Posts Tagged ‘Lion King Broadway News’
Disney’s The Lion King Celebrates 14 Years on Broadway
The Tony Award-winning Disney musical The Lion King celebrates 14 years on Broadway Nov. 13 at the Minskoff Theatre, 200 West 45thStreet, NYC.
As it enters its 15th 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 Nov. 13, 1997, 19 global productions have been seen by more than 63 million people, and grossed over $4.7 billion to date.
Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), The Lion King is the seventh longest-running musical in Broadway history and one of only six productions in theatre history to play for ten years or more both on Broadway and in the West End.
The Broadway company of The Lion King currently includes Gareth Saxe as Scar, Alton Fitzgerald White as Mufasa and Tshidi Manye as Rafiki.
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, 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 book was 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 Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound design), Michael Ward (hair and makeup design), John Stefaniuk (associate director), Marey Griffith (associate choreographer), Clement Ishmael (music supervisor).
Directed by Taymor — who became the first woman to ever receive a Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical — The Lion King has become an international hit with productions playing all around the globe. In fact, the Elton John-Tim Rice musical has won over 30 major awards. Those include six Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical; eight Drama Desk Awards; six Outer Critics Circle Awards; two Sir Laurence Oliviers; the Evening Standard Award for Best Theatrical Event; and three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards.
Buy Lion King New York NY Tickets today. Get $10 OFF on Lion King Minskoff Theatre Ticket Orders over $350! Use Code AFF$10.
Clifton Oliver As Simba in Lion King’s Broadway’s Minskoff Theater
Disney Theatrical Productions: The Lion King Welcomes Clifton Oliver As Simba to Broadway’s Minskoff Theater. Clifton Oliver took over the role as Simba starting from Friday, May 13. Dashaun Young, who played his final Broadway performance on Saturday, May 7 as Simba, will reprise the role with the Las Vegas company on Monday, June 20. Oliver originated the role of Simba in the Las Vegas production at Mandalay Bay (2009) and the Los Angeles production at the Pantages Theater (2000) and performed as Simba on the first national tour.
Clifton Oliver As Simba in Lion King Broadway
Clifton Oliver also starred on Broadway as Benny (opposite Jordin Sparks) in In the Heights and as Fiyero in Wicked and appeared in the Los Angeles company of Ragtime. Oliver’s Off-Broadway credits include Wig Out and Miracle Brothers (Vineyard Theatre). Touring productions include Benny in Rent (Australia) and Teen Angel in Grease (second national). Television includes a guest starring role as Mad Hoops on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”
Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, The Lion King is currently playing at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre (200 West 45th Street). The show officially opened on Broadway on November 13, 1997.
The Broadway cast of The Lion King also features GARETH SAXE as the sardonic and deviously cunning “Scar,” ALTON FITZGERALD WHITE as “Mufasa,” the great warrior and ruler of the Pridelands, and TSHIDI MANYE as the wise baboon shaman “Rafiki.” CAMERON POW portrays the prim and proper hornbilled bird “Zazu,” TOM ALAN ROBBINS is the carefree warthog “Pumbaa,” FRED BERMAN is the wisecracking meerkat “Timon” and CHAUNTEÉ SCHULER is the loyal lioness “Nala.”
The Lion King is the seventh longest-running musical in Broadway history and one of only five productions in theatre history to play for ten years or more, both on Broadway and in the West End. The Lion King can currently be seen on Broadway (its flagship production), on stages across North America, and in Las Vegas, London’s West End, Hamburg, Tokyo and Singapore.
Buy and Get $10 OFF on Lion King Minskoff Theatre Ticket Orders over $350! Use Code AFF$10.
Judah Bellamy and Shaylin Becton Join The Lion King Broadway Cast
Produced by Thomas Schumacher of Disney Theatrical Productions, The Lion King is currently playing at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre (200 West 45th Street). Broadway’s landmark musical event The Lion King is pleased to welcome Judah Bellamy as “Young Simba” and Shaylin Becton as “Young Nala” to the company. Bellamy and Becton made their Broadway debuts last night. They alternate with fellow young lions and current cast members Alphonso Romero Jones II (Young Simba) and Khail Toi Bryant (Young Nala).
Bellamy and Becton began performances on March 29 at the Minskoff Theatre. The Lion King marks the Broadway debut for both performers.
Judah Bellamy, 11, is a Baltimore native and has performed with Johns Hopkins’ Unified Voices Choir and starred in The Wiz and A Raisin in the Sun at the Cahill Theatrical Arts Center in Maryland.
Judah Bellamy as Young Simba in Lion King
Shaylin Becton, 9, is a Maywood, Illinois native and began singing and dancing at an early age.
Shaylin Becton as Young Nala in Lion King
Judah Bellamy and Shaylin Becton are the newest Young Stars in The Lion King Broadway Cast. The Lion King opened on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 13, 1997. The production received six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and moved to the Minskoff Theatre in 2006.
Buy Lion King New York NY Tickets Online – Use Code AFF$10 to Get $10 OFF on Lion King Minskoff Theatre Ticket Orders over $350!
Alphonso Romero Jones II who plays Simba in ‘Lion King’ wins Young Artists Award
Alphonso Romero Jones II won the award for “Best Performance in Live Theater” for his portrayal of young Simba in Disney’s Broadway production of “The Lion King,”; in the 32nd Annual Young Artist Awards, held at the Empire Ballroom of the Sportsmen’s Lodge Hotel in Studio City, Calif., last sunday night.
Jones bested other nominees Quinton Lopez of “Sick,” Adam Riegler of “The Addams Family,” and Marquis Kofi Rodriguez, who portrayed Simba in “The Lion King” before Jones got the role, at the awards ceremony, best described as the Oscars for young performers.
According to mom Kathy Jones, Alphonso was so excited he texted home right away.
“I got a text from him that said, ‘Mommy, I won. Yaaaaaaaaaaaay! Thank you Jesus,’” she said. “Then I texted him back, ‘Good job, baby!’”
Alphonso, a 12-year-old straight-A student in the sixth grade at P.J. Hill Elementary School, has been in the show since October 2009. His Broadway run will come to an end on Easter Sunday.
Lion King is currently playing on tour in Schenectady, NY through March 20, 2011. Then it moves to Rochester, NY for the performances in Rochester Auditorium Theatre from March 22 to April 17, 2011. Save $10 on Lion King Rochester Auditorium Theatre Ticket Orders over $350. Use Code AFF$10
The Lion King’s Young Simba is nominated for Young Artist Award
Alphonso Romero Jones II, Trenton native is nominated for Young Artist Award for his role as the young Simba in “The Lion King,” which is based on the Disney movie of the same name.
Since October 2009, Jones has basked in Broadway’s glow as the star of “The Lion King.” The young star is up for “Best Performance in Live Theater” in the 32nd Annual Young Artist Awards. The ceremony will be held at the Empire Ballroom of the Sportsmen’s Lodge Hotel in Studio City, Calif., on Sunday.
“I didn’t even know about it until my mom was searching on the internet and found out I was nominated,” said Jones, a 12-year-old sixth-grade student at P.J. Hill Elementary School in Trenton. “I have no words, it’s really amazing.”
Also nominated for the award are Quinton Lopez of “Sick”; Adam Riegler, “The Addams Family”; and Marquis Kofi Rodriguez, who portrayed Simba in “The Lion King” before Jones got the role.
The nominees at the ceremony, best described as an Oscar-type celebration of young performers, reads like a who’s who of popular film and television celebrities. Jones, who will rub shoulders with them all, is no small potato himself. During his Broadway run, which will conclude on Easter Sunday, he held court with singer Rhianna and film star Matt Damon.
Since Jones’ contract is coming to a conclusion due to his age, the young actor said he is excited to see what the future has in store for him.
“I want to do television, voiceovers and movies,” he said. “I would like to do animated voiceovers. That’s what I really want to do.”
Until then, he will maintain his schedule of splitting his time between train rides to New York City and his studies at P.J. Hill, where he maintains a straight-A average. “It’s hard,” he said. “But you got to do what you got to do if you want to do what you want.”
Lion King is currently playing on tour in Schenectady, NY through March 20, 2011. Save $10 on Lion King Proctors Theatre Ticket Orders over $350. Use Code AFF$10
Lion King Broadway Box Office Update, Grabs the Top Seat
On Broadway, Lion King grossed $1,534,779 and had a 94.2% attendance rate for the week ending February 20, 2011 and was 3.0% more than the last week. Lion King reported an increase of $252,227 over the previous week’s box office. Last week’s biggest earning show on Broadway wasn’t “Wicked” or “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.” It was Lion King, an old show that can still roar. The 22 shows on the boards grossed $16,930,141, 10.77% more than that of the previous week.
“The Lion King,” with music by Elton John and Tim Rice, became the seventh-longest running show in Broadway history on Jan. 2 when it played its 5,462nd performance. Producers say 17 productions of the show have been seen by more than 54 million people and grossed more than $4.2 billion to date.
Below are the Top 10 Grosses for the week ending February 20, 2011.
1. The Lion King – (MINSKOFF) $1,534,779
2. Wicked – (GERSHWIN) $1,526,036
3. Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark – (FOXWOODS) $1,476,828
4. American Idiot – (ST. JAMES) $1,144,030
5. The Merchant Of Venice – (BROADHURST) $1,125,273
6. Jersey Boys – (AUGUST WILSON) $986,328
7. The Addams Family – (LUNT-FONTANNE) $949,966
8. Billy Elliot: The Musical – (IMPERIAL) $873,024
9. Mary Poppins – (NEW AMSTERDAM) $870,028
10. MAMMA MIA! – (WINTER GARDEN) $764,201
{Via BroadwayWorld.com}
Lion King Broadway Remains Strong at Box Office
On Broadway, Lion King grossed $1,282,552 and had a 91.2% attendance rate for the week ending February 13, 2011 and was 3.5% more than the last week. Lion King remained in the millionaire’s club at Broadway Box Office along with Wicked and Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark. The 22 shows on the boards grossed $15,106,300, 16.23% more than that of the previous week.
Below are the Top 10 Grosses for the week ending February 13, 2011.
1. Wicked – (GERSHWIN) $1,436,121
2. Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark – (FOXWOODS) $1,330,014
3. The Lion King – (MINSKOFF) $1,282,552
4. The Merchant Of Venice – (BROADHURST) $1,105,451
5. Jersey Boys – (AUGUST WILSON) $981,264
6. American Idiot – (ST. JAMES) $977,545
7. Billy Elliot: The Musical – (IMPERIAL) $796,659
8. The Addams Family – (LUNT-FONTANNE) $755,197
9. Mary Poppins – (NEW AMSTERDAM) $754,417
10. Memphis – (SHUBERT) $705,850
{Via BroadwayWorld.com}
Lion King Broadway Box Office Update
On Broadway, Lion King grossed $1,472,188 and had a 99.8% attendance rate for the week ending June 6, 2010. Below are the Top 10 Grosses Via BroadwayWorld.com for the week ending June 6, 2010.
1. Wicked $1,570,925
2. The Lion King $1,472,188
3. The Addams Family $1,278,089
4. Promises, Promises $1,028,626
5. Fences $1,024,317
6. Billy Elliot: The Musical $1,015,157
7. Jersey Boys $963,853
8. Mary Poppins $882,863
9. The Phantom of the Opera $840,902
10. A Little Night Music $778,263
