NEW YORK (AP) — Her wish is being granted: Sherri Shepherd plans to join the hit musical “Aladdin” as the Genie.
The Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show host and NAACP Image Award winner will slip into the magical role from Oct. 16 to Jan. 3.
“I’ve taken my family, my nieces and nephews, to see this musical and I never dreamed that I would one day be a part of the ‘Aladdin’ family. So I am beyond thrilled,” Shepherd tells The Associated Press.
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“All of the children that are coming in that theater, I want them to feel the same way I felt when I was a little girl, and I saw Stephanie Mills in ‘The Wiz,’” she says.
Shepherd is taking dance and voice lessons and belting out her soon-to-be signature song, “Friend Like Me,” on long walks through the city to prepare for the wisecracking, high-energy role that won James Monroe Iglehart a Tony Award in 2014.
Weren’t there any easier options? “My whole career has never been the easy way,” she replied. “My whole life is, ‘If it scares you, then you say yes.’ And this is no different because it’s completely out of my comfort zone.”
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The role will mark Shepherd’s second trip to Broadway. In 2014, she played the evil Stepmother in “Cinderella.” Her other theater credits include the off-Broadway shows “Love, Loss and What I Wore,” “Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words” and Joy Behar’s “My First Ex-Husband.”
Shepherd, a podcaster and author who was a co-host of “The View” and had her own talk show, “Sherri,” said she’s asked her Broadway friends for help.
“I’m talking to my friends, Kristin Chenoweth; Steven Boyer, who was in ‘Kimberly Akimbo;’ Wayne Brady — anybody I know who has been on Broadway. I am calling them up going, ‘Help me, help me, help me’ and getting a lot of advice.”
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“Aladdin” is a musical adaptation of the 1992 movie starring Robin Williams. The musical’s story, by Chad Beguelin, hews close to the film: A street urchin finds a genie in a lamp and hopes to woo a princess while staying true to his values and away from palace intrigue. It’s often the first Broadway show children see.
“I want the children to see the possibilities,” said Shepherd. “I want the little girls to say, ‘Oh yeah. I know I used to dress as a princess, but I could be the Genie. I can make wishes come true. Maybe I could be president.’”
