Theater: Flying High on the Magic Carpet
ADI ROY, the lead actor of Disney’s Aladdin North American Broadway Tour talks about his lifelong love for theater, balancing it with academics, the importance of auditioning, and the experience of playing the lead in this splendid high-energy show.
In middle school, Adi Roy landed the lead role in his school play, Aladdin Jr. Perhaps not having seen the blockbuster Disney film proved beneficial for him. As his talent captivated the audience, his prince-like charm stole the show with a roaring standing ovation. Now, just six short years later, Roy has been receiving nightly ovations. Portraying the same titular role, he is delighting the audience—except this time it’s on Disney’s Aladdin North American Broadway Tour.
Adi Roy as Aladdin. (Photo: Deen van Meer, Disney)
The Broadway play is adapted from the film and centuries-old folklore. It tells the age-old love story of poor Aladdin and Princess Jasmine of the fictional Arabian city of Agrabah. Living as a street urchin, Aladdin becomes known as “the diamond in the rough” who has the power to invoke the wish-granting magical Genie.
Roy’s charm shines in Aladdin, making it incredibly fun. The play takes audiences into a soaring, shimmering world with crafty villains, daring adventures, and timeless romance. The hard work, especially of Roy, as the lead character, dazzles throughout the show as this hero high kicks, cartwheels, and electrifies amid jaw-dropping set designs like the stunning Cave of Wonders. In the spectacular “Friend Like Me,” a ten-minute sequence, the attention-grabbing Genie (played by Marcus M. Martin) delights with his powerful vocals, elevating the stage presence of Roy and the rest of the cast. Irrefutably, the show-stunner was the magical carpet ride during “A Whole New World,” entrancing observers “through an endless diamond sky.” Their harmonies soared as Aladdin and Princess Jasmine (played by Senzel Ahmady) free-floated, twisted, and turned through the night sky.
Growing up in Chatham, New Jersey, Adi’s love for the stage flourished through the silver screen. “My immigrant Indian family are large movie buffs. We’d sit down every night in front of the TV watching a different Bollywood or Tollywood movie. The acting, the singing, and the dancing mesmerized me,” Roy says.
Senzel Ahmady (Jasmine) and Adi Roy (Aladdin). (Photo: Deen van Meer, Disney)
His theatrical pursuit was inspired by his sister. “Being a younger brother, I looked up to everything my sister did,” he says. As she enrolled in theater classes and began doing class plays, Roy followed suit. He started attending professional theater camps, such as the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, which confirmed his interest in wanting to do this for a living. He went on to study at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute through New York University. His family’s support was pivotal in his all-in commitment.
Roy made his Broadway debut in 2021 as Phoenix in Alanis Morissette’s hit musical, Jagged Little Pill. When Broadway came calling, he decided to pause his in-person studies and changed course to pursue a Data Science degree online via an asynchronous program. He believes that his higher education helps his professional relevance.
Thanks to Disney’s invitation, Khabar got a chance to chat with Roy, the 22-year-old actor, while he was in town in January for performances of the hit musical at Atlanta’s historic Fox Theatre.
Walk us through how you felt when you got the word that you were selected to play Prince Ali Aladdin. What was that like?
It was in March 2022, after six auditions, that I got the call. My previous acting job in Jagged Little Pill had ended and I was between jobs. I was sitting at home in New Jersey auditioning when I got a call from my agent. The first thing he told me was to wait while he brought the other agent on the line. When you hear that, you know it’s good news. I was already jumping around my room! And then to hear that I was going to play the lead role of Aladdin in a national Disney production! It was such a surprise! I was 19 at the time, about to turn 20.
Roy, as the lead character, dazzles throughout the show as this hero high kicks, cartwheels, and electrifies amid jaw-dropping set designs. (Photos: Deen van Meer, Disney)
This is such an energetic, high-flowing, acrobatic show! What’s your secret for this level of fitness?
Our whole team was pushing each other on the physical aspect of the show when we were in rehearsals. I’m much more of a singer-actor than a dancer. So, this whole emphasis on directing all your energy on the balls of your feet, where you’re never fully on the floor, was an interesting new experience for me. It forced me to bring myself into my body, which was a very foreign thing to me. It took a lot of time to get to that level of physical energy. Aladdin, as a character, is always running and jumping. And so, yeah, it was definitely a challenge at the beginning. The high-energy, acrobatic dance-and-song numbers required, as the song indicates, “One Jump Ahead.” Mental preparation for the national tour went hand-in-hand with arduous physical preparedness. The five-and-a-half weeks to prepare for the show meant countless gym hours.
Being of Indian heritage, how did your parents respond to your interest in theater? Did they support it?
My parents, being highly academic themselves, insisted that I complete my studies. My sister graduated from Columbia. So, she is very academic as well. But she’s also the one who paved the way for me towards theater. I followed in her footsteps and did my first show in third grade in elementary school in Illinois. While my parents stressed having an academic plan, they also gave me the freedom and guidance to pursue what I love. Let’s be honest—they paved the financial way to live my dreams. Using her deep Hindu Brahmin faith, my mother would remind me that “things happen as they will.” She insisted on never giving up, on having a backup plan, and, as long as you are capable, [to] keep pursuing your dreams. I had been auditioning heavily for four or five years before [landing the Aladdin role]. You might not get a job now; maybe it will happen to you in your 30s, 40s, or 50s.
Being that Aladdin is a timeless fable that generations grew up on, how did you prepare for this character knowing that you will have to connect with all age groups? How to win over the kids while also keeping it new and fresh for the grandparents in the audience?
A lot of the credit goes to our creative team. They gave us a lot of leeway with our characters. Even though I had done Aladdin Jr. in elementary school, I had not even watched the movie. I wasn’t a fan like the majority of the kids who grew up watching the film. That allowed me to have a fresh perspective on Aladdin. It allowed me to break down the character to his essence; and if you can get that essence of the character, you can add your own little mannerisms and a little bit of your own personality into it. And of course, our musical is not exactly the same as the movie. I feel [our] Aladdin has a lot more depth to his character than the original movie. He gets a whole song, which adds to the experience. So yes, it goes back to our creative team for allowing us to play around with the character to see what sticks. And then it’s all about the joy and energy that you bring to it.
[Right] “An actor’s job is actually auditioning. Doing a show or a movie is just the perk of the job,” says Roy.
What’s next for you after this tour is over?
One of the quotes I saw growing up was that the actor’s job is actually auditioning. Doing a show or a movie is just the perk of the job. That has always informed my view of the industry. You are always auditioning! There is a little bit of beauty to that... like you’re never stuck in something; but then you also have to prepare yourself for rejection, which happens a lot in the industry.
Neha Negandhi is a freelance writer and social change organizer based in Atlanta, Georgia.
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