FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Monday, December 3, 2012) – In celebration of
the fifteenth anniversary of Broadway’s landmark musical event THE LION KING,
cast members Alton Fitzgerald White, Chondra La-Tease Profit and Lindiwe Dlamini
will “flip the switch” and light the world-famous Empire State Building’s tower
lights with the signature color of the production. The lights will shine yellow
in honor of the anniversary on Tuesday, December 4, 2012
About The Lion King
Among the most successful titles in entertainment history, with a cumulative
gross in excess of $5 billion, the title has already earned more than the
biggest hit films in movie history: more than the Lord of the Rings
trilogy combined, more than the six Star Wars films combined, and more
than Avatar and Titanic, the #1 and #2 highest-grossing films in
movie history, combined
With eight productions currently playing around the world, it will make its
South American and Portuguese language debut when it begins performances in Sao
Paolo, Brazil in February 2013. With that production, The Lion
King‘s 21 productions will have played in 98 cities in 16 countries on
every continent except Antarctica
The Broadway production has played through three Presidential
administrations, four mayoral elections, eight New York City team championships
and the opening and closing of 536 Broadway shows.
The show’s director, costume designer and mask co-designer Julie Taymor
continues to play an integral part in the show’s ongoing success. The first
woman to win a Tony® Award for Direction of a Musical, Taymor has in
recent years supervised new productions of the show in Las Vegas, Madrid and the
UK tour and just completed casting the Brazilian production in Sao Paolo.
As it enters its 16th year, The Lion King remains
ascendant, continuing to reign as a cultural phenomenon and one of the most
popular stage musicals in the world. Since its Broadway premiere on November
13, 1997, 20 global productions have been seen by more than 66 million people
and, cumulatively, run a staggering 96 years. Produced by Disney Theatrical
Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), The Lion
King is the fifth longest-running musical in Broadway history and only
the second show in history to generate five productions worldwide running 10 or
more years. Translated into seven different languages (Japanese, German,
Korean, French, Dutch, Mandarin, Spanish and Portuguese), The Lion
King can currently be seen on Broadway and on tour across North America,
in Tokyo and on tour in Japan, in London’s West End and on tour throughout the
UK, and in Hamburg and Madrid.
The Lion King won six 1998 Tony® Awards: Best
Musical, Best Scenic Design (Richard Hudson), Best Costume Design (Julie
Taymor), Best Lighting Design (Donald Holder), Best Choreography (Garth Fagan)
and Best Direction of a Musical. The Lion King has also earned
more than 70 major arts awards including the 1998 NY Drama Critics Circle Award
for Best Musical, the 1999 Grammy® for Best Musical Show Album, the 1999 Evening
Standard Award for Theatrical Event of the Year and the 1999 Laurence Olivier
Awards for Best Choreography and Best Costume Design.
The Broadway score features Elton John and Tim Rice’s music from The Lion
King animated film along with three new songs by John and Rice; additional
musical material by South African Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor
and Hans Zimmer; and music from “Rhythm of the Pride Lands,” an album inspired
by the original music in the film, written by Lebo M, Mark Mancina and Hans
Zimmer. The resulting sound of The Lion King is a fusion of
Western popular music and the distinctive sounds and rhythms of Africa, ranging
from the Academy Award®-winning song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” to the
haunting ballad “Shadowland.”
The book has been adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed The Lion
King animated feature, and Irene Mecchi, who co-wrote the film’s
screenplay. Other members of the creative team include: Michael Curry, who
designed the masks and puppets with Taymor, Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound design),
Michael Ward (hair and makeup design), John Stefaniuk (associate director),
Marey Griffith (associate choreographer), Clement Ishmael (music supervisor) and
Doc Zorthian (production supervisor). Anne Quart serves as associate
producer
The Broadway cast of The Lion King features Patrick R.
Brown as Scar, Alton Fitzgerald White as Mufasa and Tshidi
Manye as Rafiki. Jeff Binder portrays Zazu, Ben Jeffrey is
Pumbaa and Fred Berman is Timon. Mufasa’s son, Simba, is played by
Andile Gumbi and Chantel Riley is Nala.
The hyenas are played by James Brown-Orleans (Banzai), Bonita J.
Hamilton (Shenzi) and Enrique Segura (Ed). The role of Young Simba
is alternated between Derek Johnson and CALEB McLaughlin and the
role of Young Nala is alternated between Bobbi Bordley and Alonie
Dowden.
The pre-Broadway engagement of The Lion King had its world
premiere on July 13, 1997 in Minneapolis at the historic Orpheum Theatre. The
pre-Broadway engagement ran for eight weeks, closing on August 31, 1997. The
show officially opened on Broadway on November 13, 1997 and moved to its current
home in the Minskoff Theatre on June 13, 2006.
For tickets, show information and performance schedule, call Ticketmaster’s
Disney on Broadway hotline at 866-870-2717 or visit
online, LionKing.com.