Even before Beauty and the Beast dazzled cinema goers, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman were hard at work on what was to be Disney's 31st animated feature film : Aladdin. They produced several demos for the film despite Howard's rapidly declining health. Sadly, Howard passed away before the final story elements were in place. Tim Rice was asked to step in to work with Alan to provide the additional songs needed to complete the film.
Based upon the classic tale, Aladdin is the story of "street rat" Aladdin who discovers the Genie in a magic lamp willing to grant him three wishes which he uses to help him win the hand and heart of Princess Jasmine. The voice of the Genie was supplied by Robin Williams and Iago - the villain Jafar's wise-cracking parrot side-kick - was voiced by Gilbert Gottfried. Veteran stage star Lea Salonga, who came to international attention for creating the role of Kim in Miss Saigon, sang the role of Jasmine in the film.
The Menken/Rice song "A Whole New World" won a Golden Globe, Grammy and an Oscar.
A 45-minute stage version of Aladdinplays at the Hyperion Theatre in Disneyland's California Adventure theme park and aboard the Disney Cruise Line ship the Fantasy.
A full-length stage production of Aladdin played in 2011 in Seattle. The creative team from Seattle and many of the cast developed the Broadway production titled Disney's Aladdin : The New Musical Comedy which features a book by Chad Beguelin and additional songs by Chad Beguelin and Alan Menken. The show played a pre-Broadway engagement in Toronto from 1 November 2013 to 5 January 2014.
Disney's Aladdin : The New Musical Comedy began preview performances on Broadway at Disney's New Amsterdam Theatre on 26 February 2014 and had its official opening night on 20 March 2014.