Meet 5 cast members as 'Aladdin' celebrates 5 magical years on Broadway
Happy anniversary to Broadway's "Aladdin." The genie-ous Disney show is celebrating five years on stage.
"We are so excited to get to celebrate our fifth year on Broadway," Michael James Scott, who plays Genie, told "GMA." "I got to be apart of the show from the very beginning. I was the original standby for the Genie, so it's kind of a full-circle moment that now I'm back on Broadway playing the role."
There's a lot of commotion around this diamond in the rough of a fairy tale. Between audiences getting ready to see the live-action adaptation in theaters this May and the Broadway show celebrating a five-year run, it's been a whole new world for this Disney staple.
"Five years on Broadway is a huge achievement for the show," Ainsley Melham, who just joined the New York cast as Aladdin, told "GMA." Melham spent the past two and a half years playing our favorite street rat-turned-prince in Australia.
"Getting the phone call to come to New York to play Aladdin on Broadway was pretty special," Melham said.
One thing's for sure, we ain't never had a show like "Aladdin." Between flying carpets, epic sword fights and a sparkly, showstopping Genie, "Aladdin" makes the theater experience nothing short of magical.
"Good Morning America" caught up with cast and crew members, old and new. Whether they've been here since the beginning or recently joined the show, here's a Playbill-style look at some of the people who make wishing on a magic lamp on Broadway possible.
Michael James Scott
Role: The Genie
Years with the show: 5
Favorite memory: James Monroe Iglehart, who played the original Genie, and I would have these sort of "genie chats" about the role. When the show was in previews and we were in Toronto, I said to him, "Get ready for what is coming." And I was talking about the journey that was going to come for him because of this show. I knew it was going to be life-changing for him but also possibly for me because I got to be apart of it.
Favorite show moment: When the curtain comes down and I get to stand there (as the Genie) and I'm the first person that the audience sees, and I get to welcome them to the world of our show. Of course, doing "Friend Like Me" isn't too bad either.
Favorite lyric: "When the wind's from the east and the sun's from the west / And the sand in the glass is right / Come on down, stop on by / Hop a carpet and fly to another Arabian night." From the song "Arabian Nights."
Ainsley Melham
Role: Aladdin
Years with the show: 3
Favorite memory: Getting the call to come to New York to play Aladdin on Broadway was pretty special. Not only that, the original phone call in Australia when they said I got the role and I was going to be Australia's Aladdin, that was a very cool experience.
Favorite show moment: My favorite moment in the show changes all the time, but right now it's the number "Somebody's Got Your Back." It's a very smooth, soft shoe number between the Genie and Aladdin, and it really highlights their bromance in the show.
Favorite lyric: "Mom, I will try to / Try hard to make you proud of your boy." From "Proud of Your Boy."
Cheryl Thomas
Role: Lead hair/makeup artist
Years with the show: 5
Favorite memory: It was a dream for me to be at the Tony Awards and this show provided me that wish come true. That year, Hugh Jackman was the host and he pulled "Aladdin" together, and we did a little bit with him and I got to pretend like I was really touching up his makeup. But the icing on the cake was that our show did walk away with a Tony Award-winning cast member and that was James Monroe Iglehart (for playing the Genie).
Favorite show moment: There's one moment during the number "High Adventure," and one of the dressers comes over to me and there's this little dance break that we do together every moment during "High Adventure."
Favorite lyric: My favorite song of the show is "A Million Miles Away" and there's a lyric, "When you choose to lose yourself / Who knows what you might find." It speaks to not being afraid to jump and leap out and go after something special.
Lauryn Ciardullo
Role: Princess Jasmine understudy/swing
Years with the show: 5
Favorite memory: The Tony Awards. As a young, theater-loving child, I always watched the Tonys, so when I finally got there, I couldn't believe it. I remember rehearsing and meeting all these stars backstage, and just trying to play it cool, but we belonged there, too.
Favorite show moment: "Arabian Nights" is my favorite number to perform. It's kind of our one chance to break the fourth wall and actually look at the audience and invite them into Agrabah. In the beginning it was kind of scary because everyone was on stage all at onc,e so it's a lot to take in, but now that I'm comfortable with the show and used to doing it, now it's very fun.
Favorite lyric: All of "A Whole New World." Growing up with that movie, we all know it and love it.
Ariel Reid
Role: Dance captain/swing
Years with the show: 5
Favorite memory: The first time we put on our costumes during the show preview in Toronto. We were all just anticipating being in the theater and seeing everyone in those gorgeous Arabian nights costumes ... [that] stands out in my mind.
Favorite show moment: In the beginning of "Arabian Nights," we have a choreography section with these silks and it's beautiful. I also really enjoy going on as an attendant and getting to be part of "Palace Walls" with Jasmine, and signing that song and being the fortune teller sometimes is really a lot of fun because I get to be silly and sing solo lines and just put myself out there in a different way.
Favorite lyric: The very beginning of "A Whole New World" where Aladdin says, "You must feel trapped inside these walls / We'll run away just you and me / Why not escape as evening falls? / There's a whole world you've yet to see." There's something about it that's just so romantic.
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