Adam Jacobs (born May 17, 1979) is an American Broadway artist. He is best known for originating the title role of Aladdin in Disney's Aladdin on Broadway. He also starred as Marius in the Les Misérables 2006 Broadway revival, Simba in Disney's The Lion King and most recently as Captain Walker in The Who's Tommy.
Background Born in Half Moon Bay, California, in 1979, Jacobs initially studied piano at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, beginning at the age of 5. He played the instrument for eight years and later found an interest in musical theater. Jacobs performed in local community theater and high school productions. To accumulate additional training, he also attended the summer programs of the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in downtown SF and the California Institute of the Arts (CSSSA) in Valencia, California. When a representative from the San Francisco Opera saw him star in his high school's production of Evita, he asked Jacobs to audition for an upcoming documentary opera based on the story of Harvey Milk. Jacobs auditioned for the film and was cast as "Young Harvey". This allowed him to participate in both a performance marking the anniversary of Milk's assassination and the candlelight ceremony that took place prior to the show.
Jacobs studied at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts and graduated with a BFA in Theater. During this time, he also studied with the Collaborative Arts Project Musical Theater program (CAP21) and the Stonestreet Film and Television Studios program.
Career Upon graduation from Tisch, Jacobs performed in regional theater and cruise lines. He toured the country as Cinderella's Prince in Into the Woods before landing his first Equity production as Nanki-poo in Marriott Theater's Hot Mikado.
Jacobs got his big break when he landed the role of "Marius" in the national tour of Les Misérables, a part he later played in the Broadway revival. Since then, Jacobs has starred in Mamma Mia! as Sky and The Lion King as Simba, both on Broadway. He also played the role of Daniel Beauxhomme in Paper Mill Playhouse's production of Once on This Island. Jacobs credits his mixed Filipino-Jewish ethnicity which has allowed him to play such varied roles.
In 2011, Jacobs began performing in the original cast in the musical Aladdin as the title role at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle. In 2012, the musical put on several regional and international productions, and was given a Toronto tryout the following year. It opened on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on March 20, 2014. Jacobs performed his last show in Broadway's Aladdin on February 12, 2017. It was announced that he would continue playing Aladdin in the upcoming North American tour. The North American tour began April 11, 2017.
His debut solo album entitled Right Where I Belong, is a compilation of Alan Menken songs including well known tunes such as “Proud of Your Boy” (Aladdin), “Go The Distance” (Hercules), “Santa Fe” (Newsies), and “Suddenly Seymour” (Little Shop of Horrors in duet with his sister Arielle Jacobs) as well as a few lesser-known melodies from Menken's earlier works.
Personal life Jacobs met his future wife, Kelly Kohnert, performing in a Christmas show in Hershey, Pennsylvania. While she was performing as a dancer, he starred as the show's Santa Claus. The two were later married, and their twin boys were born on January 27, 2014. The family moved away from Sunnyside and moved to Wilmette, Illinois, in 2018. Jacobs' younger sister, Arielle Jacobs, is also a successful theater actress and starred as Princess Jasmine in Aladdin on Broadway and as Imelda in Here Lies Love on Broadway.
Filmography Film Year(s)TitleRoleNotes 2004 Lullaby Duncan Forbes, Charles Noyce 2013 Bottomless Pit Sebastian Short film 2014 Four Kinds of Love Mr. Wilson Random: It's a Small Town Thing Jax, Mr. Tick Tock, ArialAlso writer and director 2021 Adam Jacobs Behind the Curtain Himself Last Call in the Dog House Mo
Television Year(s)TitleRoleNotes 2016 The Blake & Sal Show Himself/Guest Episode: "Entertainment Apex: Adam Jacobs Interview" 2018 Chicago Med Ryan Scott Episode: "When to Let Go" 2019 Soundtrack Dominic Episode: "Track 10: Finale"
Theater Year(s)TitleRoleNotes 2004–2006Les MisérablesMarius Pontmercy Third National Tour 2006–2008 Broadway Revival 2009–2010 Mamma Mia! Sky Second National Tour 2010–2011 The Lion King Simba National Tour - Gazelle Company 2011 Aladdin Aladdin 5th Avenue Theatre 2011–2012 The Lion King Simba Broadway 2012 Once on This Island Daniel Paper Mill Playhouse 2013-2014AladdinAladdin Ed Mirvish Theatre 2014–2017 Broadway 2017–2018 First National Tour 2018 Sweet Charity Vittorio VidalMarriott Theatre 2019 Something Rotten! The Bard 2022 The King and I The King of Siam Drury Lane Theatre 2023The Who's TommyCaptain Walker Goodman Theatre 2024 Broadway Revival 2026 Monte Cristo Edmund Off-Broadway, York Theatre Company
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