Aladdin at 5th Avenue Theatre

My sister’s elementary school choir chose the soundtrack from Disney’s Aladdin when I was in 7th grade, a year after the movie came out. For months, I heard those songs everywhere I went. I would bet good money my parents still know the words to A Whole New World.

While my friend Shannon prepped herself for opening night of Aladdin: The New Stage Musical at 5th Avenue Theatre by listening to the soundtrack at work, I arrived not having seen the movie or heard the soundtrack since 1993 – and within the first minute I was singing along. Behold the power of Disney.

The story is somewhat narrated by Babkak (Brian Gonzales), Omar (Andrew Keenan-Bolger) and Kassim (Brandon O’Neill), friends of Aladdin who frequently break the fourth wall, crack historically inaccurate jokes and even point out the classic tale’s biggest plot holes, to hilarious effect. Adam Jacobs plays the “diamond in the rough” Aladdin to perfection, and Courtney Reed is lovely as Jasmine. Seán G. Griffin’s version of the Sultan (Jasmine’s father) is fantastic, and Don Darryl Rivera’s performance as the sycophantic Iago is the perfect compliment to Jonathan Freeman’s horrifying-but-hilarious Jafar.

It wasn’t until Aladdin entered the cave that I remembered the Genie. (Seriously – 1993. Long time ago.) And suddenly it came back to me – Robin William’s hysterical impressions and the frantic, don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-them jokes the script was filled with. I immediately wondered who on earth they could have found to do justice to this frenetic, energetic character.

Answer: James Monroe Iglehart (pictured above). If you’re on the fence about seeing Aladdin, this guy is your reason to go. Some of the hilarity was taken directly from the cartoon (pulling Mickey Mouse out of a hat during Friend Like Me), but Iglehart brought his own humor to the role, and had the voice and the dance moves to match.

The set bears mentioning too; Shannon mentioned afterward that she’d had her doubts about how they’d pull off the magic carpet ride, but they do – it’s actually one of the most visually beautiful scenes in the show. And the use of shadow puppets on the curtains for slightly longer set changes, along with the hilarious transitional songs by Babkak, Omar and Kassim, was highly entertaining.

If you’re in town, check it out. But be prepared to have Arabian Nights stuck in your head for the next decade or so.

Aladdin is running at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle through July 31, 2011.