Major Attaway takes over as Genie in Aladdin tonight

Major Attaway assumes the role of Genie in the Broadway musical Aladdin at the New Amsterdam Theatre full-time tonight. He had previously worked as Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart's standby for the production. Mr. Iglehart played his final performance as Genie on February 19 and will take on the dual roles of Marques de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the Broadway production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton at the Richard Rodgers Theatre from mid-April 2017.

Aladdin marks the Broadway debut for Major Attaway whose regional credits also include 'Ragtime,' 'Big River,' 'The Mikado,' 'Hands on a Hardbody,' 'Little Shop of Horrors,' 'Ain't Misbehavin,' 'Rent,' 'Stagger Lee,' and 'Frosty the Snowman.'

Original cast member Adam Jacobs played his final performance as Aladdin on February 12, 2017 and is set to headline the upcoming National Tour of the show. A full-time replacement for Mr. Jacobs is yet to be announced, whilst in the meantime, understudy Joshua Dela Cruz continues in the title role. The principal cast of Aladdin currently includes Joshua Dela Cruz (Aladdin), Courtney ReedMajor Attaway (Genie), Jonathan Freeman (Jafar), Don Darryl Rivera (Iago), Clifton Davis (Sultan), Brian Gonzales (Babkak), Brad Weinstock (Omar) and Steel Burkhardt (Kassim).

Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, Aladdin features music by Alan Menken, lyrics by the late Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin with a book by Beguelin.

Aladdin, based on the Academy Award-winning 1992 animated film, officially opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on March 20, 2014, following previews from February 26, and is currently booking through to August 13, 2017.

The show opened to generally positive reviews, with many critics praising the central performances as well as the staging by director Casey Nicholaw: "This is a wonderful adaptation filled with color, charm and loads of theatrical magic" (NY1); "The magic carpet flies smoothly and so does the rest of Aladdin" (Newsroom Jersey); "the show's ebullient comic spirit should make it a popular hit" (Hollywood Reporter).

The production went on to be nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical, with James Monroe Iglehart taking home the award for "Best Featured Actor in a Musical."

The creative team behind Aladdin features scenic design by Bob Crowley, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Natasha Katz, and sound design by Ken Travis.