Archive for June 21st, 2014
THE LION KING North American Tour Celebrates Sold-Out Engagement in Toronto – Tour 2014 2015 Info
Disney’s The Lion King musical continues to reign across North America with a sold-out engagement in Toronto, which concluded on Sunday, June 15 at The Princess of Wales Theatre.
The triumphant seven-week return grossed over $11.75 million at the box office and entertained more than 100,000 patrons during 56 performances. The award-winning musical premiered in Toronto in April 2000 at the Princes of Wales Theatre, where it played 1,560 performances through January 2004 and returned in 2011 for an eight-week sold-out engagement.
It is estimated that the Toronto engagement of The Lion King musical generated a $48 million economic benefit to the city from travel, hotels, restaurants, parking and other businesses patronized by both theatergoers and production staff. This figure is based upon a Touring Broadway League report which found that, on average, Broadway tours contribute an economic impact 4.17 times the gross ticket sales to the local metropolitan area’s economy.
The Lion King Musical
From here, The Lion King Touring company moved to Washington, DC performing at Kennedy Center Opera House from June 17 to August 17, 2014.
Know the complete Lion King Tour 2014 – 2015:
Washington, DC – June 17 to August 17, 2014
Montreal, QC Canada – August 19 to September 07, 2014
Boston, MA – September 09 to October 12, 2014
Columbus, OH – October 14 to November 09, 2014
Milwaukee, WI – November 11 to December 07, 2014
San Antonio, TX – Dec 10, 2014 to Jan 04, 2015
Fort Lauderdale, FL – January 07 to February 01, 2015
Memphis, TN – February 03 to March 01, 2015
Louisville, KY – March 03 to March 29, 2015
Cincinnati, OH – March 31 to April 26, 2015
Philadelphia, PA – May 20 to June 14, 2015
Lion King’s Puppet supervisor, Michael Reilly Interview
Lion King musical is all set and is currently performing at Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, DC from June 17 to August 17, 2014.
Lion King Puppet supervisor – Michael Reilly
Know all about the Lion King’s Puppet supervisor, Michael Reilly – by KRISTEN PAGE.
“I prefer puppet master. It sounds better,” says the man who manages the menagerie of puppets that make “Disney’s The Lion King” the visual spectacular that it is.
The musical, based on Disney’s 1994 animated smash, is not the largest production Reilly’s been a part of (he was the “sword and armor guy” for a production of “The Lord of the Rings” that opened in Toronto in 2006) but the touring company of “The Lion King” (at the Kennedy Center through Aug. 17) certainly keeps him busy, even without any ringwraiths.
“We have so many different kinds of puppets. We have body puppets, shadow puppets, hand puppets,” he says. “Each one is unique unto itself and each one can find a different way to break.”
Reilly and his team spend each show waiting for the puppet equivalent of 911; when the call comes over the radio, they rush in like ER docs.“We have a tool belt of knickknacks, all kinds of collars and fittings and keys and all kinds of things,” Reilly says. “It all depends on who breaks; we generally have an idea of what broke once they tell us which puppet is broken. If a hyena breaks, often it’ll be a string; if it’s Pumbaa, it’ll be a zip tie.”
The biggest problem — literally — is often the 6-foot-tall African elephant, which requires four cast members to operate. “When she breaks, it’s pretty massive,” he says.
So far Reilly and his team have a 100 percent success rate when it comes to resurrecting their patients.
“I’m happy to say no puppet has stopped the show,” he says. “I probably shouldn’t have said that. I maybe just jinxed it.”
Buy Lion King Kennedy Center Opera House Tickets Online!
