There's plenty of Disney magic to go around in Orlando, Florida, where Walt Disney World's annual International Festival of the Arts is in full swing at EPCOT. And theatre stars Isabelle McCalla and Adam Jacobs are currently bringing a little Broadway magic to audiences throughout the month of January. They are performing as part of the Disney on Broadway Concert series running now until February 23 and featuring a whole host of performers who have starred in Disney's stage musicals.

On January 16, Jacobs and McCalla performed a special preview concert for the press; see videos from the event below. McCalla and Jacobs had their own solos—singing "Out There" and "Proud of Your Boy," respectively—and then united to perform duets of "A Whole New World" from Aladdin and Newsies' "Carrying the Banner" and "Seize the Day." The duo will continue to perform in concert at EPCOT until January 29. 

Jacobs, who originated the role of Aladdin on Broadway, described himself as growing up with Disney parks, regularly going to Disneyland in his home of California. "We would go to Disneyland, do the Matterhorn...I loved the Electric Light Parade," he said in an interview with Playbill. He also cites Simba and Aladdin as being his two favorite Disney characters as a child, which, serendipitously, also became the second and third roles he booked on Broadway. "I got to play Simba before I played Aladdin, that was my Disney debut, and it was very moving and cathartic. I was able to carry stuff that was personal to me into the role, and every night, when I got to see Mufasa's face come together behind me...I mean, I cried every time."

Like Jacobs, McCalla has also graced the stage in Aladdin, starring both on the national tour and Broadway as Jasmine. As she tells Playbill: "I was the first Jasmine replacement, and it was incredible, because [director] Casey Nicholaw and Disney were supportive...they nicknamed me 'Spunky Jasmine,' because they wanted me to make her my own. I was very grateful because that's not always the case when you are coming into a role that has been established." 

But it's not just Aladdin songs that the duo is singing at EPCOT. They got to create a setlist of Disney songs that spoke to them personally. As part of her set, McCalla is performing "Out There" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. "Personally, I've never been confined to, 'I have to sing the Princess songs.' I don't think emotion or the human experience is gender specific," said McCalla. "I would love for a man to sing 'Beyond These Palace Walls' if they wanted to. So if I see a song like 'Out There' from Hunchback, I'm like, 'yeah, that's mine.'"

McCalla and Jacobs are also performing a montage of Newsies songs—a musical which neither of them have (yet) starred in onstage, offering audiences an exclusive experience of their rendition of "Carrying the Banner" and "Seize the Day." 

"I'm putting on the full Bronx accent," Jacobs said. "I'm doing the whole thing." Whether singing songs he has yet to perform full-time like selections from Newsies, or songs from Aladdin he's performed in front of thousands of audiences, Jacobs still feels the magic in every moment. "I always enjoy it, it's play time. When I get up there, the more that I just have fun and play, I feel like it's infectious with the audience."

The Disney on Broadway concert series will continue at Walt Disney World's EPCOT Theme Park through February 23 with a rotating set of dates and performers. Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid”) and Jelani Remy (The Lion King) will perform January 17–29, Tarzan's Anastacia McCleskey and Josh Strickland will perform January 30–February 10, Mandy Gonzalez (Aida) and Kissy Simmons (The Lion King) will perform January 31–February 12, Ainsley Melham (Aladdin) and Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins) will perform February 13–19, Susan Egan (Beauty and The Beast) and James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin) will perform February 14–21. The festival will close out with a Disney quintet February 22–23 with Brown, Melham, Egan, Iglehart, and Kyra Belle Johnson. 

For the full line-up and more information, click here.

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Photos: Adam Jacobs and Isabelle McCalla Perform at the Disney on Broadway Concert Series in EPCOT

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