This school holidays Hunter Drama will present Disney's Aladdin Jr on stage in Maitland and Cessnock, bringing the Disney classic to life with local children as the stars of the shows.
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The Hunter Drama production team of directors, choreographer and musical directors toured the Hunter region in March of this year, giving students aged nine to 18 years the opportunity to become cast members of the show.
Disney's Aladdin Jr is a special 60-minute abridged version of the full-length Broadway musical that has been reworked to suit young performers.
Through its partnership with Musical Theatre International Australasia, which licenses the Broadway Jr collection, Hunter Drama is now able to offer their internationally-recognised program to a much broader range of performers in the Hunter region.
Twenty-five million people have attended more than 200,000 Broadway Junior productions globally and five million kids have become involved thanks to 500,000 teachers, with numbers continuing to grow.
Disney’s Aladdin Jr is sure to send you soaring on a magic carpet ride filled with romance, laughs and adventure.
The show will feature all of your favourite Aladdin characters, including Iago, Jafar, the Genie and more, as well as show-stoppers such as Friend Like Me, Prince Ali and the Grammy Award-winning A Whole New World.
The Maitland production will feature 27 local children, with Thomas Cummings as Aladdin, Anaiya Mahony as Princess Jasmine, Emilee Pedder as the Genie, Tyler Dean-Brinkley as Jafar, Fergus Beahan-Goff as Iago and Zayne Phillips as the Sultan.
Fourteen-year-old Thomas said being part of the production has been lots of fun.
“I've met a lot of nice people and I've made lots of friends,” he said.
“I've never played a big lead before so it's a big responsibility.”
Anaiya, 12, said it has been a great professional experience.
"I love working with new people and I love being the character, and finding the character. I find Jasmine to be strong but compassionate."
It’s the first out-of-school show and first lead role for 17-year-old Emilee.
“Bringing the show together and watching talented kids grow has been amazing,” she said.
Shows will be held at Maitland Town Hall on Wednesday, July 11 and Thursday, July 12 at 7pm. Visit trybooking.com for tickets.
The magic carpet ride will continue at Cessnock Performing Arts Centre next week, with shows on Friday, July 20 at 7pm and Saturday, July 21 at 2pm and 7pm (tickets at cessnockperformingartscentre.com.au).