Adam Jacobs, who originated the title role in the Disney Theatricals stage adaptation of Aladdin, will take the show on the road when the first national touring company begins performances in Chicago this spring.
Jacobs, who has been associated with Aladdin since the show began workshops in 2010 and through out-of-town tryouts in Seattle and Toronto, has led the Broadway cast since the show’s opening in February 2014, and earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for the role. He previously appeared on Broadway in another Disney musical, as a replacement Simba in The Lion King; he also played Marius in the 2006 revival of Les Misérables.
Jacobs’s last performance in the Broadway cast is expected to be February 12. On Wednesday, Playbill.com reported that Telly Leung would step into the title role on Broadway at an unspecified date. Additional casting for the touring company remains to be announced. Like Jacobs, his fellow Broadway principals Jonathan Freeman (Jafar), Courtney Reed (Jasmine) and James Monroe Iglehart (who won a Tony Award as the Genie) are still with the show nearly three years in.
Aladdin begins performances April 11 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. The touring company is expected to play up to 26 weeks in Chicago before moving on to additional cities.
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