By Wendi Reardon Price
Clarkston News Staff Writer
Students in Clarkston Junior High School Drama Club want to show you a whole new world as they bring to the stage “Disney’s Aladdin, Jr.” this Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. .
“Aladdin, Jr.” is an updated version of the Disney classic which follows Aladdin, played by Gabe Logusz, who finds Genie, played by Lina Borgula. Genie grants Aladdin three wishes as he wants to earn the respect of Princess Jasmine, played by Maya Moshier.
“It’s exciting,” Moshier said about bringing Aladdin, Jr. to life on stage. “I have done theater for a long time. It is exciting to experience this.”

“It is truly a superb experience because you see the characters you grew up around and put yourself in their shoes,” Logusz added. ”People can be in the moment. It’s not something you can experience all that often. Being able to do that is unique.”
Cece Schemmel, plays Manal, Annabelle St. Aubin, plays Isir, and Camryn Farrell, plays Rajah.
“It’s super fun,” said Schemmel. “To be a part of it and be able to tell the story it’s fun to put yourself out there. I am excited.”
“Theater is a great experience,” St. Aubin shared.
Schemmel, St. Aubin and Farrell step into the roles of Jasmine’s handmaidens and close friends.
“We get to spend a lot of time with Jasmine and we have a nice, fun dynamic. Very sisterly,” said St. Aubin.
“It’s a whole new world,” Schemmel added. “It’s this amazing adventure and full of relationship, friendship, romance. It’s all in this amazing show with great music.”
“Very high energy,” St. Aubin shared.
“It’s very friendly. It’s fun to watch even if they don’t like watching Disney movies,” said Farrell.
The trio pointed out there are differences between the film and stage versions. Besides adding more songs, another difference is the animal characters from the film are humans in the play adaptation.
“It gives them more speaking lines and things to do,” St. Aubin said.
The cast and crew invite the community to come watch the show.
“Clarkston has a ton of talent,” said Moshier. “This show puts the spotlight on the spotlight on the kids who are talented. It takes a lot of work to do this.”
Logusz added, “supporting the theater productions in Clarkston can help bring more shows to the stage.”
“Theater is a universal experience,” St. Aubin said. “It’s fun to watch and fun to see all the hard work put into it.”
“With the show, there is a lot of choreography and dancing,” Schemmel added. “There are so many comedic lines and characters.”
“It’s good for all ages,” said Farrell.
St. Aubin agreed adding, “younger children will be entertained by the show.”
“Aladdin, Jr.” is this Friday, November 10, and Saturday, November 11, 7 p.m. at Clarkston Junior High School Performing Arts Center, 6595 Waldon Road. General admission tickets are $5. No advanced sales or reserved seats. Please purchase tickets at the door, starting at 6:15 p.m.

  clarkston junior high school, Drama Club