Genie invents topical jokes for stage show

Gangnam Style, the Kardashians and Lady Gaga weren t part of the national conversation when the stage show Aladdin debuted a decade ago. Facebook hadn t even started. But now, all those topics and more are part of the musical production at Disney s California Adventure, thanks to the Genie. The seven actors who play the Genie in Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular get wide leeway to invent current jokes for the show. Russ Marchand, who has played the Genie for nine years, said Disney doesn t require him to present jokes ahead of time. He adds something new to the show, either a joke or a gesture, every week - as long as it goes along with the story. The things that would get me in trouble on other shows, they require on this one, said Marchand, 34, of Costa Mesa, the longest-tenured actor in the Genie role Marchand regularly reads gossip websites and watches entertainment news shows such as Access Hollywood cher Genies. Disney stuck with tradition by allowing ad-libs in the live show. The original Genie was Robin Williams, who Actor Russ Marchand, 34, of Costa Mesa has played the Genie for nine years voiced the character in the 1992 movie. Williams reportedly added his own jokes as he recorded, and animators drew scenes based on the soundtrack. At California Adventure, a crowd-favorite joke played off the 2009 incident in which Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift as she accepted a statue at the M TV Video Music Awards. To the audience s delight, the Genie interrupted Princess Jasmine by repeating West s rant: I am gonna let you finish. But Beyonc had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time! Current topics include reality T V star Honey Boo - the blue Genie refers to himself as Honey Blue Blue. The movie musical Les Miserables also is the butt of new jokes. The Genie asks villain Jafar why he is so cie says, I don t like it myself. I don t