Please welcome to the blog Adam Jacobs, who kicked off previews this week at 5th Avenue Theatre of Aladdin - a world premiere musical destined for the bright lights of Broadway.

Adam was nice enough to chat with us a little about his experience as an actor, working on a world premiere show, and how he keeps his sometimes-long-distance relationship strong when jobs take him on the road... check it all out!

Christopher Michael, Hunk du Jour: This isn't your first role in a Disney musical, did your appearance as grown-up Simba in The Lion King give you some Disney street cred that helped you land the part of Aladdin?

Adam Jacobs: Playing "Simba" in The Lion King definitely helped me get the role of "Aladdin." After seeing my performance, the heads of Disney Theatricals thought I'd be right for it and brought me in for a workshop. At the time I didn't even know it was in the works so it was quite a surprise to get that call. That went well enough that they decided to go ahead with the current production in Seattle. I also had played Cinderella's "Prince" in the national tour a while back so that might've added to the Disney street cred too.