Hair alum Steel Burkhardt will fly into the Broadway cast of Aladdin. Beginning December 22, he will assume the role of Kassim, taking over for Brandon O’Neill at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Burkhardt joins a cast that includes Adam Jacobs as Aladdin, Courtney Reed as Jasmine, Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart as Genie and Jonathan Freeman as Jafar.
Burkhardt made his Broadway debut as a tribe member in the Tony-winning revival of Hair. He starred in the touring production as Berger, and went on to reprise his performance in the West End and later on Broadway. This past summer, he appeared in the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing.
Adapted from the 1992 Disney animated film, Aladdin is the story of a street urchin who uses the help of a magic Genie to win the heart of Princess Jasmine. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, the production features a book by Chad Beguelin, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice, the late Howard Ashman and Beguelin. Additional cast members include Clifton Davis as the Sultan, Don Darryl Rivera as Iago, Brian Gonzales as Babkak and Jonathan Schwartz as Omar.