Well, hello there! Since the Tony Awards, I’ve been in a theater slump and I’m sure it’s been reflected here on THP. Boo to that. Today, I am back with a few snippets associated with Disney Theatrical Productions. Nothing too earth-shattering going on but certainly a few newsworthy items to chat about.

Newsies

– The adorable and multi-talented Jeremy Jordan, who is starring on Broadway at Jack Kelly in Newsies, is going to be making his way to televisions near you in the second season of FOX’s Smash. Did anyone catch it this season? I loved it in the beginning and it slowly went downhill for me, but now they totally eliminated a bunch of the supporting cast, have new stuff, and are slowly sucking me in with Jeremy joining as a supporting role. He tweeted this week that he officially recorded his first song for the show so this is happening! As for Newsies, Jeremy will still be in the show although, obviously, missing a bit here and there due to filming. (There’s a new audition ad out for a Jack Kelly standby.) Unfortunately, we have a wait a bit to see Jeremy make his Smash debut. The show doesn’t return until 2013.
– Sorry ladies, Jeremy will be getting married in September. So he’ll be out of Newsies for 10 days in September. For more info check out his official fan site.
– An annoying interview with Christian Bale, who isn’t even interested enough to look into who is playing “his role” in the Broadway version of Newsies. Ugh.

Peter & the Starcatcher

– Christian Borle a.k.a Black Stashe and winner of the Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Play has taken a leave from Peter to reclaim his role as Tom in Smash. Broadway actor Matthew Saldivar has taken over the role. Here’s a fun interview about how he got the role.
– In May, Disney announced they would be bring Peter to the bring screen. As of this week, the director of The Hunger Games, Gary Ross, will be on hand to direct.

Aladdin the Musical

– So first Aladdin made its way to Seattle, and it just recently finished a run at the MUNY in St. Louis. The production, which ran from July 5-July 13, starred Robin DeJesus as Aladdin (who I loved in the movie CAMP and in his supporting role in IN THE HEIGHTS on Broadway), John Tartaglia as the Genie (AVENUE Q, host of the recent Jim Henson Musical World), and Ken Page as the Sultan (who I recently saw in a Long Island production of CATS, a role he originated on Broadway).
– One of the awesome sources I’ve come across as I’ve researched this show is the Aladdin Musical Blog. They have some great coverage from movies and links of reviews right here.
– Also Ryan Dosier over at the awesome Muppet Mindset had the opportunity to chat with John Tartaglia, who starred in the MUNY production of Aladdin, at the beginning of July. Here’s a quick recap.

My own thoughts: I haven’t seen the show but from clips and a few reviews… I could see why it’s not exactly Broadway ready. While I absolutely approve of this casting — it’s so outside of the box — I think the actual costumes and stage elements look too cartoony and too much like a theme park live show. While perusing some comments on BroadwayWorld.com’s message board, someone commented about how The Lion King was such a masterpiece because it embraced its culture and did something innovative at the whole time. This comment really hit the nail on the head. I would love to see them rework this stage show and take on that same mentality.

Broadway in Bryant Park.

My favorite radio station, Lite FM, hosts a fun lunchtime treat every summer on Thursday afternoons from 12:30-1:30pm as a handful of Broadway show casts sing a few of their show’s songs. If you are around, you should certainly stop in. The only Disney related show participating is Sister Act, which currently stars Raven Symone and features music from Mr. Alan Menken. Here’s the full schedule for the rest of the summer.

Mixed Bag.

– Heather Headley, who starred in Disney’s Aida (and won the Tony for her role) and The Lion King , will be working overseas in London on The Bodyguard, a musical based on the Whitney Houston film. She recently recorded “I Have Nothing” and it sounds ah-mazing.
– Sister Act will be closing on August 26 with Raven Symone closing out the main role.

Current discounts.

For those of you in the NYC area, here are a few of the more recent show discounts. I hope you’ll be stopping in and experiencing some theater this summer!

– Newsies: Special Monday through Wednesday offer!
– Peter and the Starcatcher: Save 35%!
– Mary Poppins: Save up to 43 dollars!
– Sister Act: Save up to 50 dollars!

(All pictures from Playbill.com)

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