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Reading Notes (Arabian Nights Part 1)

I won't lie. Short story time: I chose to read about Arabian Nights this week solely because of it's relation to Aladdin. My family and I love visiting New York and seeing broadway shows. This past month we went and saw three different shows on broadway that we all loved (American Son, Dear Evan Hansen, and Waitress). These shows were all amazing and it completely reignited my passion for the craft every time I sit in a theater. A few years ago however, I actually had the opportunity to go to New York with my high school theatre department and, aside from exploring the ins and outs of New York, see three other broadway shows (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Kinky Boots, and Aladdin). The experience of traveling with all of my friends was incredible and each show we saw truly touched me in such a unique way. But there was something so very special about Aladdin. The huge opening number in the show is called Arabian Nights and is one of the most magical pieces of theatre I have ever seen. So when I saw that one of the reading options was called Arabian Nights, I jumped at the opportunity!

I thought that I new the complete story of Aladdin from both the Disney movie and the broadway musical. But this one is so unique and separate from this other accounts. Here are a few things I learned about this story:

1. This story starts off with a character by the name of Sultan Schahriar.
2. The story doe snot specify in the beginning how he was deceived by his wife. and gives very vague information about how she hurt him and in what way.
3. Crazily, this residual pain from his first wife resulted in him marrying a new woman every night and killing her through strangling every morning.
4. He had two daughters.
5. The first story if the merchant of the genie is told by his oldest daughter to her husband. There are many versions. (The Merchant and the Genius)

If you get an opportunity to read this story I wold definitely do it! It is so different from the sweet Disney tale we are all accustomed to. Such a good story that employs a lot of dialogue making it an easy read for the reader. I hope to do this in my own story as well.

(by Robin Alston)

Bibliography:
https://fairytalez.com/story-merchant-genius/


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