'A Whole New World' on stage: 'Aladdin' musical's creative team prepares for Korean run

As the magic carpet gets ready to set flight in Korea next month, composer Alan Menken, director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw and Senior Vice President of Production and co-producer at Disney Theatrical Group Anne Quart spoke to the press.

A scene from Broadway's "Aladdin" [DISNEY/MATTHEW MURPHY]

"Aladdin" is one of the most glamorous and successful musical theater shows worldwide, but behind the Disney magic is the hard work and collaboration of creatives hailed as once-in-a-generation talents.

As the magic carpet gets ready to set flight in Korea for the very first time in November, composer Alan Menken, director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw and Senior Vice President of Production and co-producer at Disney Theatrical Group Anne Quart met with the press via a live video call from New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City, on Tuesday.

Musical "Aladdin"'s composer Alan Menken, right, and director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw talk to the local via live video call on Tuesday. [DISNEY/EVELYN FREJA]

A total of 237 costumes, 84 special effects and tens of thousands of Swarovski crystals are featured in Korea’s “Aladdin” in an effort to make the production mirror the Broadway show's scale and spectacle, according to Quart. But they are all ultimately just props when it comes to the creative work done by Menken and Nicholaw, who've truly created "A Whole New World" on stage.

"In every work that I do, I want to create different worlds — a world that you want to visit again and again and feel a sense of kinship," said Menken.

Poster of Korea's upcoming production of musical "Aladdin" [S&CO]

As the first step in making that world a reality in Korea, Quart and Nicholaw were in Seoul earlier this year for casting. They said it was a particularly fun and new experience to be able to cast more than one person for roles, as per the Korean-style, multiple casting system. A total of 37 have made the final team and will soon go into practice. Some of the best musical talents have been rounded up for the main cast, including model-turned-actor Lee Sung-kyung and musical actors Min Kyoung-ah, Park Kang-hyun and Jung Sung-hwa.

“I looked for energy and then, something unique in them that makes them feel different and stand out from all the others — like a little quirky,” said Nicholaw.

Casey Nicholaw works with the Broadway team of "Aladdin." [DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP]

The announced actors build on the show's hype, arguably being the most anticipated musical for the remaining 2024 season. This is especially the case, as the 2019 movie adaptation starring Hollywood stars like Will Smith, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott, was a huge hit at the local ticket box. Based on the original 1992 animation, the movie currently sits as the country's 15th most watched film, recording 12.5 million viewers and generating almost 107 billion won ($80 million), according to the Korea Film Council’s data.

For many in Seoul looking to relive the story's nostalgic magic, the musical will certainly satisfy, said the creatives, but it is not without its own additions.

The live stage adaptation contains more songs than its screen versions. Many of these were written by lyricist Howard Ashman and Menken before Ashman passed away in 1991, but were cut from the animation when the studio decided to take the story in a more romantic direction.

A scene from Broadway's "Aladdin" [DISNEY/DEEN VAN MEER]

“I knew we had a treasure trove of songs,” and for the stage version, “I said we’ve got to get these gems back into the show again,” said Menken, displaying his affection for his late colleague. “Aladdin” was their last collaboration together, and Tim Rice took over the role after Ashman’s passing.

The musical's show-stopping number, “A Whole New World,” was a late addition to the animation and was created under Menken and Rice. Menken said he had written some dummy lyrics for it, “one was 'the world at my feet,'" he said, which was later changed to "a whole new world" by Rice. "It was incredible working with him, and the rest is history!"

The musical version also brings back Aladdin’s sidekicks that were present in Menken and Ashman’s work, making it a buddy story as well as a Disney romance. There is the famous magic carpet as well that actually does fly on stage with actors sitting on it. Seemingly different mechanisms have been employed to launch the carpet in different countries and productions, and the creatives said there was a debate on how to go about it in Korea. "Everyone asks how it's done, but it's a secret!" Nicholaw said.

But impressing a live audience takes more than a flying carpet on stage, as was seen by the less-than-amused reactions by those who saw the show's pre-Broadway tryout in Toronto, Canada. After seeing the reaction, Nicholaw did what Menken described as “an acrobatic act of rewriting and restructuring” the musical, which led to the smash-hit product that it is today. "We dug back in and that is why we are successful," said Quart.

“The magic of musical theater is in collaboration,” Menken said. "The last part of that collaboration is the audience, and with that information, we reshaped the show.”

From left, Casey Nicholaw, Alan Menken and composer and writer Chad Beguelin work with the cast and crew of Broadway's "Aladdin." [DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP]

Menken also redid the orchestration of “A Whole New World” to make it more “twinkly,” according to Nicholaw, and match the lavish energy of the live stage production.

“I don’t want to use an arrangement that someone has heard in another medium because it will take them out of the freshness of that new adaptation, so I wanted it to be fresh,” he said. He also redid the orchestrations for the 2019 live action version's music.

Quart calls Menken an “all-time superstar of rewrites.” “He’s one of those people who will have something new in like 40 minutes of asking."

Menken is a prolific composer and an EGOT winner (the acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards), behind iconic songs like "Part of Your World" in "The Little Mermaid" (1989 ) and "Something There" in "Beauty and the Beast" (1991).

“I always tell people, ‘Don’t ever fall in love with your own work — always be ready to throw it out or try something new,’” said Menken, “and let everybody else fall in love with it.”

The "Aladdin" musical is slated to run from Nov. 22 at Charlotte Theater in Songpa District, southern Seoul, to June 22 next year and then move to Busan's Dream Theatre in July. The Seoul show's tickets open next month.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]