Sherri Shepherd to become first woman to play Genie in Broadway’s ALADDIN

Sherri Shepherd will take over as the Genie in Broadway’s ALADDIN at the New Amsterdam Theatre from Friday, 16 October 2026 through Sunday, 3 January 2027. The limited engagement will make her the first woman to play the role in the Broadway production. Entertainment Weekly has reported that the distinction also covers all 11 Disney-produced stage productions of ALADDIN worldwide, placing the casting first within Disney’s stage franchise rather than every theatrical adaptation of the story.

Caleb A. Barnett, Broadway’s principal Genie since 5 May 2026, will remain with the company as standby throughout Shepherd’s engagement. The arrangement keeps Barnett in the production while Shepherd plays the role for the limited period. The Broadway League’s listing on 8 September named Rodney Ingram as Aladdin, Sonya Balsara as Jasmine and Barnett as the Genie, establishing the current company before the October transition.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Shepherd said she had previously taken relatives to see ALADDIN and had not expected to become part of the production herself. She is preparing with dance and voice lessons, along with repeated work on Friend Like Me. That preparation addresses the physical and vocal demands of the Genie role ahead of her first scheduled performance.

Shepherd has also sought Broadway advice from Kristin Chenoweth, Steven Boyer and Wayne Brady. Details of their guidance have not been disclosed. The production has likewise not announced whether the music, choreography, costumes, dialogue or other elements of the Genie track will be adjusted for Shepherd, and no rehearsal start date has been made public.

Her reasons for accepting the part extend to its potential effect on family audiences. Shepherd told the AP that seeing Stephanie Mills in THE WIZ as a child helped shape her sense of what was possible onstage. She hopes that appearing as the Genie will encourage young audience members, particularly girls, to imagine themselves in roles beyond traditional princess parts. Her stated aim connects the casting to the formative experience of seeing Mills lead a major musical.

The engagement will be Shepherd’s second Broadway appearance. She made her debut in 2014 as Madame, the Stepmother, in RODGERS + HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA. Her documented Off-Broadway credits include LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE, CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY: IN THEIR OWN WORDS and Joy Behar‘s MY FIRST EX-HUSBAND. ALADDIN will therefore return her to Broadway more than a decade after her debut while drawing on an established body of New York stage work.

Shepherd will enter a role originated on Broadway by James Monroe Iglehart. His performance as the Genie won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, establishing an award-winning lineage for a part that has remained central to the production throughout its Broadway run.

ALADDIN began Broadway previews on 26 February 2014 and officially opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 20 March that year. It remains in production at the West 42nd Street venue. The musical has a book by Chad Beguelin, music by Alan Menken, and lyrics by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Beguelin. Casey Nicholaw directs and choreographs.

Disney’s announcement states that the stage musical has generated 11 productions across four continents, reached more than 22 million people and set 17 New Amsterdam Theatre house records. Those company-supplied figures describe the wider history and scale of the musical. The announcement included no box-office or advance-sales data attributing a commercial effect to Shepherd’s casting.

The production also carries substantial Australian history, although Shepherd’s engagement has no direct Australian participant or local performance attached to it. Australian performer Ainsley Melham, who played Aladdin in the principal Australian company, later returned to the title role on Broadway. Michael James Scott, the Australian production’s Genie, has also served as Broadway’s principal Genie. AussieTheatre has previously followed those Australian and Broadway links, but public searches located no earlier coverage of Shepherd’s newly announced casting. Her engagement is a separate Broadway development rather than an Australian tour or ticketing announcement.

The next confirmed milestone is Shepherd’s first scheduled performance on 16 October. No schedule of planned absences has been published, so the announced engagement should not be read as a guarantee that she will appear at every individual performance. Her limited run is due to conclude on 3 January 2027, and the production has not announced who will serve as principal Genie after that date.