DISNEY’S
THE LION KING
WINS TOURING BROADWAY AWARD FOR
BEST LONG-RUNNING TOURING MUSICAL
Disney’s THE LION KING has won the Touring Broadway Award for Best Long-Running Musical. The production was recognized by the committee for sustained excellence throughout the six-year run.
The Touring Broadway Awards® presented by The Broadway League, established in 2000, are the first national awards to recognize Touring Broadway. League presenters representing over 240 markets act as a blue-ribbon panel to select award recipients from their Broadway Series. The 2008 Touring Broadway Awards ceremony is sponsored by Chase and kicks off the League’s 2008 Spring Road Conference (April 15-17).
THE LION KING is currently playing at the Atlanta Civic Center in Atlanta, Georgia through Sunday, May 4. After Atlanta, the tour will return to Tampa at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center from Thursday, May 8 – Sunday, June 22, 2008. After Tampa, THE LION KING will begin its premiere engagement in Washington, D.C. at The Kennedy Center Opera House from Thursday, June 26 – Sunday, August 24, 2008.
Over the past six years, THE LION KING’s national touring productions have played to more than 10 million people in more than 50 major cities in North America grossing a total of over $500 million. THE LION KING continues to draw capacity crowds to highly successful engagements, including recent sold-out returns to Minneapolis and Pittsburgh. During this current year, THE LION KING will premiere in Washington, D.C. and Kansas City, and play return engagements in Tampa, Columbus, Indianapolis, Tempe, East Lansing and Sacramento with more cities to be announced.
For tickets and more information, visit www.lionkingtour.com
Since its Broadway opening on November 13, 1997 (preview performances began October 15, 1997), THE LION KING has been seen by 45 million people worldwide. In addition to New York City where the show has remained among the top 5 selling shows on Broadway for over 10 years, the curtain of THE LION KING currently rises six more times every night all over the world in London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Paris, Fukuoka, and the US national tour.
The score features Elton John and Tim Rice’s music from the 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 and Hans Zimmer and music from an album inspired by the animated film, “Rhythm of the Pride Lands,” written by Lebo M, Mark Mancina and Hans Zimmer. The resulting sound of THE LION KING score is a fusion of Western popular music and the distinctive sounds and rhythms of Africa, embracing the Academy Awardâ-winning “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” and the haunting “Shadowlands.”
Julie Taymor, along with Michael Curry, has created hundreds of masks and puppets for THE LION KING. Scenic design is by Richard Hudson; Lighting design is by Donald Holder.
Costume design is by Julie Taymor. Choreography is by Garth Fagan. The book has been adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed the animated feature and Irene Mecchi, who co-wrote the screenplay of THE LION KING.
Other members of the creative team include: Steve Canyon Kennedy, sound design; Michael Ward, hair and makeup design; Jay Binder, casting; Joseph Church, music director; Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler, orchestrators.
The pre-Broadway engagement of THE LION KING had its world premiere on July 13, 1997 in Minneapolis at the historic Orpheum Theatre. The pre-Broadway engagement ran for eight weeks, closing on August 31, 1997.
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PLEASE NOTE THE BROADWAY PLAYING SCHEDULE
THE LION KING plays Wednesday through Saturday at 8 PM, matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2 PM and Sunday at 1 PM and 6:30 PM. Running time for the production is approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Tickets for THE LION KING are available at www.DisneyOnBroadway.com, the Minskoff Theatre Box Office, and all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling Ticketmaster’s Disney on Broadway hotline at (212) 307-4747. Prices range from $51.25.-$121.25. For group sales and information please call (800)439-9000.
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