BIRD TO BE Iago in his early stages during pre-production of Disney’s Aladdin.
At first glance, you’d think any play with a character named Iago would be a natural fit for a Shakespeare company. But when the Iago in question turns out to be a devious talking parrot rather than one of the Bard’s best-known villains, it’s not such an obvious match.
Rick Boynton, the creative producer at Chicago Shakespeare Theater who commissioned Disney’s Aladdin for the company’s annual family production, says this Iago—and this play—is just the kind of work he seeks out.
“Disney originally wrote the piece based on its film for students to perform, but then they decided to open it up to professional companies,” he says. “It’s such a fun story, and it has a great score. We usually try to do a musical [for the summer family show], and it doesn’t get any better than this.”
But challenges come with producing a show based on a story so well known (often even memorized in parts) by very young theatergoers, who may not understand or appreciate varied interpretations. “As a theater company, you want to deliver on expectations as much as you can but still make a production its own special event,” Boynton explains. “We want to make sure that we pay homage to what people love about the Disney film, but interpreting the story in a live production also gives us an opportunity to provide the audience with a different kind of experience by adding a few twists and turns.”
Those twists include the use of puppets, crafted by CST’s in-house designer and builder Meredith Miller, to play some key roles (including Iago) alongside the human cast. “We tend to use a lot of puppets because we have this great resource,” Boynton says. “The audience has really responded to them in past family productions like Willy Wonka.”
But some elements just shouldn’t be tinkered with, Boynton says. “The genie in the movie is blue, and we knew he needed to stay that way. We try to stay conscious of the images that the audience brings along to the theater.”
The production features well-known local performers Bill Larkin as the genie and Larry Yando—Scrooge in the Goodman Theatre’s annual production of A Christmas Carol and Scar in the national touring production of A Lion King—as Jafar.
In addition to the top-notch cast, Boynton says CST’s production includes a few surprises, too. “Prepare for a magic carpet ride,” he says.
Disney’s Aladdin is playing now at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.