‘Aladdin’ Opens at New Amsterdam Theatre, ‘Mary Poppins’ Closing March 3

The Broadway production of “Mary Poppins” will end its run at the New Amsterdam Theatre this spring, and sources report that Disney hopes to bring a musical version of “Aladdin” to the venue.

When “Mary Poppins” closes March 3, it will have played more than 2,600 Broadway performances since it opened in November 2006. That musical is based on the children’s books written by P.L. Travers and the classic 1964 Disney film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.

Disney has not confirmed that “Aladdin” will play on Broadway, and the New York Times reports that the news comes from two theater executives who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Though no specific timeline was given for the production, the executives said that renovations at the New Amsterdam Theatre are expected to take several months after the close of “Mary Poppins,” and that “Aladdin” likely won’t open until spring 2014.

The stage version is based on the 1992 Disney film and premiered in the summer of 2011 at the 5^th Avenue Theatre in Seattle. A new book for the musical was written by Chad Beguelin, who also contributed to lyrics to songs with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. Those three also were responsible for the music in the original film, which won two Academy Awards – one for best original score and one for best original song (“A Whole New World.”)

Since the Seattle premiere, there have been two “Aladdin” productions. Both were held last summer, with one at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Utah and one at the MUNY in St. Louis. Both were based on the Seattle script.

“‘Aladdin’ incorporates all of the beloved songs from the film’s Oscar-winning score plus never-before-heard Menken/Ashman songs restored from early drafts of the film,” said press notes from the Seattle version. “It marks a return to the authors’ original vision: a loving homage to the Hope-Crosby road pictures with a score invoking the jazz sound of stars like Cab Calloway and Fats Waller.”

Image Courtesy of Disney