It's a spectacle: DPAC opens Disney's Aladdin this week

The hit Broadway musical features the songs you know and love from the Disney film, along with ones written specifically for the show. Tickets start at $30.

I had the opportunity to chat with veteran actor Jerald Vincent, who plays the role of the Sultan, to learn more about the show and what he loves about it. Vincent has a host of performance credits - from a turn in Aida on Broadway to an assortment of national tours and credits in movies and shows such as "Coming to America," "Naked Gun 33 1/3," "Rosewood," "Casino" and "Thirtysomething."

To create the colorful world of Agrabah, the show has 350 costumes that feature 2,000 different fabrics, all inspired by the colors and styles of the Middle East and north Africa. In one number, "A Friend Like Me," the cast rushes through 100 costume changes in less than a minute.

"The show is complete eye candy to the audience," Vincent said.

And, yes, the carpet does fly.

"It wouldn't be Aladdin with the flying carpet," he said. "It's so fun to listen to the oohs and aahs when the amazing carpet takes off. People see this amazing theater before their eyes when Jasmine and Aladdin are suspended in the air, singing that iconic song, 'A Whole New World.'"

But the experience is much different.

"They are both completely different mediums," Vincent said. "A theater is one that the exchange with the audience is in complete real time. And you get a chance to see and experience the wonderment of what they're seeing in front of their eyes. What I love about the theater is you have to know that it all starts from words on a page and then these amazing craftsman come and put the show together."

"What I love about the creation of Agrabah are there are no boundaries," he said. "It's a fictitious place, so what the creators have done is put every shade of color on the stage from the fabrics to the people, and it's so beautiful."

A couple of decades ago, many casts were primarily white. But, that's changing. With roles in shows such as "Rent," "The Lion King," and "Aida," Vincent has been at the forefront of the shift. "Now, most casts are a lot more multicultural than they used to be," he said, "which is a good thing."

Vincent is the dad of two 20-something young men - a Stanford graduate and a University of Chicago graduate, he shares proudly. His own experiences shape the way he plays his role as father to Jasmine, but also ruler of a kingdom.

"Some see it as an all powerful sultan," he said. "I choose to play it as dad. My most important thing is my relationship with my daughter."

"What I like most about performing is the energy exchange with the audience that's right in the moment," he said.

And, when performers don't give 100%, the audience knows it immediately.

"My job is to make sure that it feels like the first time I went out on stage every night," he said. "That's my drive and intent and focus at this stage of the game: Make it feel like it's the first time it's happening."

How does he make it happen night in and night out? He draws from the lessons he learned early on in his career, from greats like Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr. and Aretha Franklin.

"That's where the craft comes in," he said. "You know what that level is, and you have to get to it every night. That's the school I'm from, and I grew up around greater performers."

Disney's Aladdin opens Oct. 2 and runs through Oct. 26 at DPAC.