Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
#1Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 6:22pm
Telly Leung As Prince Ali This is an interesting development, but is it plausible?
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
#2Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 6:35pm
I hope this means Arielle Jacobs will be joining the Broadway company as well.
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
Signed,
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RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#3Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 6:53pm
Not to be a creeper but Adam Jacobs posted looking for a sublet for his place for Feb 15. So maybe he's going down under?
Cfried
Broadway Star Joined: 9/15/16
#4Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 6:59pm
I'm sorry, but I hope not.
ethan231h
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/5/11
#5Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 7:05pm
thought he's having some problems with family???
#6Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 7:27pm
Wouldn't this hint In Transit might be closing soon?
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
Signed,
Theater Workers for a Ceasefire
https://theaterworkersforaceasefire.com/statement
GreasedLightning
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/11/14
#7Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 7:30pm
Call_me_jorge said: "Wouldn't this hint In Transit might be closing soon?
"
He's already been recast. This doesn't mean anything of course, but no... it's not hinting at that any more than In Transit's low grosses, apparently.
#8Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 7:43pm
ethan231h said: "thought he's having some problems with family???"
That was the reason they gave for his early exit from In Transit.
Caption: Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.
#9Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 7:46pm
maybe this is the real reason he's leaving IN TRANSIT.
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
trpguyy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/25/05
#10Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 8:12pm
RippedMan said: "Not to be a creeper but Adam Jacobs posted looking for a sublet for his place for Feb 15. So maybe he's going down under?"
I suspect the US tour is more likely.
#11Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 9:05pm
Does this mean Courtney, James, and Jonathan are leaving as well? 3 going on 4 years is a pretty damn long run. Surprised Jonathan is still around.
ozjust4
Stand-by Joined: 8/31/13
#12Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 9:10pm
I hope so. He'd be fantastic!
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#13Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 9:13pm
If he is indeed the next Aladdin, I'll be so excited for him. But it seems crappy to me to use "family problems" as the transition excuse between leaving a show and announcing such news.
trpguyy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/25/05
#14Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 10:06pm
BroadwayConcierge said: "If he is indeed the next Aladdin, I'll be so excited for him. But it seems crappy to me to use "family problems" as the transition excuse between leaving a show and announcing such news. "
To be fair, I believe it was the In Transit team that cited "family problems," not Mr. Leung. Leaving a show for a better gig is generally a respected reason in the industry, but it doesn't read so well in a press release.
It's also entirely possible that even if Aladdin were on the horizon, he actually did leave In Transit early for a family problem. Principal replacements rarely get more than 3-4 weeks of rehearsal, so assuming Adam Jacobs is leaving mid-February, his replacement (Leung?) probably hasn't started rehearsing yet.
#15Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 10:18pm
To be fair, I believe it was the In Transit team that cited "family problems," not Mr. Leung.
It was not started by the producers. Telly's been posting on his facebook page and elsewhere for a while now that he is just on a leave of absence due to an unexpected personal obligation and he can't wait to get back to his In Transit cast.
trpguyy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/25/05
#16Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 10:27pm
I stand corrected -- now I see his FB post. That being said, I don't think he's necessarily being disingenuous. Why say "I'll be back in a few weeks" if it's not true?
Updated On: 1/4/17 at 10:27 PM
Trish2
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/20/06
#17Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 11:47pm
An out and proud gay Aladdin?!? I love it! #Disneyrocks
#18Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/4/17 at 11:59pm
Might finally book a trip to New Amsterdam for Telly!
ozjust4
Stand-by Joined: 8/31/13
#19Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/5/17 at 10:30am
trpguyy said: "I stand corrected -- now I see his FB post. That being said, I don't think he's necessarily being disingenuous. Why say "I'll be back in a few weeks" if it's not true?"
He has stated he will return to the show on January 31.
https://twitter.com/tellyleung/status/815699249312698369
#20Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/5/17 at 12:17pm
Trish2 said: "An out and proud gay Aladdin?!? I love it! #Disneyrocks"
Well, Ethan Le Phong is the Aladdin understudy in the West End, as well...
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#21Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/5/17 at 1:06pm
It must be a testament to the show/Disney that all 4 leads have stayed with the show for 3 years.
neonlightsxo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/29/08
#22Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/5/17 at 1:09pm
Or maybe it's a testament that they liked the paycheck.
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#23Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/5/17 at 4:14pm
Obviously.
So casting is going to be "any Asian ethnicity" for Aladdin? It's not a bad thing, just interesting.
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#24Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/6/17 at 2:42am
It hasn't been confirmed yet so I'm not sure it's worthwhile to read into it.
But you could make an argument for a Chinese Aladdin based on the source material, if not the Disney adaptation. It's interesting to see where Disney is OK with changing casting from the movie or from the original cast. Maybe the argument is that Newsies and Mary Poppins are "historical" and The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, etc. are based on real places but magical/imaginary. Who can say what Maldonians should look like?
belrowley
Understudy Joined: 5/14/16
#25Is Telly Leung The Next Prince Ali in Aladdin?
Posted: 1/6/17 at 3:38pm
Aladdin is described as Chinese in One Thousand and One Nights, but the original text is an Orientalist imagining of a fictitious China (basically what Arab people thought China looked like). Some scholars argue that Aladdin might have been Uyghur (a Muslim minority group in China). Although all the stories in the anthology are from the Arabic tradition, they can't really be traced back to a specific origin, so there's some room for ambiguity there, hence the pan-Asian casting.
