![]() And then at the end, when she makes a stand and says, “I will not remain speechless.” I think it worked out rather well. The first part being early when Jasmine says, “I don’t want to remain speechless,” because she’s told to be seen and not heard. We found the best way to get it into the movie was in fact to have it in two parts. MENKEN Well, then the challenge was: How do we fit it into the movie? What spot does it go in? That was a trickier part of it. Why does it appear twice in the film, first as a reprise and then in full toward the end? It was a jumping-off point for us to work on “Speechless.” He says, “Speechless, I see? A fine quality in a wife.” So going through the animated movie and realizing the content was already there for us gave us a real, direct line to the original intent of the characters and the world. PASEK One of the exciting moments was getting to discover a line that existed in the original animated movie, where Jafar has a particularly misogynistic line that he says to Jasmine when he’s trying to force her to become his bride. How did you make sure that the song matched the tone of the original songbook while remaining contemporary? We got to see earlier drafts of some of the original songs in Aladdin, some of his and Howard’s original work. Not only did he encourage us and allow us to find our own voice in this, he also shared with us. Of course, the advantage that we had - the only reason that we dared tread on that ground - is that we got to be in the room with Alan. JUSTIN PAUL We were incredibly nervous and intimidated to be adding something to what is such a glorious and iconic canon of songs. Once we all get on the same page about what we want, then it’s fine. The thing that does make me nervous with any project is the period in which I want to know: Who is the director? Who’s the writer? How are we going to adapt it? What’s going to be their point of view? That’s really suspenseful. The challenge is I’m writing with a lyricist other than Howard Ashman, and I want to make sure that the style and vocabulary of the songs blend with the score not only musically but also lyrically. Also, of course, I’ve had the experience of having so many of my movie projects being adapted for the stage, and, similarly, I’ve added songs there. I went through that with Beauty and the Beast and I’m going through that now with The Little Mermaid. I’m very blessed in that just about every one of my projects has had a second or third shot at life. You know, I’ve done it so many times now. ![]() Were you nervous to add this new one to the mix? ![]() So it felt like a real opportunity.Īladdin has some iconic songs. You have one of the strongest, most powerful, dynamic Disney princesses, and you have to ask yourself when you’re making a new version of a classic movie, “Why are we creating a new version of this?” It really stood out to all of us that this really powerful character who people had loved for her ferocious personality and her wise, witty, strong sense of self deserved to have a song that reflected that personality. Steve Fickinger, Tony-Winning 'Dear Evan Hansen' Producer, Dies at 62īENJ PASEK I don’t want to even say that it was a decision that was made.
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