It looks like The Genie is getting a new friend, Telly Leung will officially be joining Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway in the title role. The shift is the latest cast change announcement for the show. Major Attaway recently took over the role of The Genie from James Monroe Iglehart. Leung will step into the park beginning Tuesday, June 13, 2017.
Leung’s recent resume includes starring roles in the musicals Allegiance and In Transit (an acappella musical). He also appeared on Broadway in Flower Drum Song and Pacific Overtures and was part of the final Broadway company of the hit musical Rent. He originated Boq in the Chicago production of Wicked and played Dalton Academy Warbler Wes on Fox’s smash television series “Glee.”
Leung succeeds original Broadway cast member Adam Jacobs, who left the company earlier this year to lead the North American tour of Aladdin, currently playing Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre through September 10, 2017.
Aladdin opened to critical acclaim on March 20th, 2014 and quickly established itself as one of the biggest new blockbusters in recent years; last year only the smash musical Wicked was seen by more people on Broadway. Since its opening, Aladdin has set 12 New Amsterdam Theatre house records and welcomed over 4 million people worldwide. Its global footprint has expanded to include productions in Tokyo, Hamburg, London and Melbourne, along with a North American tour.
Also in the cast are Courtney Reed (In the Heights, Mamma Mia) as Jasmine, Major Attaway in his Broadway debut as Genie, and, as Jafar, Tony Award nominee Jonathan Freeman (Mary Poppins, The Producers, She Loves Me) brings to the stage the role he indelibly created in the animated film. Disney Theatrical Productions produces the show that features music from Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman, Time Rice, and Chad Beguelin.