Background
The Aladdin story (sometimes combined with Ali Baba and other Arabian Nights tales) had already been a traditional pantomime subject in England for nearly two hundred years, and numerous versions of this tale have been presented. Sandy Wilson was apparently asked to write a conventional pantomime in this tradition, but (quoting from the sleeve notes he wrote for the cast recording):
"Instead of writing a pantomime — a form of theatre about which I know very little — I decided to make Aladdin a musical, and based it on the original story in the Arabian nights"
This is a trifle disingenuous, to say the least, as the show actually follows the traditional pantomime presentation of the Aladdin story quite closely — including the "pantomime dame" character of Widow Twankey (renamed Tuang Kee Chung for the programme). In fact, as a cast recording was released, this is a valuable record of what a traditional Aladdin pantomime (albeit one by a composer/lyricist/playwright of superior talents) is like. To be fair, the plot has fewer completely gratuitous twists, and the songs a little more to do with the plot, than is usually the case with a "pure" Aladdin pantomime.
Read more about this topic: Aladdin (musical)
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