THE LION KING moved in its entirety, including all 52 cast members and the entire 24-member orchestr

Monday, December southwest airlines special fares 2, 2013- Disney s landmark musical event, southwest airlines special fares THE LION KING , played its 6,681 st performance southwest airlines special fares on Saturday evening, November 30 th , surpassing the original Broadway production of Les Mis rables (6,680 performances) to become the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history.
Having recently celebrated its 16 th anniversary southwest airlines special fares on Broadway last month, THE LION KING finds itself in a position unprecedented in the history of Broadway. Already the highest-grossing show in Broadway history, the show is routinely the #1 Broadway show in a given week, a feat previously unimaginable for a show at this stage in its life.
The award-winning musical celebrates another milestone this month with its return to Australia, southwest airlines special fares the tenth concurrent worldwide production of THE LION KING , the highest number of productions running at any one time in the show s history. Five of those productions have been running for 10 years or longer, an accomplishment shared by only one other show in history.
Among the most successful titles in entertainment history, THE LION KING s worldwide footprint is remarkable. With a cumulative gross in excess of $5 billion, the title has already earned more than the biggest hit films in movie history: more than the Lord of the Rings trilogy combined, southwest airlines special fares more than the six Star Wars films combined, and more than Avatar and Titanic , the two highest-grossing films in movie history, combined.
Since its Broadway premiere on November southwest airlines special fares 13, 1997, 21 global southwest airlines special fares productions have been seen by more than 70 million people and, cumulatively, run a staggering 104 years. Translated into eight different languages (Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Mandarin, Spanish and Portuguese), productions of THE LION KING can currently be seen on Broadway and on tour across North America, in Tokyo and on tour in Japan, in London s West End and on tour throughout southwest airlines special fares the UK, and in Hamburg, Madrid and Sao Paolo. To date, THE LION KING has played 18 countries on every continent except Antarctica.
The show s director, costume southwest airlines special fares designer and mask co-designer Julie Taymor, the first woman to win a Tony Award for Direction of a Musical, continues to play an integral part in the show s ongoing southwest airlines special fares success.
Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, THE LION KING is playing at Broadway s Minskoff Theatre (200 West 45 th Street). For tickets, show information and performance schedule, call Ticketmaster s Disney on Broadway hotline at 866-870-2717 or visit online, LionKing.com.
The pre-Broadway engagement of THE LION KING had its world premiere on July 13, 1997 in Minneapolis southwest airlines special fares at the historic Orpheum Theatre. The pre-Broadway engagement southwest airlines special fares ran for eight weeks, closing on August 31, 1997. The show officially opened on Broadway on November 13, 1997.
THE LION KING moved in its entirety, including all 52 cast members and the entire 24-member orchestra, from the New Amsterdam Theatre on June 4, 2006, and began performances nine days later at its new home in the Minskoff southwest airlines special fares Theatre on June 13, 2006.
THE LION KING won six 1998 Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Scenic Design (Richard Hudson), Best Costume Design (Julie Taymor), Best Lighting Design (Donald Holder), Best Choreography (Garth Fagan) and Best Direction of a Musical. THE LION KING has also earned more than 70 major arts awards including the 1998 NY Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the 1999 Grammy for Best Musical Show Album, the 1999 Evening Standard Award for Theatrical southwest airlines special fares Event of the Year and the 1999 Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Choreography and Best Costume Design.
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, Julie Taymor southwest airlines special fares and Hans Zimmer; and music from Rhythm of the Pride Lands, an album inspired southwest airlines special fares by the original music in the film, written by Lebo M, Mark Mancina and Hans Zimmer. The resulting sound of THE LION KING is a fusion of Western popular music and the distinctive sounds and rhythms of Africa, ranging from the Academy Award -winning song Can You Feel the Love Tonight to the haunting ballad Shadowland.
The book has been 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: Michael Curry, who designed the masks and puppets with Taymor, Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound design), Michael Ward (hair and makeup design), John Stefaniuk (associate director), southwest airlines special fares Marey Griffith (associate choreographer), Clement Ishmael (music supervisor) and Doc Zorthian (production supervisor). southwest airlines special fares Anne Quart serves as associate southwest airlines special fares producer.
Scar is played by GARETH SAXE. ALTON FITZGERALD WHITE is Mufasa, TSHIDI MANYE is the baboon shaman Rafiki, JEFFREY KUHN portrays the hornbilled southwest airlines special fares bird Zazu, BEN JEFFREY is the warthog Pumbaa and FRED BERMAN is the meerkat Timon. Mufasa s son, Simba, the lion prince born to be king, is played by AARON NELSON, and CHANTEL RILEY is the lioness Nala.
The show also features JAMES BROWN-ORLEANS ( Banzai ), BONITA J. HAMILTON ( Shenzi ) and ENRIQUE SEGURA ( Ed ). The role of Young Simba is alternated between COLE BULLOCK and CALEB McLAUGHLIN and the role of Young Nala is alternated between TESHI THOMAS and KACI WALFALL.