Cylla von Tiedemann News

New photos of the stars of Disney's Broadway-bound musical comedy Aladdin, including Adam Jacobs (Aladdin), Courtney Reed (Jasmine) and James Monroe Iglehart (Genie), have been released - plus a sneak peek at just a few of the nearly 350 original costumes designed for the show by two-time Tony Award® winner Gregg Barnes. Check out the photos and videos below!

During my first taste of the show last fall, I was certainly wowed by its technical wizardry and its talented cast, but was sadly underwhelmed by how much of the original film's stirring, emotional magic and innocent fantasy had been stripped away in favor of easy, high-camp laughs, dazzling onstage visual effects, and head-scratching staging choices. I think perhaps a small part of me had hoped that a few alterations have been enacted into the tour now that it has arrived an hour south in Costa Mesa months since that L.A. premiere. Alas, no.... the very same show (except for a cast change or two) is now playing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County through February 23.

Mixing love and politics is always a dicey business, even - or especially - on the stage. There's a challenge in portraying both with the kind of depth and authenticity they both deserve. World War One veteran and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Robert Sherwood managed the mix beautifully in his award-winning work 'Idiot's Delight.'

Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents the Orange County engagement of the first North American tour of the new stage adaptation of THE WIZARD OF OZ. The show will play at Segerstrom Hall from today, February 11 - 23, 2014.

Cameron Mackintosh's latest production of Boublil & Schonberg's masterpiece, Les Miserables, the first show of the 2013-2014 Mirvish Subscription Season, ends its run today, February 2, 2014, at the Princess of Wales Theatre. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you photos of the cast raising the barricade in Toronto!

A look back at the Toronto sit down production as it comes to a close, with three of our very own stars Broadway Bound! Ramin Karimloo, Cliff Saunders, and Melissa O'Neil are all headed to the great white way in the new broadway revival!

London and Broadway's original Jean Valjean, Colm Wilkinson, performed the role of the Bishop for a special performance of LES MISERABLES Saturday evening, January 11 in Toronto at the Princess of Wales Theatre alongside Broadway's next Valjean, Ramin Karimloo, who will star in Cameron Mackintosh's new production of the legendary musical beginning March 1 at the Imperial Theatre. Wilkinson passed the torch - and the silver candlesticks - to Karimloo in a special benefit performance for five different Toronto charities: Casey House, Covenant House, Ernestine's, The Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa and Theatre 20. Wilkinson and Karimloo brought down the house with a special curtain call duet of 'Bring Him Home.' The Iranian-born Karimloo, who grew up in Toronto, has idolized Wilkinson since he was 12 and saw him perform in the title role in The Phantom of the Opera in Toronto. Karimloo went on to star as the Phantom in London, and since this November, as Jean Valjean, in Cameron Mackintosh's new production of LES MISERABLES in Toronto, for which he has received unanimous acclaim. BroadwayWorld brings you photos and video highlights below!

Tarragon Theatre presents the English-language premiere of Flesh and Other Fragments of Love by the Governor General Award-winning playwright Evelyne de la Cheneliere whose Bashir Lazhar Tarragon produced in 2008. Directed by the theatre's Artistic Director Richard Rose, Tarragon continues its tradition of presenting English premieres of Quebec plays with a translation by Linda Gaboriau. Both a little bit ominous and a little bit magical, this imaginative and surprising take on married life, love and identity opens January 15 and runs to February 16 (with previews from January 7) in Tarragon's Mainspace. Tickets range from $21-$53 (inclusive of HST) and are available by calling Patron Services at 416-531-1827 or by visiting www.tarragontheatre.com.

Manon, Sandra and the Virgin Mary by Michel Tremblay will be directed by John Van Burek and stars Irene Poole and Richard McMillan at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. The show will run now through February 2, 2014.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced casting for the Orange County engagement of the first North American tour of the new stage adaptation of THE WIZARD OF OZ. The show will play at Segerstrom Hall from February 11 - 23, 2014.

History was made last night in Toronto when the originator of the central role in the international mega-hit mega-musical LES MISERABLES, Colm Wilkinson, joined the new 2014 Jean Valjean soon headed to Broadway to headline the highly anticipated revival, Ramin Karimloo, for both the performance of the show and a special encore duet at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

London and Broadway's original Jean Valjean, Colm Wilkinson, performed the role of the Bishop for a special performance of LES MISERABLES Saturday evening, January 11 in Toronto at the Princess of Wales Theatre alongside Broadway's next Valjean, Ramin Karimloo, who will star in Cameron Mackintosh's new production of the legendary musical beginning March 1 at the Imperial Theatre.

Disney's ALADDIN, which is set to fly onto the Great White Way at the New Amsterdam Theatre on March 20, ends its pre-Broadway engagement at Toronto's Ed Mirvish Theatre today, Jan. 5, 2014. The production officially opened on Nov. 21, 2013.

Technical wizardry and solid singing highlighted this new production of WIZARD OF OZ, now playing at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts in Saint Paul.

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts today announced the opening of Andrew Lloyd Webber's all-new stage adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, which will run tonight, Dec. 4-29 at the Ordway in Saint Paul, Minn. This national production features the original music by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg from the 1939 Oscar-winning film, with additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

The brand new Canadian production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE WIZARD OF OZ opens this week at Saint Paul's The Ordway Center for Performing Arts, where Dorothy is played by Danielle Wade, who won the coveted role in a Canadian reality show, 'Over the Rainbow.' Wade shared a little about herself and the production as she headed south for the tour..

Pleiades Theatre presents Manon, Sandra and the Virgin Mary by Michel Tremblay. Translated and directed by John Van Burek, this extraordinary work will be presented at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre from January 11 to February 2, 2014. It opens on Wednesday, January 15.

Due to popular demand - and just in time for the holidays, Disney's Aladdin is releasing additional seats for performances between December 17 through January 5. The additional seats will go on sale Monday November 25 at 9AM.

Aladdin, which will open on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on March 20, is currently playing at Toronto's Ed Mirvish Theatre (formerly the Canon), where it will run through January 5, 2014. Opening night is tonight, November 21, 2013.

Aladdin, which will open on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on March 20, is currently playing at Toronto's Ed Mirvish Theatre (formerly the Canon), where it will run through January 5, 2014. Opening night there is November 21, 2013. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the cast in action below!