Broadway: Sherri Shepherd to be the first woman to play the Genie in ‘Aladdin’

Sherri Shepherd will become the first woman to portray the Genie in an official Disney stage production of Aladdin on October 16. The American actress and host will hold the role until January 3, 2027, at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York.

The production announced this casting on September 8 via its official Instagram account. The musical’s website now lists Sherri Shepherd in the cast for this period. According to Disney, the character has never been played by a woman in the eleven versions of the show produced worldwide.

An award-winning performer at the Daytime Emmy Awards, the former co-host of The View will succeed a long line of male actors who have portrayed the Genie. On stage, as well as in the 1992 animated film, this character features several of the main comedic and musical numbers of the work.

Sherri Shepherd told the Associated Press that she is preparing for the role with singing and dancing lessons. She hopes that young female audience members discovering the show will see themselves in this new interpretation of the character.

This appearance will mark her return to Broadway more than ten years after playing the stepmother in Cinderella. Aladdin, adapted from Disney’s animated classic, has been running at the New Amsterdam Theatre since 2014.