The Lion King: The Broadway Musical celebrated
its world premiere at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, MN, on July 8,
1997. Now playing at the Minskoff Theater on Broadway, and in a variety of
other locations around the globe, this musical version of Disney's greatest animated feature ever
has already drawn rave reviews for its dazzling special effects and
staging, the inspired music by Tim Rice, Elton John, Hans Zimmer, and Lebo
M., and for its nearly magical performance by a cast using masks and
puppetry combined with live acting to convey the atmosphere of The Lion
King.
“I wanted to go for elegance, not cute.” -- Julie Taymor, director |
This production broke new ground in theatrical technology,
attempting to bring to the stage such vast and sweeping elements as the
rolling African savannah and the famous wildebeest stampede in which
Mufasa is killed by his brother Scar. Far from shrinking from the
challenge or toning down the scale of the film, director Julie Taymor
succeeded in the superhuman feat of reproducing the film's vastness
through ingenious staging techniques and experimental methods worthy of
Walt Disney Theatrical, producers of the wildly popular Beauty and the
Beast Broadway musical, which also debuted at the Orpheum.
Current Broadway Cast (November 2005):
(IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)
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The Original
Broadway Cast Recording CD is currently available from Walt Disney
Records, in music stores everywhere.
Images and sound files provided courtesy of Sean Silvernail and Paul
Summers, and newpaper images provided by Adam Browne, Kristin Cheddar,
and Whitepelt.