Rick Boynton (Communication ’84), actor turned casting director turned creative producer, embarks on his fourth year at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He talks with THE SUMMER NORTHWESTERN about “Aladdin,” playing at the Shakespeare theater through August 30.

The Summer Northwestern: Why “Aladdin?”

Rick Boynton: We do a wide range of family programming. When the possibility for doing Disney’s “Aladdin” came up, there’s such name recognition, and it seemed like something that we hadn’t done and a way to get some of those people in the theater we hadn’t gotten so far. We had a director in mind that I thought would be terrific for this. It seemed like a good fit.

TSN: A lot of college students grew up on Disney films like “Aladdin.” Who are you trying to reach with this production?

RB: What was so fun about this piece is that we have several people on our staff that just recently graduated from college, and I think almost all of them can quote the entire movie. They know all the songs, because they were at that prime age when “Aladdin” came out. It’s great fun to watch them enjoy it. It really is for the whole family, something for everyone to enjoy. I think all great family theater or children’s theater works on lots of levels.

TSN: What stands out to you about this show?

RB: I believe we’ve created a magical world. There’s the beauty of the Disney score, which is really such a lush and lovely score sort of filled with the Oscar-winner “A Whole New World” and it’s great fun.

TSN: What’s it like doing work with puppets and actors? How does that combination factor in your decision making as creative director?

RB: We’ve done a lot of puppet work here, and when we were approaching this piece in trying to use what we can in terms of theater craft to create magic, we added the element in. We created some fun camels that appear in the Prince Ali song, and we’ve got some singing food trays and Iago the bird. What’s been fascinating is trying to deliver on expectation of those memories that people have of the movie itself and yet to make it a new experience and I think puppets is one element that theater can offer to make it new experience.

TSN: What or who inspires you?

RB: A great storyteller inspires me, a great collaborator inspires me, and I have to tell you, sitting in the back of the house for the shows, the audiences inspires me. To watch those children riveted to the stage and to have this communal response to the journey of the characters.

TSN: When you were at Northwestern what did you aspire to do?

RB: I wanted to be an actor, although what was fascinating even back then was I loved all aspects of theater. When I was there, I designed the set of a university theater production. The first show I did was “Invitation to a Beheading”, based on Nabokov, and I did several musicals: “West Side Story” and “Cabaret”.

TSN: What do you imagine would be the pinnacle of your career?

RB: To keep producing and creating entertaining, challenging theater. I would love to be able to take something from completely the teeniest of ideas and to develop that and put it on a trajectory that really does ultimately have a large impact in sort of the global theatrical world. How’s that for a lofty answer?