By Henni Espinosa, ABS-CBN North America Bureau
Feb. 10, 2012
SAN JOSE, Calif. – It’s an enchanting story, with songs that will take your breath away. This is the theater adaptation of the Disney hit, Aladdin, a story of a poor thief who meets the woman of his dreams at a busy marketplace…Princess Jasmine.
Princess Jasmine escapes from the palace after her father forced her to pick the man she was going to marry from his list of princes. Aladdin and Princess Jasmine fall in love.
To win her hand in marriage, Aladdin summons a genie. His wish — to turn him into a prince. And as expected, they live happily ever after.
17-year old Christian Pascual plays Aladdin. He said of his character, “I have to agree with his determination. When it comes to doing what I want, what I have to do — whatever it takes…even if it takes making a wish every now and then.”
15-year old Kayla Blasco plays Princess Jasmine. She said of her character, “She actually has the guts to stand up to her parents and fight for what she believes is right.”
Pascual and Blanco are just among the young Filipino performers in this first production of Aladdin Jr. Musical, by the NorCal Academy of Performing Arts of NAPA, in association with Evergreen Studio of Music and the Arts.
Filipina Elvie Teodoro is the groups’ founder and executive director. She said, “We believe that theatre, music and acting have intrinsic values. We wanted to give the children opportunities to enjoy performing before a large audience, be actors and actresses in their own right.”
NAPA, a non-profit organization, provides affordable performance classes to students, even scholarships to those who need it.
These young performers have a deeper purpose for giving it their all in this musical. Part of the show’s proceeds will benefit ABS-CBN Foundation’s Bantay Bata Program, which helps poor and abused children in the Philippines.
Performances for NAPA’s Aladdin Jr. Musical are scheduled from Friday, February 10 to Sunday, February 12 at the Montgomery Theater in San Jose, California. For show times and ticket information, visit www.sjtix.com.
You may contact Henni Espinosa at henni_espinosa@abs-cbn for more information.
