''Aladdin'' is a 1958 musical fantasy written especially for television, with a book by

S.J. Perelman Sidney Joseph Perelman (February 1, 1904 – October 17, 1979) was an American humorist and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for ''The New Yorker''. He also wrote for several other magazines ...

and music and lyrics by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

, telecast in color on the '' DuPont Show of the Month'' by CBS. It was Porter's last musical score.

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

issued both

monophonic Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

and

stereophonic Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

recordings of the original TV cast:

Cyril Ritchard Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in ...

Dennis King Dennis King (born Dennis Pratt, 2 November 1897 – 21 May 1971) was an English actor and singer. Early years Born on 2 November 1897 in Coventry, Warwickshire, or Birmingham, England, King was the son of John and Elizabeth King Pratt. He ...

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...

Anna Maria Alberghetti Anna Maria Alberghetti (; born May 15, 1936) is an Italian-American actress and soprano. Biography Born May 15, 1936, in Pesaro, Marche, in central Italy, she starred on Broadway and won a Tony Award in 1962 as Best Actress (Musical) for ''Ca ...

, Geoffrey Holder (as the Genie), Sal Mineo (as Aladdin), and

Una Merkel Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress. Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film ...

(as Aladdin's mother). The musical was adapted for the stage premiering December 17, 1959, at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

, starring

Bob Monkhouse Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'. Ear ...

Doretta Morrow Doretta Morrow (January 27, 1927 – February 28, 1968) was an American actress, singer and dancer who appeared in stage and television productions during the 1940s and 1950s. She is best remembered for having created roles in the original pro ...

, Ian Wallace, and Ronald Shiner, under the musical direction of Bobby Howell. The London stage production expanded the score with several songs Cole Porter had originally penned for other productions.

Musical numbers

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the ...

digitally remastered the original stereo recording for CD release; musical numbers included: *"Come to the Supermarket (in Old Peking)" *"Make Way (for the Emperor)" *"Trust Your Destiny To Your Star" *"Opportunity Knocks but Once (at Thuh Door)" *"Aladdin" *"Wouldn't It Be Fun" *"I Adore You" *"No Wonder Taxes Are High" *"I Adore You (Reprise)" The London stage production also included: *"There Must Be Someone For Me" (from ''

Mexican Hayride ''Mexican Hayride'' is a 1948 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The film is based on Cole Porter's Broadway musical '' Mexican Hayride'' starring Bobby Clark. No songs from the stage musical were used in the film. Plot Joe ...

'') *"Cherry Pies Ought to Be You" (from '' Out of This World'') *"I Am Loved" (from ''Out of This World'') *"Ridin' High" (from '' Red, Hot and Blue!'')

Footage

The original telecast was never repeated (despite videotape being in use at the time), nor was it released on VHS or DVD. A kinescope of the 1958 broadcast survives at both the New York City and Beverly Hills branches of the

Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, dedicated to ...

Influence

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

recorded the

list song A list song, also called a laundry list song or a catalog song, is a song based wholly or in part on a list. Unlike topical songs with a narrative and a cast of characters, list songs typically develop by working through a series of information, o ...

"Come to the Supermarket (in Old Peking)" for ''

The Barbra Streisand Album ''The Barbra Streisand Album'' is the debut album by Barbra Streisand, released February 25, 1963, on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 2007 in mono and CS 8807 in stereo. It peaked at #8 on the Billboard pop albums chart, and has been certified a g ...

'' in 1963. The same song was recorded by

John Inman Frederick John Inman (28 June 1935 – 8 March 2007) was an English actor and singer best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in '' Are You Being Served?'', a British sitcom between 1972 and 1985, and was the only actor from that series to featu ...

for ''Are You Being Served Sir?'' in 1975.

Patti LuPone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of F ...

recorded the same song for her 1993 ''Live'' album.

Moral of The Story

Aladdin is a story which was written as a family friendly show. But it is not only used for entertainment. It is also a good source of teaching lesson for the younger people. It teaches self trust, having faith on self, use of present intelligence etc. In the story we see that Jafar as know as the villain uses Aladdin for his won benefit. When there was a time when Aladdin needed help to get out of the cave, Aladdin asked for help to Jafar , Jafar did not help him he asked for the lamp first. Aladdin did not gave him the lamp. Which teaches that self trust is important and self care is important. on the other hand at the end of the story Aladdin asked the king for the permission to marry Jasmin but the king was brutal to Aladdin. But when the king got Imprisoned and needed help Aladdin helped the king. This teaches to have forgiveness heart.

Lost Musicals revival

In 2012, as part of his

Lost Musicals Lost Musicals is a British musical theatre project established in 1989 by Ian Marshall Fisher. It is dedicated to presenting lost or forgotten musicals by famous American writers, and has been responsible for the first revivals of the lesser-known w ...

project, Ian Marshall-Fisher directed a stage revival at

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-seat ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The cast included

John Savident John Savident (born 21 January 1938) is a retired British actor, known for his numerous television roles, including his portrayal of Fred Elliott in the soap opera '' Coronation Street'' from 1994-2006. He is also known for his performance as ...

as The Magician, Richard Dempsey as Aladdin, Vivienne Martin as Aladdin's mother, Candy Ma as the Princess and Rhiannon Drake as Jade Bud.http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/theatre/341515/Theatre-review-Aladdin-Lost-Musicals-Lilian-Baylis-Studio-Sadler-s-Wells ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

''. 24 August 2012. Accessed 3 January 2015. The production garnered much media attention, due to the well-known cast.

References

External links

* * 1958 television films 1958 films 1950s American variety television series Films based on Aladdin CBS network films 1950s English-language films {{US-tv-film-stub