The Lion King Welcomes New Cast Members
Broadway’s landmark musical event The Lion King recently welcomed to the company: Gareth Saxe as the evil and power-hungry lion Scar; Alton Fitzgerald White as Mufasa, the great lion warrior and ruler of the Pridelands; CAMERON POW as the prim and proper hornbilled bird Zazu; Ben Jeffrey as the carefree warthog Pumbaa; Fred Berman as the wisecracking meerkat Timon; and CHAUNTEÉ SCHULER as the loyal lioness Nala. Jeffrey, Berman and Schuler will mark their Broadway debut with The Lion King. Produced by Thomas Schumacher of Disney Theatrical Productions, The Lion King is currently playing at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre (200 West 45th Street).
The cast also includes Tshidi Manye as the wise baboon shaman Rafiki and Dashaun Young as Mufasa’s son, Simba, the lion prince born to be king. James Brown-ORLEANS (Banzai), Bonita J. Hamilton (Shenzi) and Enrique Segura (Ed) play the three evil hyenas and the role of Young Simba is alternated between Joshua Jackson and ALPHONSO ROMERO JONES II, and the role of Young Nala is alternated between KHAIL TOI BRYANT and JADE MILAN.
The Lion King began as a 1994 animated feature-length film developed and produced by the Walt Disney Company. The story, a coming of age parable set among animals indigenous to its setting, the African savanna, tells the tale of Simba, the lion cub who rises to be the King of the jungle. On stage, Director Julie Taymor’s creative vision blends elements of African art and Broadway artisanship to depict anthropomorphic animal characters.
{Via BroadwayWorld.com}