Take a Magic Carpet Ride with Aladdin at the Benedum

by Janet Jonus

The magical world of Aladdin comes to the Benedum.

Spend an evening immersed in the exotic world of Agrabah, where magic and mystery, love and betrayal, and good and evil fight to win the day. Aladdin opens at the Benedum on August 22nd and runs through September 9th with daily performances Tuesday through Sunday.

A poor young man’s life changes when he meets the beautiful Princess Jasmine and is pulled into a world of intrigue, wealth, love, and deceit. Aladdin is living on the streets of Agrabah, stealing to survive, but he has a good heart and a desire to make his life better. The Princess, Jasmine, must marry but she longs for a new life outside of the palace walls where she can make her own decisions instead of having them made for her. The Sultan’s Grand Vizier, Jafar, wants the throne for himself and will stop at nothing to take over the Kingdom. When Aladdin meets the magical, musical Genie, events are set in motion that will change everyone’s lives forever.

Aladdin is based on the 1992 Disney movie by the same name. The musical debuted on Broadway in February of 2014 and has played in cities worldwide. Songs from the movie include “One Jump Ahead”, “Diamond in the Rough”, and “Prince Ali”. The Genie’s tour de force, “Friend Like Me” is a crowd-pleasing favorite. The Magic carpet ride for “A Whole New World” is truly awe-inspiring. The production features elaborate costumes and sets and bravura performances by Clinton Greenspan as Aladdin, Lissa deGuzman as Jasmine, and Trevor Dion Nicholas as the Genie.

Aladdin plays at the Benedum through September 9th. Shows are at 730PM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Thursday performance is at 730PM. The performance on Fridays is at 800PM. There are two show times on Saturdays, a matinee at 200PM and an evening performance at 800PM. There is a matinee on Sundays at 100PM. There are additional performances on Thursday August 23rd and Thursday September 6th at 100PM. There are additional show times on Sunday August 26th and Sunday September 2nd at 630PM. There are no performances on Mondays. The final performance is Sunday September 9th at 100PM.

Tickets prices are $25.00, $55.00, $65.00, $89.00, $99.00, and $109.00. There are also a limited number of VIP seats available at $150.00 which include premium seating, a commemorative program, and a merchandise item. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 412-456-6666 or online at https://trustarts.org/production/52186/list_performances or at the Box Office at Theater Square at 655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 near the Benedum and Heinz Hall. The Box Office is open Monday through Saturday from 900AM – 900PM and Sunday from 1200PM – 600PM.

The Benedum has a bag policy limiting the size of any bag brought into the theater to 16”x16”x8”. For more information check here: https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/safety-security .

Doors to the theater open one hour before show time. Latecomers may not be seated. Food and beverages for sale at the theater must be consumed in the lobby prior to entering the theater. Reuseable cups purchased at the concession stands and water bottles can be taken into the theater but all other food and beverages are prohibited. Photography and video recording is prohibited. All cell phones must be turned off during performances.

The Benedum Center is located at 237 7th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Parking is in Theater District and Downtown lots. Check out http://parkpgh.org/ for available parking. The Wood Street Station on the T is within one half block of the Benedum. Numerous Port Authority bus routes are nearby. More information can be found here: https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/directions-parking General information can be found here: https://trustarts.org/production/52186/disneys-aladdin/

photo provided by TrustArts.org