And they lived happily ever after...

It's over...

After watching four theater performances of Aladdin, I find myself humming Prince Ali and Friend Like Me throughout the day. The songs are in my head.

Diamond premiered in her first theater performance this past weekend. According to her, it is 'one of the best experiences she's ever had in her life!' (Because she's had so many in her 8 years.) 63 kids got together for the past 3 weeks and spent 7 hours a day 5 days a week preparing for this show. Nobody had a small role. Everyone had a speaking and a singing part. The kids built great relationships with each other and they even had a mentor program where an older child was responsible for a younger child. They were each others' "Big" and "Little." It was all absolutely adorable!

All of the kids worked really hard to bring this on and with five performances, you better bet they were tired after today. They had a cast party for them this evening to celebrate their success and their first show without the academy's director (although they did raise money at a garage sale one weekend to bring her home from New York to watch it.)

Diamond was a townsperson... and for those of you that know the story behind her role, she loved it all!!! She was probably the cutest townsperson up there! Here are some pictures from their final show.

Diamond in costume as a townsperson.

Diamond and her good friend, a Rif Raf, after the show.Diamond and her 'Big' who was a narrator.

Posing with Jasmine.The Genie... He was awesome!