Actor George Henare coming home to New Zealand for Aladdin

George Henare has been performing in Australia for two years as the Sultan in Aladdin. Now he's coming back to Auckland with the show in January. Photo / Jason Oxenham

It's been nearly two years since New Zealand actor George Henare joined the cast of Disney's Aladdin but in all that time, he's never seen a full run-through of the blockbuster musical.

Henare, now 73, is kept busy playing the Sultan and "big bossy father" of Princess Jasmine who flees her privileged life behind palace walls only to meet and fall in love with wayward street urchin Aladdin.

Henare says he can always tell from audience reaction what they're enjoying most about the show, which sticks closely to the 1992 film, and sometimes watches the onstage action on backstage monitors which show just how spectacular it is.

"It's a visual treat every night," he says. "I watch the cast dancing and think, 'why can't I do that any more?' but my body says, 'no, George — time to stick to what you are doing'."

He'll be with the multimillion-dollar musical when it opens in Auckland on January 3 and is in town for two days this week, with fellow cast members Ainsley Melham (Aladdin) and Gareth Jacobs (Genie), to promote the show. Tickets go on sale in August, with prices still to be announced, but a wait list has opened for those who want to be first in line.

While Henare is no stranger to performing at The Civic Theatre, walking around the venue — described as absolutely perfect for Aladdin — opened Henare's eyes to nooks and crannies he'd never seen before as well as some tales from its colourful past.

He says Aladdin is bigger and grander than anything he's done before and he thinks New Zealand audiences will be "knocked out" by the scale of the production.

"It still continues to amaze me that I am part of this thing that happens every night."

Up to 100 people work on the show; with a cast of 34, it means most of those are backstage. Henare says he sees a whole other show backstage where a small army of dressers and props people help making lightning-quick scene and costume changes.

"Everyone has their spot to stand and you really don't want to get in the way because there's so much going on."

There are 108 costume changes that take place in less than one minute; 58 changes that must be done in less than 30 seconds. Henare wears regal robes, emblazoned with hand-beaded crystals, and says he simply layers more on for different scenes rather than having to change in the blink of an eye.

He joined the musical for its Australian debut in Sydney in August 2016 and has travelled with it to Melbourne and now Brisbane. Before Auckland, it will also play in Perth and Adelaide but Henare, who has been performing since the 1960s, is no stranger to life on the road.

In a career spanning more than 50 years — and one that has seen him recognised with numerous awards and accolades — Henare has travelled extensively in NZ, Australia and parts of Europe with various productions. One of his final role before joining the Disney production saw him perform in 21 venues with the Gilbert and Sullivan musical HMS Pinafore.