Disney's THE LION KING National Tour Roars Into 15th Year Today in St. Louis

The North American tour of Disney's The Lion King is celebrating its 15th anniversary today, Thursday, April 27 in St. Louis, where the award-winning musical is playing a nearly sold-out engagement at The Fox Theatre through May 7, 2017.

Since launching in April 2002 in Denver, CO, The Lion King North American touring productions have played over 8,000 performances during 171 engagements in 77 cities to an audience of more than 19 million. Few, if any, tours in theatre history have achieved its reach or impact.

Already in 2017, The Lion King has sold out all four of its engagements: New Orleans (where it once again set the city's record for highest-grossing engagement), Detroit, Providence and Salt Lake City.

As previously announced, The Lion King North American tour will unveil a newly-configured production in October 2017, allowing the ground-breaking show to entertain new audiences in cities and venues which previously couldn't accommodate the tour. Starting in the 2017-18 season, The Lion King will play premiere engagements in numerous cities, including Kalamazoo, MI; Little Rock, AK; El Paso, TX; Boise, ID; Eugene, OR and Sarasota, FL, as well as return engagements in markets previously played.

In its 20th year, The Lion King continues ascendant as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Since its Broadway premiere on November 13, 1997, 24 global productions have been seen by more than 90 million people. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), The Lion King is only the second show in history to generate five productions worldwide running 10 or more years. Performed in eight different languages (Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese), productions of The Lion King can currently be seen on Broadway; London's West End; Hamburg; Tokyo; Madrid; Mexico City; Shanghai, Scheveningen, Sapporo and on tour across North America, for a total of ten productions running concurrently across the globe. Having played over 100 cities in 19 countries on every continent except Antarctica, The Lion King's worldwide gross exceeds that of any film, Broadway show or other entertainment title in box office history.

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 Event of the Year and the 1999 Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Choreography and Best Costume Design.

The show's director, costume designer and mask co-designer Julie Taymor continues to play an integral part in the show's ongoing success. The first woman to win a Tony Award for Direction of a Musical, Taymor has in recent years supervised new productions of the show around the world.

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 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 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), Marey Griffith (associate choreographer), Clement Ishmael (music supervisor) and Doc Zorthian (production supervisor). Anne Quart serves as co-producer.

For more information worldwide, visit LionKing.com.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus