It was June of 1913 that Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. moved his
legendary Follies over from the Moulin Rouge to the New Amsterdam Theatre. And
for the next 14 years, this NYC landmark was not only home to the most
beautiful costumes, sets & showgirls in the city, it also played host to an
amazing array of clowns. We're talking legendary comics like W.C. Fields, Ed
Wynn, Eddie Cantor and Will Rogers.
Which is why it's kind of fitting that Disney
"Aladdin" has now set up shop at the New Amsterdam.
A century after Ziegfeld filled this 1800-seat showplace with music &
merriment, thanks to the artistic efforts of Bob Crowley, the lavish sets are
back. And thanks to Gregg Barnes' stylish designs, the dazzling costumes are
back. Best of all, thanks to the inspired comedic capering of Brian Gonzales,
Brandon O'Neill, Jonathan Schwartz and Don Darryl Rivera, the clowns are back too .
Some of Gregg Barnes' costumes for Disney
"Aladdin." Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved
Mind you, it did take Disney Theatrical a little while to
sort out which performers were going to play what role in this season's
surprise smash.
"When I first went in to audition for 'Aladdin,' I was
originally up for the role of Babkak," Rivera recalled during a recent
phone interview. "But as soon as Casey Nicholaw [i.e., the director /
choreographer of this new Disney Theatrical Production] saw me, he asked if I
could take a look at the Iago sides. And I — of course — said 'Absolutely.'
Casey then told me a specific side to look at. But I was so nervous that I
wasn't actually listening. So I wound up having to learn all three of those
sides that I'd been given. I then went back into that room and just had a blast
reading for this part. And that's how I wound up playing Iago."
Which isn't to say that Casey & Co. didn't continue to
tinker with the part of Iago once Don had been cast in this role.
Don Darryl Rivera as Iago and Jonathan Freeman as Jafar in Disney "Aladdin."
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
"It honestly took us all quite a while to settle on the
proper way this character should be played. During the pilot production of Disney
'Aladdin' at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in Seattle
back in 2011, Iago was much more soft back then," Rivera continued.
"It wasn't until last year's try-out in Toronto
that I finally found this character's voice, figured out a way to make Iago
seem both mean & funny. And once that version of this character was in
place … Well, we really poured
gasoline on that fire. By the time the show back to New
York City, Chad
[Beguelin, who wrote the book & additional lyrics for this musical comedy]
had written all of these great new one liners for the character. And from that
point forward, Iago became who he is right now: Jafar's laughably lethal
henchman."
Nicholaw & Beguelin has similar problems with Babkak,
Omar & Kassim, Aladdin's three buddies that Howard Ashman & Alan Menken
had originally dreamed up for Disney's 1992 animated version of this tale from
"1001 Arabian Nights."
"Alan & Howard had written all of these additional
verses for their 'Arabian Nights' song, with the idea that they'd then be used
to move the movie's story along, maybe comment on the action," explained
Brandon O'Neill, who plays Kassim in this new musical comedy. "So — as
they were adapting 'Aladdin' to the stage — what Chad & Alan decided to do
was give all of these extra verses to Babkak, Omar & Kassim. So that our
characters could then serve as the narrators of this stage show. Be a part of
the action but — at the same time — be able to step out of the show and then
comically comment on the action."
(L to R) Brian Gonzales as Babkak, James Monroe Iglehart as the Genie, Andrew
Keenan Bolger as Omar, Adam Jacobs as Aladdin and Brandon O'Neill as
Kassim in the 2011 pilot production of Disney "Aladdin" at Seattle's Fifth
Avenue Theatre. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Which sounds like a fun idea on paper. But as
"Aladdin" 's out-of-town try-out was getting underway at the Ed
Mirvish Theatre, it quickly became obvious that audiences just weren't warming
to the idea that Babkak, Omar & Kassim were pulling double duty. That these
characters were Aladdin's pals as well as being this show's narrators.
"Which is why — over time — our characters' function
in 'Aladdin' changed and the humor in this show changed as well," Brian
Gonzales, who plays Babkak, stated. "We went from making a lot of pop
culture references and doing a lot of commenting on the show itself with meta
humor to being dry & sarcastic. And then for a while there, we were really
slapstick and silly."
But in the end, what Casey, Chad & Alan eventually
realized was that — as brilliant & as funny as Howard Ashman's unused
"Arabian Nights" lyrics were — they were also allowing the audience
to get ahead of the story. Worse than that, because Babkak, Omar & Kassim
had been saddled with delivering all of this unnecessary narration, the audience
weren't embracing Aladdin's friends with all that much enthusiasm.
(L to R) Jonathan Schwartz as Omar, Brandon O'Neill as Kassim and Brian Gonzales
as Babkak performing "Arabian Nights" during the Toronto try-out of Disney
"Aladdin." Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
"But this is why shows go out-of-town. So that you can
fix things," O'Neill continued. "I won't lie to you. It was a hard
thing for us to wrap our heads around initially. That the three of us were no
longer going to be 'Aladdin' 's narrators. But once Brian, Jonathan & I saw
how well the show functioned now that Babkak, Omar & Kassim were always
part of the story, rather than when we were constantly stepping away and
commenting on the action … Well, speaking for myself, I was happy to take a
step back and play the role that we're playing now."
"What really softened the blow here was that Casey
& Chad treated us like real collaborators when it came to this show," Brandon
stated. "Take — for example — 'High Adventure.' Casey was just so
wonderful when it came to this second act number. He told us 'I trust you guys.
Come up with something and then let's see what you've got.' And so — from show
to show — we'd come in with a new idea, a new joke. Our handprints are all
over 'High Adventure.' Of all the numbers in this show, that's the one which is
most reflective of how the three of us eventually came together as a comedy
team. How we melded all three of our very different comedy styles into
something that audiences really seem to enjoy watching as it unfolds
onstage."
And given the huge waves of laughter that crash down on the
stage as Babkak, Omar & Kassim race off to rescue their friend Aladdin …
Well, it kind of makes you wonder how Fields, Cantor, Wynn & Rogers must
have felt when they stood in the exact same spot at the New Amsterdam as
Gonzales, O'Neill & Schwartz do now.
(L to R) Brandon O'Neill as Kassim, Brian Gonzales as
Babkak and Jonathan Schwartz as Omar in Disney
"Aladdin." Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved
"I can't look up sometimes," Jonathan admitted.
"Because of the way the New Amsterdam is set up,
the audience is very close to the stage. And I worry that — if I look up
sometime and see how people are actually up there in the balcony & the
mezzanine staring at me — I might have a panic attack. I mean, I love hearing
those big, big laughs. But because the audience at the New Amsterdam
is so close to the action, I honestly have to tell myself sometimes not to look
at them."
Which perhaps explains why — given that Jonathan Freeman
& Don Darryl Rivera do so many of their scenes in Disney
"Aladdin" in one (which is Broadway parlance for staging a scene out
in front of a closed curtain at the very lip of the stage) — Rivera's favorite
place at the New Amsterdam is now one of the quieter corners found in this
historic old theater. Which is the public lounge on the basement lobby level.
"My favorite place in this theater is the New
Amsterdam room. I just love that statue on the ceiling. I love the
fact that there's still one original painting in there. It feels special just
to be able to walk into that place. There's just something about that room
which makes me feel kind of like royalty," Don enthused.
A portion on the ceiling in the New Amsterdam room. Photo by Jim Hill
Mind you, there's a line from Shakespeare's "As You
Like It" carved into the ceiling of the New Amsterdam Room that seems
entirely appropriate, given the topic of today's article. It reads "I had
rather have a fool to make me merry than experience to make me sad.''
But given the great reviews that Disney "Aladdin"
got when it opened last month, I would imagine that a good many people are
going to be made merry once they get the chance to experience Gonzales,
O'Neill, Riveria and Schwartz's antics in this new musical comedy. Which —
just like Ziegfeld did back with his Follies — proves how entertaining things
can be when you mix high art with low clowns.