Lafayette school’s performance of Disney’s ‘Aladdin Jr.’ a great hit!
| 23 May 2022 | 12:35
Omar, played by Lillian Docherty; Babkak, by Madison Sanfilippo; Aladdin, played by Vincent Cantu; and Kassem, played by Adelyn McGill. (
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Aladdin, played by Vincent Cantu, and Jasmine, played by Isabella Vogler, perform ‘A Whole New World.’ (
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The Genie, played by Troy Rassmussen, illuminates the possibilities to Aladdin, played by Vincent Cantu. (
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Jafar, played by Bradyn Husarenko, and Iago played by Weslee Dransfield, plot with their evil book of spells to overthrow the Sultan of Agrabah. (
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Omar, played by Lillian Docherty; Babkak, played by Madison Sanfilippo; and Kassem, played by Adelyn McGill, perform the song Prince Ali. (
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Manal, played by Elizabeth Brown; Isir, played by Grace Gall; Jasmine, played by Isabella Vogler; and Rajah, played by Brianna Heavey. (
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Lafayette Elementary School students recently performed “Aladdin Jr.,” holding two performances on Thursday, May 12, and a third performance on Friday, May 13.
Kelly Salerno, English and language arts/writing teacher, who directed the play, said that around 100 students from pre-K through fourth grade attended the morning performance. The Thursday afternoon performance housed 100 students from grades fifth through eighth. The public performance was held on Friday, May 13, and 400 people attended the show.
Salerno said that the “Aladdin Jr.” performance was based on the Broadway production of “Aladdin” from 2014. The 2014 “Aladdin” play was produced by Disney Theatrical Productions and was choreographed and directed by Casey Nicholaw.
Salerno told the Advertiser that the students began rehearsing for “Aladdin Jr.” in the middle of February and rehearsed every day for three months to bring the show together.
There were a total of 24 cast members and eight crew members.
All the students that were cast in the play ranged from fourth through eighth grades.
Cast members:
Aladdin: played by Vincent Cantu
Babkak: played by Madison Sanfilippo
Genie: played by Troy Rassmussen
Iago: played by Weslee Dransfield
Isir: played by Grace Gall
Jafar: played by Bradyn Husarenko
Jasmine: played by Isabella Vogler
Kassem: played by Adelyn McGill
Omar: played by Lilliam Docherty
Manal: Elizabeth Brown
Rajah: played by Brianna Heavey
The members of the production team were Director Kelly Salerno, Music Director Corey Ryzuk, choreographer and co-Director Dana Eli, and set designer Robin Waldo. The members of the crew were Chris Dransfield, Connor Hemmer, Kate Farinella, Lydia Meroune, Austin Morales, Sabine Perez, Brelyn Oswald, and Zach Bose.
“I was extremely proud of the students. Many were new to theater and had never been on stage before,” said Salerno. She told the Advertiser that she has directed the spring musical for the past 16 years and this year was the first live production since the spring of 2019.
“We canceled our show in 2020 and we did a virtual show, ‘The Show Must Go On,’ last year, so I had a whole cast of students who never performed on our stage. Most of our cast members were younger students, so they will be with us for a few more years,” said Salerno.
Salerno said she is looking forward to their future live productions.
“I was extremely proud of the students. Many were new to theater and had never been on stage before,” said Kelly Salerno, who directed the play.