Will Aladdin be on as long as the Lion King.

[jm10112]

Posted: 12/12/14 at 9:07pm

Do any of you see Aladdin possibly being on Broadway as long as the Lion King? Or being as successful? It's just a random question.

[ShakinBaconGirl]

Posted: 12/12/14 at 9:10pm

No way

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/12/14 at 9:19pm

Seriously doubt it.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 12/12/14 at 9:20pm

One of the stupider topics I have seen. Why would this even come up?

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 12/12/14 at 9:33pm

With the way how Frozen is reportedly doing in development, expect Aladdin closing for Frozen in a couple of years

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 12/12/14 at 9:41pm

Obviously there's no way of knowing. But I say it's highly doubtful it will be as successful as Lion King or run as long.

I would guess it runs as long as Mary Poppins and, like that show, closes to make room for another Disney show. I could also see it transferring like Lion King to another Nederlander house and have a similar run to Beauty and the Beast.

Updated On: 12/12/14 at 09:41 PM

[ShakinBaconGirl]

Posted: 12/12/14 at 9:44pm

I doubt it will even run as long as Mary Poppins.

[Dave13]

Posted: 12/12/14 at 9:49pm

Considering Lion King has been running 17 years and is still a top performing musical with no sign of slowing down. Simple Answer is NO!

[TheatreKid3]

Posted: 12/12/14 at 10:48pm

I think it could have a lot longer of a run than everyone initially anticipated. Unlike POPPINS, ALADDIN has been a much greater initial success - especially with the critics. Plus, it is a much more beloved animated classic that kids are more attracted to as well as the adults who were children in the 90s. Even as classic as MARY POPPINS was, it does not have the appeal of the renaissance-era films. It's a very timeless story and I think, if Disney wanted to, it could run for many years. I don't think it will become the phenomenon that LION KING is, but I certainly could see it outrunning POPPINS. I think the likely scenario is that it moves theatres or closes when Disney wants it to. Those scenarios are much more likely to happen before it would become no longer profitable. It really hinges on if they want FROZEN to play the New Amsterdam and when it is actually ready.

If you think about it, this is Disney's best commercial and critical hit (of a well-known and beloved film) since the Lion King. So, really, I think it has a lot longer life than many are willing to give it credit for.


Updated On: 12/12/14 at 10:48 PM

[Jonwo]

Posted: 12/12/14 at 11:18pm

I think if Aladdin is still doing great business by the time Frozen is ready to come to Broadway, I imagine Disney will either transfer the show to another theatre or Frozen might end up going to a different theatre.

Disney already has plans for Aladdin with two productions opening next year in Hamburg and Tokyo and a London production rumoured for 2016 and that's even before a US national tour which is bound to happen but I imagine Disney will focus on opening productions internationally first.

[blaxx]

Posted: 12/12/14 at 11:30pm

If you think about it, this is Disney's best commercial and critical hit (of a well-known and beloved film) since the Lion King. So, really, I think it has a lot longer life than many are willing to give it credit for.

Please, it would be nice if it did as good as Newsies...

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/12/14 at 11:43pm

I think it should be interesting to see which of the remaining new musicals of last season will end up running the longest. I think both this and Beautiful are the two most likely candidates.

[Nateben2]

Posted: 12/13/14 at 2:55am

Aladdin has a pretty big nut, so they have to continue to have really truly strong sales.

Part of the success of Lion King is that you don't really need to understand English to enjoy the visuals . . . and the pageant that is Lion King - so it continues to enjoy strong tourist market.

I am not sure Aladdin has the same power over people.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 12/13/14 at 7:52am

Disney in the new year will announce the Australian production of Aladdin as well

[Owen22]

Posted: 12/13/14 at 8:41am

No.

[Monty12112]

Posted: 12/13/14 at 9:32am

Aladdin was good, but I don't see it lasting as long as Lion King either.

[sctrojan65]

Posted: 12/13/14 at 11:39am

I agree that it was good.

But so was the version I saw at Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim.

Clearly this was a more extravagant version of that show, but not really any more entertaining, in my opinion. It was still basically the same story, of course.

And the performers in Anaheim were really good. The magic carpet flying out high above the audience was a nice touch too.

That being said, I could see the NY production having a long shelf life in New York. For the families-with-kids set, if nothing else. It was colorful, fun and familiar to a lot of kids.

Lion King caliber though? I don't think so.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/13/14 at 11:57am

"Lion King caliber though? I don't think so."

Does it really need to be? I mean, Disney has tried doing that in the past with Tarzan and The Little Mermaid, and we all saw how those turned out...

Plus, I've heard a recent interview Julie James did with Alan Menken where he talked about the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid, how they were trying to figure out how to do underwater onstage. But after seeing regional productions of it later on, he realized less was more.

[ryandl15]

Posted: 12/13/14 at 6:23pm

I don't foresee Aladdin every surpassing The Lion King, but as many have said, I do think it will stick around for as long as Mary Poppins did, if not longer.

Also, talking about Frozen. What about Hunchback and it coming to Broadway? What would be a suitable house for that show?

[A1st]

Posted: 12/13/14 at 6:36pm

The Neaderlander

Although not necessarily available, the Palace, or the Lunt Fontanne would IMO be great

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/13/14 at 8:00pm

Or the Brooks Atkinson.

[sctrojan65]

Posted: 12/13/14 at 8:31pm

No, it doesn't need to be the Lion King.

The question was posed if it would last as long as Lion King. I was just responding to the question with the opinion that I don't think it has a Lion King-caliber run in it.

But who knows? It's a fun show and certainly will keep appealing to families living in, and traveling to, NYC with kids.

As for Hunchback….seeing it in the intimacy of La Jolla was really quite nice.

I've been to a number of NY theaters but not enough to make a good call on that one.

The show definitely has the potential for being huge too…on a larger stage, as well.

So larger or more intimate could work. Updated On: 12/13/14 at 08:31 PM

[Jonwo]

Posted: 12/13/14 at 9:34pm

Disney has been mixing it up a little in the last few years with Newsies which was a small scale show in comparison to what they'd done before, Peter and the Starcatcher was their first play they'd commissioned although they had co-produced Arcadia and stuff like Hunchback and Jungle Book, the latter is meant for licensing rather than Broadway and also Shakespeare in Love which is running in London and I imagine that'll end up on Broadway as well.

'Disney in the new year will announce the Australian production of Aladdin as well'

Sydney or Melbourne? Melbourne got Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast while Sydney got Lion King first time round. Probably depends which state offers the better financial package. I imagine Australia will be late 2016 if they plan to launch the London production in early 2016 but anything could happen.