When the Lyric Hammersmith took the frankly bizarre step of not only announcing but
also putting on sale their 2016 pantomime when their 2015 one had barely opened, I
couldn't help wondering if they were getting in quick before Disney© came to
town, in case they announced that
Aladdin® would henceforth be theirs and
theirs alone to stage. After their films of
Beauty and the Beast™ and
most successfully
The Lion King™ became stage shows, I did wonder why
the 1992
Aladdin® was taking so long to join them, as it always seemed
very innately theatrical to me. It finally has and now comes over to the West End,
with the cartoon's well-loved original songs by Alan Menken©, Tim
Rice
DAME and the late Howard Ashman© joined by a few
new numbers* from Menken with lyrics by Chad Beguelin™, who also provides the
book. Although it's years since I saw the film it's one of my favourite Disney©
cartoons so I've seen it
a lot of times, and can tell this stage adaptation
sticks pretty close to the script.
