. “It's just the craziest, full circle, proud moment to think that that's even possible, and that I've done it for that long.”

Putting aside Scott’s roof-raising performance, his long run in the show can also be tied to Aladdin's built-in appeal. As a beloved Disney title, the musical draws large crowds through name recognition and audience affection, creating a sense of stability in the company. “Some of us who have been around for a minute," Scott says, "Dennis Stowe, John and Ben Freeman, JC Montgomery—we've talked about some of the cast members where this is their Broadway debut, and they've been able to not worry about the show, whether it's going to make it. You come into it in a comfort place, which is very different.”

Scott found himself in that comfort place, too. "But, at a certain point, you know when it's time," he says. "How do you really propel yourself forward in a place that is out of your comfort zone? It's a very tricky thing, because we are in a very fickle business. There's been a change in me.”

That change would not have happened without Aladdin. Scott may be leaving the show, but he’ll be taking part of it with him. “It has given me another set of engines going for the next part of my career,” he says. “I will always be a part of the Disney on Broadway family. They're not getting rid of me. They are family. They mean a great deal to me and will always for many, many years. I will still be a part of that family. I can't wait to still do more projects and be a part of it, but this chapter feels like we're here. We're at the place.”

Playing the Genie has reshaped how Scott sees himself and his work. The role has pushed him to trust what sets him apart and take up space. Asked what he would tell his younger self, he doesn’t hesitate. “I would start with don’t change,” he says. “The thing that is othered and the thing that makes you quote unquote ‘different’ is the thing that’s literally going to make you the Genie one day in Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway and around the world. This role has taught me the complete opposite of that, to literally take up space.” 

Scott carried that lesson into 2020, joining Broadway.com’s Live at Five to open a dialogue with Black Broadway performers during a national reckoning on race. “So many important, very beautiful things came out of that time on many levels that maybe people weren't prepared for. We had some really in-depth conversations about all of that,” Scott says. “It meant so much to me. It meant so much to those artists, those very big prominent Black artists in this community to be able to talk on a platform like Broadway.com and spread—what I believe was a change that is still happening—the beginnings of conversations that were real hard and that we really hadn't had in this business. And we did it on a public platform. That was a space that was given to us and not only given to us, but celebrated for us to be able to have that conversation.”

Looking ahead, Scott shares his three wishes after stepping away from the role. His first is simple: sleep. Then, “I'm going to wish that I stay in a joyful place. I think that that's important,” he says. His final wish is peace, not just for him.

“For the world right now. We need it. It's one of the reasons why it's been such an honor and truly why I have been able to stay in Aladdin for this long because of it being rooted in joy. The Genie is rooted in love, light and laughter. It is a space that I've been able to live in for 12 years over 4,000 performances. That's a gift that I am grateful for; that I got to live in that space. My wish is that people can live in that space themselves, because we need it.”

Watch the full interview below.

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