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Aladdin

You're nothing if you aren't obsessed....In preparation for the release of the live-action version of "Aladdin," here's some Howard Ashman trivia:

*Ashman did not begin as a lyricist, but as a shlub with a day job (who wrote plays for fun). Ashman's early plays were not well-received.

*After the dazzling success of "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Little Mermaid," Ashman had a dream. A passion project. It was *not* "Beauty and the Beast." Read that again. Ashman's project was *not* "Beauty and the Beast." Ashman had a dream of turning "Aladdin" into a musical. Yes. Ashman moved *directly from MERMAID* to "Aladdin."

*At some point in the vexed, endless "Aladdin" drafting process, Disney people approached Ashman and asked if he'd dream up a musical version of "Beauty and the Beast." No! said Ashman. No! Ashman's dream was "Aladdin."

*And yet Ashman could be an accommodating person, and he did ultimately decide to take a stab at "Beauty and the Beast" while continuing to work on "Aladdin." A side project!

*"Beauty and the Beast" seemed to be everything "Aladdin" was not. It spilled out of Ashman. It was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. It was basically "The Little Mermaid" by another name. Once again, a gay midwestern boy dreams of moving to New York City. But the gay boy is disguised as a bookish weirdo girl in Provence, or somewhere that looks like Provence. The gay boy begins to discover that he has a forbidden love--a love that dare not speak its name, a love that inspires serious wrath among the villagers. Oh, hell, says the gay boy. I'm going after my forbidden love. And all is magically made right in the final act.

*Ashman wrote over ten songs for "Aladdin." Over ten! Three appeared in the final version, the animated movie. You can tell which songs are Ashman songs, because they are the *great* songs. "Arabian Nights," "Prince Ali," "Friend Like Me." These songs are exuberant, effortless, and witty, and they have maybe a whiff (or more) of cultural appropriation; they maybe wouldn't be accepted so easily, if they were released in 2019. (I'm curious how Madonna's ex-husband will handle this matter, in his movie.)

*Ashman didn't get to see "Aladdin" in theaters; he had died. His colleague, Tim Rice, took home the Oscar for "A Whole New World," which obviously isn't on par with "Prince Ali." (Apologies to my husband, who loves "A Whole New World." This ballad *did* give us a Lea Salonga solo, so that's important.)

*More to come. Make way for Prince Ali.
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