Lion King Musical Tickets – Tour Dates 2026, News, Cast & Resources

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The Lion King is currently touring in Providence, RI and performing at the Providence Performing Arts Center, where the show is scheduled to run through through Feb. 20.

Lion King reviewed by Herald News Staff Reporter and published in HeraldNews.com.

Read the complete Review of Lion King at Providence Performing Arts Center Below:

Probably the most important thing this writer can say about Disney’s stage production of “The Lion King” is that my daughter Kathryn, 10, said she “really liked it.” This comes from a young lady who was never a big fan of the original, cartoon version. Kathyn accompanied me to “The Lion King” last week at the Providence Performing Arts Center, where the show is scheduled to run through through Feb. 20.

“The Lion King” is the second Disney stage production to be subjected to this reviewer’s evaluation, approximately one year after “Beauty and the Beast” graced PPAC. I had loved the cartoon movie version of “Beauty and the Beast” and never expected the stage production to match it. But it did, perhaps even suprpassing it.

I came at “The Lion King” from a very different perspective, having never really liked the animated version. It just seemed like a too-long remake of the late 1960s cartoon “Kimba the White Lion.”
But judging by the big crowd at PPAC that night, my view is in the vast minority.

The show features grand entrances — one that will have you trapped in the lobby for for 10 minutes or so if you’re late — at the start of the show and when the show resumes after intermission. The best costume is the giraffe, requiring an actor to operate four stilts while donning a huge giraffe neck and head.

The show keeps a decent pace pre-intermission, but after the break comes the trouble. From the start of Part II until the Simba returns/fight-scene at the end, “The Lion King” behaves like my Camry’s cruise control: very slow to kick into high gear.

While Simba’s guilt trip over the death of his father is important, too much time is devoted to his in-skull struggle and it throws the production into slow-mo. Kathryn’s head settled on my shoulder a couple of times during Simba’s king/Hakuna Matata identity crisis.

On the positive side, the show does stage a rousing conclusion. And several of the main characters turn in excellent performances — among them Scar (Anthony Crane), Pumbaa the warthog (Ben Lipitz) and Timon the meerkat (Nick Cordileone) See if you notice the similarity to a Power Rangers’ pose when the young lions strike their ready-to-fight pose. The cute kid lions are portrayed alternately by Dusan Brown and Jerome Stephens Jr. (Simba) and Monique Lee and Madai Monica Williams (Nala).

The stage production has wisely decided to take the Pumbaa flatulation angle and run with it. The warthog lets fly with gas repeatedly and the crowd eats it up — figuratively, of course. The conspicuous expulsions never failed to get big laughs.

The choreography has received much attention and praise in the national press, so those who appreciate cool dancing numbers should enjoy this.

{Via HeraldNews.com}

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The nationally touring production that has returned to PPAC and performing through February 20 is just as spectacular. Lion King Providence Performing Arts Center Theater review by Kathie Raleigh and published in Woonsocketcall.com.

There is not much that can beat the excitement of the opening “Circle of Life” when the “animals” — including gangly giraffes, a life-sized elephant and a flock of white birds — make their entrances on stage and down the aisles of the theater, close to the audience.

While that experience is mostly about costumes and presence, the really good news is that this production keeps up the emotion in the story, from the father-son relationship between the reigning Lion King, Mufasa, and his heir, Simba, to a warmly expressed relationship between the grown-up Simba and his childhood playmate, Nala.

As for the music, the orchestra in the pit is live but recording-perfect. Percussionists set up on either side of the stage, moreover, offer an interesting visual element; so that’s how that jingly, rain-water sound is made. Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice wrote five songs for the show, and Hans Zimmer wrote the score, which most effectively uses traditional African music and choral elements arranged by Lebo M. The result is an appealing contrast between catchy pop hooks and mesmerizing, rhythmic vocals.

All the characters are animals, and the actors have inventive costumes, masks and puppets created by the original director, Julie Taymor, and designer Michael Curry, to portray them.

Amazing costumes don’t negate the need for good acting, and there is plenty in this production. Derrick Davis as Mufasa is regal yet nurturing with the young Simba, a role performed on different nights by two children. Thursday’s performance was by Dusan Brown Jr., who used every fiber of his tiny body to express Simba’s many moods.

The spectacle is the attraction when seeing Disney’s “The Lion King” the first time, and the costumes, music, acting and storytelling are reasons to return for a second time — or more.

Read the complete Review at Woonsocketcall.com.

Lion King Providence Performing Arts Center Performances continue through February. 20 at PPAC, 220 Weybosset St. Tickets are already on Sale, Buy Lion King Providence RI Tickets. Get $10 OFF on Lion King Ticket Orders Over $350! Use Discount Code AFF$10.

Dayton engagement of The Lion King is presented by arrangement with Victoria Theatre Association is Visiting Dayton, Ohio in the month of June 2011 for four weeks.

Dayton’s most eagerly awaited stage production will begin performances at the Benjamin & Marion Schuster Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, June 14 for a limited engagement of four weeks through Sunday, July 10. The opening night is Thursday, June 16 at 8PM. The Lion King is part of the 2010-2011 Miami Valley & Good Samaritan Hospitals Broadway Series.

In Dayton, Lion King will play Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8 PM, 6:30 PM on Sundays and matinees on Saturdays at 2 PM and Sundays at 1 PM. Ticket prices start as low as $32. Premium Ticket Packages, which include prime seat locations, a commemorative souvenir program and an exclusive merchandise item, are also available. Tickets are on Sale already and Selling Quickly.

The North American touring production of Lion King has been seen by over 12.7 million theatergoers and grossed over $834 million to date. Having already played more than 60 cities across North America, THhe Lion King now proudly makes its Dayton premiere at the Schuster Center. Click here for the current Lion King Tour and schedule.

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Lion King returns to Providence Performing Arts Center next week. Lion King show will be in town till Sunday, 20 February, 2011.

And if Providence is anything like the rest of the country, the show will do very well. For, almost 14 years after “The Lion King” opened on Broadway, it’s still breaking box office records, said Tom Schumacher, head of Disney Theatrical Productions.

“It’s crazy,” said Schumacher, “but it speaks to the power of the show.”

Actually, Schumacher has been involved with “Lion King” in some capacity for the past 20 years. He got involved with the development of the 1994 film back in 1990, when the project was known as “King of the Beasts.” The animated film was, of course, a huge success, which paved the way for a musical that to its credit did not look like a cartoon brought to the stage. That was largely due to the vision of director Julie Taymor, who felt, as Schumacher said, that the film should “be inherently filmic, and the musical should be inherently theatrical.”

And there is no more exciting 15 minutes in theater than when the “animals” in the show come parading down the aisles of the theater.

“She never hides the actor,” said Schumacher of Taymor. “This is a story about animals, but it’s really about us.”

Those who have seen the show know that the big idea behind it is the notion of the “circle of life.” The musical opens with the birth of Simba, the lion cub who is destined to rule Pride Rock. We watch him develop through tough times, and grow to an adult, when he and Nala have their own son.

“It’s an event,” said Schumacher. “It’s cathartic.”

Another big plus for the show is the catchy score that mixes pop ballads from Elton John with the pulsing choral numbers of South African composer Lebo M.

Even though it is based on a popular kids’ movie, the musical is not for small fry, said Schumacher. The show’s too long, and too sophisticated for a 5-year-old, he said, but 8 or 9 is fine. And for them “Lion King” provides some memories.

“The Lion King” opens Tuesday, February 01 and runs through Sunday, February 20 at the Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset St., Providence.

Get $10 OFF on Lion King Providence RI Ticket Orders Over $350! Use Code AFF$10.

On Broadway, Lion King grossed $993,169 and had a 68.8% attendance rate for the week ending January 23, 2011. The 19 shows on the boards grossed $12,343,580, dropping 10.69% from the previous week.

Below are the Top 10 Grosses for the week ending January 23, 2011.

1. Wicked – (GERSHWIN) $1,401,082
2. Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark – (FOXWOODS) $1,338,162
3. The Lion King – (MINSKOFF) $993,169
4. Jersey Boys – (AUGUST WILSON) $933,386
5. American Idiot – (ST. JAMES) $901,450
6. Billy Elliot: The Musical – (IMPERIAL) $739,234
7. The Addams Family – (LUNT-FONTANNE) $709,646
8. Memphis – (SHUBERT) $698,848
9. Mary Poppins – (NEW AMSTERDAM) $571,885
10. The Phantom of the Opera – (MAJESTIC) $557,476

{Via BroadwayWorld.com}

Disney’s The Lion King has increased its booking period by 3 months – tickets are now on sale to 2 Oct 2011 at the Lyceum Theatre. The success enjoyed by The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre in the West End has led to the booking period being extended by three months.

According to London Theatre, more than nine million people have now seen the production, which is based on the Disney film of the same name.

It tells the story of young lion cub Simba, When the young lion prince Simba is born his evil uncle Scar is pushed back to second in line to the throne. Scar plots to kill both Simba and his father, King Mufasa, and proclaim himself king. Simba survives but is led to believe that his father died because of him and he decides to flee the kingdom.

The Lion King, which recently celebrated its 11th anniversary, boasts tunes by widely-acclaimed songwriters including Elton John, Tim Rice and Hans Zimmer.

Earlier this month, it was announced that the theatre production earned more than £34 million in 2010, which means it has set a new West End record for the second year in a row.

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Tavarez, who starred in the Broadway production of “The Lion King” as Young Nala, was in need of a bone-marrow transplant, but a perfect match was not found despite a drive being held in July.

A bone marrow donor registry drive is being organized in memory of Shannon Tavarez, the 11-year-old Broadway actress who died of leukemia at Cohen’s Children Medical Center in New Hyde Park in November, according to the Associated Press.

The drive will be held by DKMS, a bone marrow transplant center, on Sunday at the Harlem School of the Arts from 1-7 p.m. Registry requires a swab of the inner cheek.

She received an umbilical-cord transplant in August in lieu of the bone-marrow transplant.

Tavarez’s biracial ancestry — her mother is African-American and her father Dominican — complicated the search for a perfect match because there are typically fewer registered donors from minority groups.

Lion King is currently playing on tour in Durham, NC thru January 30, 2011. Save $10 on Lion King Durham Performing Arts Center Ticket Orders Over $350! Use Code AFF$10

Estimates from city-run venue Chrysler Hall show that “The Lion King” brought $4.6 million into downtown Norfolk, with additional boosts for hotels and shopping. “The Lion King” played to 76 percent capacity during its five-week stay from November through January, according to the city. During that 38-performance run, 66,078 paying customers saw the show. Two performances were cancelled because of inclement weather.

“A show like this truly raises all boats in the harbor,” said John Rhamstine, director of Seven Venues, which manages Chrysler Hall. “It was more than just a healthy run. The $4.6 million gross was in spite of the fact that this is the second time in this market and the fact that we lost two performances to the snow. We were pleased not only with the numbers but to be able to host such a great cast and crew, who were not only professional but friendly. They truly seemed to enjoy being in Norfolk despite some challenging weather.”

“The Lion King’s” first run in Norfolk five years ago set a record, grossing $6.5 million with 98 percent capacity in sales by the end of its run in January 2006. That, however, was for a 45-performance run. A repeat was unlikely because 98 percent capacity is a rarity in the present economy. “The Lion King,” too, is in competition with itself, with 17 versions around the world, including productions in New York and Las Vegas.

The company is now playing in Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham, N.C., along with its 39 hyenas, 52 wildebeests, several giraffes, gazelles, zebras, an elephant and one money-making lion.

Future bookings will include, next season, another return of a previous box office success, “Wicked,” which had a successful run here two years ago.

Zaire Adams is headed to the spring to star in the Disney Musical Lion King. His parents tell FOX6 they discovered his voice at age three, while he was singing with the car radio.

Zaire Adams to star in the Disney Musical Lion King

It’s his big smile, and big voice that landed Zaire a 10-month long gig at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Hotel.

Zaire will leave Milwaukee again in March to play the lead role of young Simba in Disney’s Lion King.

Zaire’s well on his way to being a star. He played Munchkin #1 in Milwaukee’s First Stage Theater production of the Wiz.

Lion King is currently performing at Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham NC.

{Via FOX6}

Lion King Musical is constantly surprising in its storytelling methods, based on African traditions of drumming, chants and rituals. The show takes the audience into a mind-expanding world where dancers with swaying straw skirts and headdresses of foliage become grasslands, and cloud shapes manipulated on long sticks suddenly merge into a giant lion mask.

Brenda Mhlongo performs as Rafiki in 'The Circle of Life,' the opening number from 'The Lion King.'

Elton John’s songs, and especially the additional music by Hans Zimmer and Lebo M, enhance the show with haunting choral and percussion work. Garth Fagan’s choreography adds engaging energy, from leaping gazelles to stalking lionesses.

The large cast requires alternates and understudies for most roles. At Thursday night’s official opening, Ntomb’Khona Dlamini made a lovable, irascible shaman, Rafiki, Kolton Stewart a cheeky Young Simba, Madai Monica Williams a sassy Young Nala, and Ta’Rea Campbell a feisty adult Nala.

The second act slows down a bit with several unnecessary songs and plot diversions, but it’s a small price to pay for such a life-affirming, lessons-giving piece, a true family musical.

“The Lion King” is a prime example of what musical theater can and should be.

Lion King is currently playing on tour in Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham-NC. Get $10 OFF on Lion King Durham NC Ticket Orders Over $350! Use Code AFF$10.