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The Lion King (musical)

The Lion King is a stage musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and a book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, with additional music and lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, and Hans Zimmer. It is based on the 1994 Walt Disney Animation Studios' film of the same name.[1] Directed by Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The show is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions.[2]

The Lion King

Elton John

Tim Rice

The Lion King
by Walt Disney Animation Studios

July 8, 1997: Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis

Tony Award for Best Musical

The musical debuted on July 8, 1997 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Orpheum Theatre and was an instant success before premiering on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theater on October 15, 1997 in many previews with the official opening on November 13, 1997. On June 13, 2006, the Broadway production moved to the Minskoff Theatre to make way for the musical version of Mary Poppins, where it is still running after more than 8,500 performances.[3] It is Broadway's third longest-running show in history and the highest grossing Broadway production of all time, having grossed more than $1.9 billion.[4][5][6]

Production history

The musical debuted on July 8, 1997, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the Orpheum Theatre and was successful before premiering on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on October 15, 1997, in previews, with the official opening on November 13, 1997. On June 13, 2006, to make way for the Broadway production of Mary Poppins, the show moved to the Minskoff Theatre, where it is still running after more than 10,000 performances.[7][8] It is Broadway's third longest-running show in history, and has grossed more than $1.9 billion, making it the highest grossing Broadway production of all time.[4][9] Over 112 million people worldwide have seen the musical and it has earned numerous awards and honors, including six Tony Awards, one for Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical, making director Julie Taymor the first woman to earn such an honor.[10]


The show opened in the West End's Lyceum Theatre on October 19, 1999, and is still running after more than 7,500 performances. The cast of the West End production were invited to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in 1999 and 2008, in the presence of senior members of the British Royal Family.[11] The theatre flooded on May 11, 2020, while the theatre was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] The Lion King reopened at the Lyceum in July 2021.[13]


In September 2014, The Lion King became the top-earning title in box-office history for both stage works and films, surpassing the record previously held by The Phantom of the Opera.[14] The musical has grossed more than $8 billion worldwide.[15]


As of March 12, 2020, the show suspended production on Broadway due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] The Lion King resumed Broadway performances on September 14, 2021.[17][18][19] During the week ending January 1, 2023, The Lion King achieved the highest weekly gross in Broadway history with $4.3 million.[20]

Synopsis

Act I

As the sun rises, Rafiki the mandrill calls the animals to Pride Rock. She greets King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi before presenting their cub to the gathered animals ("Circle of Life"). Elsewhere, Mufasa's brother, Scar, laments his lost chance at becoming King. Back at her baobab tree, Rafiki paints an image of the cub and asks the spirits to conjure the new prince's name: Simba.


Time passes and Simba grows into a lively young cub ("Grasslands Chant"). Mufasa shows Simba the Pride Lands from the top of Pride Rock and explains that everything exists in a delicate balance known as the Circle of Life. Mufasa warns Simba not to stray beyond the boundaries of the Pride Lands, pointing out a shadowy area in the distance. Zazu, a hornbill who acts as Mufasa's advisor, arrives and delivers his daily report on the state of affairs in the King's domain ("The Morning Report", now cut from the Broadway production).[21]


Simba goes to see his Uncle Scar. The scheming lion piques the cub's curiosity by mentioning the elephant graveyard, where Simba is forbidden to go. Meanwhile, the lionesses go hunting ("The Lioness Hunt"). Simba arrives and asks his best friend, a female cub named Nala, to come with him to the elephant graveyard. He lies to the lionesses about where they are going, and Sarafina (Nala's mother) and Sarabi allow the cubs to go, escorted by Zazu. Simba and Nala formulate a plan and manage to lose Zazu, while Simba brags about his future position ("I Just Can't Wait to Be King").


The cubs go to the graveyard and begin to explore. Zazu catches up, but they are confronted by three hyenas: Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. The hyenas intend to eat the trespassers and they gloat about their find ("Chow Down"). Mufasa rescues the cubs and frightens off the hyenas.


Mufasa is disappointed and angry at Simba's reckless disobedience, and explains the difference between bravery and bravado. Mufasa tells Simba about the great kings of the past and how they watch over everything from the stars ("They Live in You"). Mufasa says that he will always be there for his son. Later he discusses Simba's behavior with Zazu, who reminds Mufasa that he had the same tendency to get into trouble at Simba's age.


Back at the elephant graveyard, Scar tells the hyenas of his plan to kill Mufasa and Simba so that he can become king. He raises an army of hyenas, promising that they will never go hungry again if they support him ("Be Prepared"). Scar takes Simba to a gorge and tells him to wait there. On Scar's signal, the hyenas start a wildebeest stampede into the gorge ("The Stampede"). Scar tells Mufasa that Simba is trapped in the gorge. Mufasa leaps into the stampede and manages to save his son, but as he tries to escape, Scar throws him off the cliff back into the stampede, killing him. Scar convinces Simba that his father's death was his fault and tells him to run away, but as he leaves, Scar orders the hyenas to kill him. Simba escapes but the hyenas tell Scar that he is dead. Rafiki and the lionesses mourn the deaths ("Rafiki Mourns"). Scar claims the throne and allows the hyenas into the Pride Lands ("Be Prepared (Reprise)"). Rafiki returns to her tree and smears the drawing of Simba, while Sarabi and Nala quietly grieve.


Out in the desert, Simba collapses from heat exhaustion. Vultures begin to circle, but are scared away by Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog. Simba feels responsible for Mufasa's death, but the duo take the cub to their jungle home and show him their carefree way of life and bug diet ("Hakuna Matata"). Simba grows to adulthood in the jungle.

Act II

The chorus, dressed in colorful clothes with ornate bird puppets and kites, begin the Second Act ("One by One"). As the song ends, however, the beautiful birds are replaced by vultures and gazelle skeletons. Under Scar's rule, the Circle of Life is out of balance and a drought has hit the Pride Lands. Zazu, now a prisoner of Scar, listens to the king's woes. The hyenas are complaining about the lack of food, but Scar is only concerned with himself and why he is not loved. He is haunted by visions of Mufasa and rapidly switches between delusional confidence and paranoid despair ("The Madness of King Scar"). Nala arrives to confront Scar about the famine and Scar decides she will be his queen and give him cubs. Nala fiercely rebukes him and resolves to leave the Pride Lands to find help. Rafiki and the lionesses bless her for her journey ("Shadowland").


Back in the jungle, Timon and Pumbaa want to sleep, but the restless Simba is unable to settle. Annoyed, Simba leaves them, but Timon and Pumbaa lose their courage and follow him. Simba leaps across a fast-moving river and challenges Timon to do the same. Timon falls in and is swept downstream. He grabs a branch over a waterfall and calls for Simba's help, but Simba is paralyzed by a flashback of Mufasa's death. Timon falls from the branch and Simba snaps out of the flashback, rescuing his friend. Simba is ashamed that Timon nearly died because of his recklessness.


The three friends settle to sleep and discuss the stars. Simba recalls Mufasa's words, but his friends laugh at the notion of dead kings watching them. Simba leaves, expressing his loneliness and bitterly recalling Mufasa's promise to be there for him ("Endless Night"). Rafiki hears the song on the wind, joyfully realizes that Simba is alive, and draws a mane onto her painting of Simba.


In the jungle, Pumbaa is hunted and chased by a lioness. Simba confronts her and saves his friend, but recognizes the lioness as Nala. She is amazed to find Simba alive, knowing that he is the rightful king. Timon and Pumbaa are confused, but Simba asks them to leave him and Nala alone. Timon realizes what is happening and laments the end of Simba's Hakuna Matata lifestyle ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight"). Nala tells Simba about the devastated Pride Lands, but Simba still feels responsible for Mufasa's death and refuses to return home.


On his own, Simba meets Rafiki, who explains that his father lives on ("He Lives in You"). Mufasa's spirit appears in the sky and tells Simba he is the one true king and must take his place in the Circle of Life. Reawakened, Simba finds his courage and heads for home. Meanwhile, Nala wakes Timon and Pumbaa to ask where Simba is, and Rafiki appears to tell them all the news. The three of them catch up with him in the Pride Lands, where he witnesses the ruin of his home. Timon and Pumbaa distract some hyenas by doing the Charleston, allowing Simba and Nala to reach Pride Rock.


Scar calls for Sarabi and demands to know why the lionesses are not hunting. Sarabi stands up to him about the lack of anything to hunt, angrily comparing him to Mufasa, and Scar strikes his sister-in-law, saying he's ten times the king Mufasa was. Enraged, Simba reveals himself. Scar forces a confession of murder from Simba and corners him. Believing that he has won, Scar taunts Simba by admitting that he killed Mufasa. Furious, Simba recovers and forces Scar to reveal the truth to the lionesses ("Simba Confronts Scar"). Simba's friends fight the hyenas while Simba battles Scar to the top of Pride Rock. Scar begs for his life, blaming the hyenas for everything. Simba lets him leave out of mercy, but Scar attacks again. Simba blocks the attack and Scar falls from the cliff. The hyenas, who heard Scar's betrayal and are still starving, tear him to shreds.


With the battle won, Simba's friends come forward and acknowledge Simba as the rightful king. Simba ascends Pride Rock and roars out across the kingdom ("King of Pride Rock"). The Pride Lands recover and the animals gather in celebration as Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub, continuing the Circle of Life ("Circle of Life (Reprise)").

Simba

boy soprano

Nala

soprano

: a male lion, Simba's uncle and Mufasa's brother; he kills Mufasa in order to become king. Voice type: baritone

Scar

: a female mandrill who serves as narrator. Voice type: mezzo-soprano

Rafiki

: a male, king of the Pridelands; Simba's father and Sarabi's husband. Voice type: bass

Mufasa

: a male meerkat who becomes a friend with Simba. Voice type: tenor

Timon

: a male warthog who also becomes a friend with Simba. Voice type: baritone

Pumbaa

: a male hornbill, Mufasa's majordomo. Voice type: tenor

Zazu

Shenzi: a female hyena; one of Scar's minions. Voice type:

alto

Banzai: a male hyena; one of Scar's minions. Voice type:

tenor

Ed: a male hyena who cannot speak; one of Scar's minions. Voice type: any male voice type

Sarabi: a lioness, Simba's mother and Mufasa's wife. voice type: any female voice type

The ensemble consists of a variety of African animals, Scar's hyenas, and plants

Phindile Mkhize and Ntsepa Ptjeng are the only actresses who performed as leads in the three languages the musical's been performed in. Phindile performed in English (American tour and Las Vegas, 2002–2010), Spanish (from 2012 to 2013) and Portuguese (2013); while Ntsepa was leading in Brazil (2014, as a substitute to Phindile), Basel (2015) and Shanghai (2016).

They are followed by , who performed as lead in two languages the musical's been performed in: French (2007 to 2010) and Spanish (2011 to the present day). Zama is also the sole actress ever to perform in four companies, as she was in the first Australian tour (2003–2006), German (2006), French (2007–2010) and Spanish (2011-present) productions.

Zama Magudulela

Portia Manyike is the only actress to perform in three languages, though she was never promoted to leading cast member. She's been part of the ensemble in France, Brazil and Mexico.

Nteliseng Nkhela (German and English), Nomvula Dlamini (English and Dutch), Ntsepa Pitjeng (English, Portuguese, Mandarin and French), Thabile Mtshali (English and Portuguese), Mukelisiwe Goba (English and Spanish) and Brown Lindiwe Mkhize (English and Spanish) are the only actresses who performed as leading Rafikis in productions in two languages.

John Vickery was the first actor to move from Broadway into a different production of the show, when he chose to leave Broadway in 1999 to move to the Los Angeles production in 2000.

Sheila Gibbs was the first actress to move from a standby into a leading role. She was a Rafiki understudy for Tsidi Le Loka from 1997 to 1998 and was selected as leading from 2001 to 2002. This was followed by Gugwana Dlamini, who was a standby (1999–2002) and a leading (2002–2005) in the show's London production and Buyisile Zama, who was a standby for Gugwana in London (2002–2003) and leading actress for the show's first Australian tour (2003–2006).

Nomvula Dlamini was the first, and so far the only, actress who moved from Broadway into a production performed in a different language, being the leading Rafiki on Broadway (2002–2004) and Holland (2004–2006).

Spanish actors Esteban Oliver and Mukelisiwe Goba were the first actors who moved from Spain into Broadway, when they respectively took over the role of Zazu and Rafiki understudy in 2014 for a couple of months. Mukelisiwe then was transferred to the Gazelle Tour, taking over Tshidi Manye in September 2015.

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Having been in the show since its 1997 premiere, actress Lindiwe Dlamini is the actress who's been for more time in the show. She's followed by Joachim Benoit, who's been regularly performing as Zazu since the show premiered in Germany, in 2001.

Melina M'Poy was the first actress to perform as the two leading lionesses. She was Sarabi (France, 2007–2010) and Nala (Basel, London, UK tour and Singapore, 2011–2015).

The Londoner production is known to have been the first to have selected non-African actresses to perform as Rafiki, since actresses Josette Bushell-Mingo (1999–2001) and (2001–2003) are English, though their understudies were South African. The American tour companies followed this when Fredi Walker and Fuchsia Walker were chosen as Rafiki in 2001 as leadings for the first American tour and the Los Angeles one, respectively.[73]

Sharon D. Clarke

The Japanese and Korean productions also stand out since never throughout them the productions had leading African actresses. Native Japanese and Korean actresses performed as Rafiki during the productions.

Buyi Zama (2002–2016), Zama Magudulela (2002 up to the present day), Brown Lindiwe Mkhize (starting in 2005), Futhi Mhlongo (2000–2004; 2010–2018), Tshidi Manye (2000 up to the present day), Gugwana Dlamini (2002– up to present day), Thandazile A. Soni (2002–2010; 2012 up to the present day), and Mpume Sikakane (2002 up to the present day) are the actresses who've been performing as either leading or stand-bys to Rafiki for the longest time, having performed in several productions.

Alton Fitzgerald White (2002–2015), Nathaniel Stampley (2006–2010), and David Comrie (leading in the Spanish production from 2011 to 2017) performed as Mufasa for longer than any other actor. Behind them comes Jean-Luc Guizonne, who performed in Paris, Singapore and German (from 2007 to 2014).

On several occasions, members from different productions agreed to change places. That happened twice: when Patrick Brown (American tour) and Gareth Saxe (Broadway) changed places as leading Scar in 2014–2015; Buyi Zama (American tour) changed places with Tshidi Manye (Broadway) as Rafiki in 2013–2014 and when Brown Lindiwe Mkhize (London) changed places with Nteliseng Nkhela (American tour) again as Rafiki in 2013. More recently, Tryphena Wade and Chondra Profit agreed to change places from the North American tour to Broadway.

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When actress Shirley Hlahatse was chosen as the leading Rafiki in the Mexican production of the show, it marked the first time in years an actress who had never been in the show before was given the role. In most occasions, understudies or standbys were promoted to leading.

South African dancer Keswa was 18 years old when she arrived on Broadway in 1999. She was the youngest performer ever to be given a role in the show's ensemble group.

Balungile Gumede and Marvette Williams are the actresses who have played Sarabi for the longest timespan in the show. Balungile as of February 2018 is a cover Sarabi, however she started in the German production of the show in 2010 taking over Marvette playing Sarabi until 2017 when she was replaced by Kerry Jean. They are followed by Tryphena Wade, who's also performing as the lioness since 2010.

Enrique Segura is the actor who played Ed for the longest timespan in the show, being on it for more than a decade.

Segura is followed by Bonita J. Hamilton and James Brown-Orleans, who have been performing as hyenas Shenzi and Banzai for more than 5 years.

Nokubonga Khuzwayo has been performing as Nala for the longest timespan in the show. She's performed in South Africa (2007–2008), Taiwan (2008), Las Vegas (2010–2011), American tour (2011) and Germany (2012–2017).

Tsidii LeLoka, Willi Welp and Gustavo Vaz were the only actors who were performers and directors of the show. Lebo M was the composer of various of the show's songs and performed on Broadway (1997–2000), Willi Welp performed as Scar from 2005 to 2015 and then left to be the resident director of the show's German production and Gustavo was the resident director of the show's Brazilian production at the same time he was a Scar and Pumbaa standby. Original Broadway Rafiki Tsidi LeLoka was also part of the show's creative team, as she's the one responsible for adding Rafiki's chants to the story and writing her mourning song.

Lebo M

When played his 1000th performance on January 27, 2016, he turned into the actor who's been performing as a leading Simba for the longest time in the show. He played the role in Spain for 700 times and for more than 300 times in Mexico.[75] He finally left the show in May 2016.

Carlos Rivera

Rivera is also the sole leading cast member whose voice can be heard in two different recordings. He takes part in the Spanish (2011) and Mexican (2015) cast recordings.

While it's a rule for all the productions of the show to have at least 6 South African performers in their casts, the South African one had a cast fully made of native actors.

Nosipho Nkonqa is the cast member who's been in more productions than any other. She was in the Holland (2004–2006), South African (2007–2008), Taiwan (2008), Singapore (2011), United Kingdom tour (2012–2015), Basel (2015) and London (2016 up to the present time) productions.

is the actor who performed as Simba for the longest time in the show. He was in the original Australian tour (2003–2006), Shanghai (2006), Johannesburg (2007–2008), London (2009–2012) and Broadway (2012–2013).[76] He is followed by Jonathan Andrew Hume, who performed as a standby (2001–2011) and as a full-time cast member (2011–2016) for the role.

Andile Gumbi

Vusi Sondyazi is one of the actors who've been on the show for the longest time. He's been serving as an ensemble singer and Mufasa understudy since 2003 and stays in the Gazelle Tour cast at the present, after having performed on Broadway, Taipei and Las Vegas as well.

Ntomb'Khona Dlamini is the actress who served as an understudy or ensemble member for the longest time. She was in the original Broadway company as an understudy to Tsidi LeLoka. After leaving for a brief time between 2000 and 2001, she went on to perform in the American tours. Summing up all this time, she's been in the show for more than 15 years, finally leaving the company in 2013.

Gaia Aikman will be the first actress ever to perform as both Young and Adult Nala. She was one of the children assigned for that role in the original Dutch production (2004–2006) and was selected as the leading for the adult version of the same character in the Dutch revival production (2016–2017). Other notable young actors and actress' who have gone on to be a part of the Adult Ensemble include: Lauren Alexandra Young Nala (London 2000) Ensemble Cover Nala (London 2013–2014), André Fabien Francis Young Simba (London 2004) Ensemble (Germany 2015–2018), Jermaine Woods Young Simba (London 2005) Ensemble Cover Ed (UK Tour 2014–2015).

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Aleks Syntek

Note: A recording entitled The Lion King, by the London Theatre Orchestra and Singers, was released on November 14, 2000 (D-3 Entertainment, ASIN: B00004ZDR6). This is not the London original cast recording.

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