The Lion King the musical

The Lion King the musical adapted from the Disney film that shares the same name and incidentally is one of the most popular Disney movies, grossing nearly $800 million during is 1994 film debut. So it is not surprising that the musical would also garner worldwide success and acclaim.

The Lion King is the story of a lion cub’s (Simba) emotionally-charged journey into adulthood and at long last his acceptance of his rightful royal inheritance. Simba begins his young life as the adored young prince of the highly esteemed King Mufasa. However, in the shadows of Pride Rock lives the evil, embittered Scar, brother of Mufasa who is secretly very envious of his brother. The plot takes a devastating turn when Scar murders Mufasa and drives Simba into exile by manipulating him to believe his father’s death was all his fault. Dejected, scared, and grief-stricken, Simba leaves Pride Rock. He is not alone for long though, he befriends a comedic pair Pumbaa the warthog and Timon the meerkat and begins to live his life carefree. After a time, he is confronted with his past and is encouraged to defeat Scar who has ravaged Pride Rock, and reclaim his rightful throne. The film version, full of dazzling, animated visuals, and beautiful, rhythmic songs translated over seamlessly to a stage musical.

On July 8, 1997, The Lion King the musical debuted in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Orpheum Theatre. Just a few months later, the success the musical had at the Orpheum could not be denied and Broadway beckoned. October 15, 1997, The Lion King the musical premiered at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway and there is remained until June 13, 2006. It is currently still in production at the Minskoff Theatre; 5,350 shows later. The Lion King currently stands as Broadway’s 7th longest-running performance in its entire history. It has since debuted and had long-running stints in Tokyo, London, Toronto, Paris, Sydney, Mexico City, Johannesburg, South Africa and Madrid, just to name a few.

The musical, of course, made a few creative changes, for instance Rafiki the mandrill was made a female instead of a male and several additional songs were added to the playbill. It has won many awards, including several Tony awards.

It is a visual feast for the guest. The director Julie Taymor was wildly successful in bringing the beauty, vastness, and splendor of Pride Rock to Broadway.