General Hospital is no stranger to showcasing music, as evidenced by the long-running Nurses Ball. Now, the show is getting even more musical through a partnership with the Broadway hit Aladdin, and its star, Michael James Scott.
General Hospital, Port Charles, a whole new world
Entertainment Weekly reports that the ABC serial, which celebrated its 63rd birthday today, April 1, is crossing over with the Broadway production of Disney’s Aladdin.
The characters of Gio (Giovanni Mazza) and Emma (Braedyn Bruner) go to New York City, where they’ll meet up with Gio’s pal Michael James Scott, who has played the Genie in the stage musical since 2018.
Then, Scott, playing himself, will visit Port Charles. Will the Broadway star need to check in to General Hospital? Viewers will have to tune in to find out.
Crossovers are nothing new to GH. The character of Dr. Steve Hardy (John Beradino) once visited sister soap One Life to Live, set in fictional Llanview, to help draw eyeballs to the series.
In 1999, following the cancellation of Another World, Linda Dano (ex-Felicia Gallant, AW), reprised her OLTL role of Gretel Cummings (now called Rae, which is Gretel’s middle name), and viewers watched Rae soap hop between GH, OLTL, All My Children, and Port Charles in a synergistic effort to get viewers to watch all four soaps!
Gio and Emma’s journey to the Big Apple starts on Thursday, April 23. Watch for Scott to pop up on screen the following day. Then, Scott will show up on GH on Monday, May 4.
General Hospital, Port Charles, New York, Broadway
Given Gio’s musical background (both the actor and the character play the violin), it’s organic that he would know Scott. It turns out that Gio once played in a Broadway orchestra pit, and that led to his meeting Scott.
Aladdin celebrated its 12th anniversary on Broadway last month. The show stars Rodney Ingram (Jane the Virgin) as Aladdin, Sonya Balsara (FBI) as Jasmine, and Dennis Stowe (Tales of the City) as Jafar. The show has been performed at the New Amsterdam Theatre throughout its run.
While in Port Charles, watch for Scott to perform “Friend Like Me,” the song made popular on the big screen by the late Robin Williams (Mork & Mindy). Scott will perform at the seldom-seen club, The Savoy, owned by Curtis Ashford (fan favorite Donnell Turner).
Scott’s no stranger to TV. His credits on-screen include The Carrie Diaries, and he’s currently appearing as Nurse Dubois on the revival of the sitcom Scrubs. Scott makes his final appearance as the Genie in Aladdin on Sunday, May 3.
General Hospital was created by Frank and Doris Hursley. Frank Valentini is the show’s executive producer. Chris Van Etten and Elizabeth Korte are the show’s head writers.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC and Hulu.
Edited by Michael Maloney