THE LION KING North American Tour Welcomes New Cast Members This Month

The North American tour of Disney's The Lion King is pleased to welcome Peter Hargrave, Nick LaMedica and Khalifa White as Scar, Zazu and Nala, respectively. The new cast members will begin performances in Salt Lake City at The Eccles Theatre, where the award-winning musical will play a four-week return engagement from Thursday, September 29 through Sunday, October 23, 2022. LaMedica and White begin performances on Thursday, September 29, while Hargrave debuts on Thursday, October 13.

Jürgen Hooper (Zazu) and Kayla Cyphers (Nala) will play their final performances on Sunday, September 25, 2022 in Tucson, where the tour begins a two-week return engagement today, Wednesday, September 14 at Centennial Hall. Spencer Plachy (Scar) plays his final performance in Salt Lake City on Sunday, October 9.

Since returning in October 2021 from its 18-month pandemic shutdown, The Lion King North American tour has proven as strong as ever, playing to capacity houses in 16 cities and entertaining over 800,000 guests during more than 300 performances in just the last 11 months. The tour is scheduled to play 13 cities during the 2022-23 season, with additional engagements to be announced.

Biographies:

PETER HARGRAVE (Scar). Beyond a dream to be in the Pridelands. Credits Off-Broadway and regionally including Cleveland Play House, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Disney Cruise Line. TV: "Law & Order: SVU," "FBI," "Godfather of Harlem," "Dynasty" and "Madam Secretary." Training: CWRU/CPH MFA.

Nick LaMedica (Zazu). Broadway Tour & Tokyo: WAR HORSE. Off Broadway: The Mint. Regional: Denver Center, The Rep St. Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cleveland Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, TheaterWorks Hartford, City Theatre Company, Barrington Stage Company, Two River Theater. NY: American Globe Theatre. Television: "Chicago Fire." BFA: Marymount Manhattan College. www.NickLaMedica.com

Khalifa White (Nala). Broadway: Caroline or Change. Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors (Ronnette), School of Rock. 1st Nat; Aida (Aida), Ain't Misbehavin, The Bodyguard, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Dreamgirls, Beehive, Hairspray, HKDL|WDW(Nala/Tiana/Kibibi)/NCL, #TheSearchForRoxie, UCF Alumknight. Check out "You Ok? (Black Girl)" on all streaming platforms. IG|Tiktok: @Lifaland, www.khalifawhite.com.

Hargrave, LaMedica and White join current tour cast members Gerald Ramsey (Mufasa), Gugwana Dlamini (Rafiki), Tony Freeman (Timon), John E. Brady (Pumbaa), Darian Sanders (Simba), Forest VanDyke (Banzai), Martina Sykes (Shenzi), Robbie Swift (Ed), Scarlett London Diviney (Young Nala), Jaylen Lyndon Hunter (Young Simba), Jordan Pendleton (Young Simba) and Farrah Wilson (Young Nala).

Rounding out the cast are Derek Adams, Kayla Rose Aimable, William John Austin, Iman Ayana, Isaiah Bailey, Samantha Lauren Barriento, Eric Bean, Jr., Layla Brent, Christin Byrdsong, Sasha Caicedo, Thembelihle Cele, Adrianne Chu, Leroy Church, Daniela Cobb, Lyric Danae, Marquis Floyd, Mukelisiwe Goba, Marquise Hitchcock, Gabisile Manana, Christopher L. McKenzie, Jr., Justin Mensah, Nhlanhla Ndlovu, Aaron Nelson, Jeremy Noel, Sicelo Ntshangase, Sayiga Eugene Peabody, Yael Pineda-Hall, Christopher Sams, T. Shyvonne Stewart, Jennifer Theriot, Courtney Thomas, Thom Christopher Warren, Diamond Essence White, Jordan Nicole Willis and Sherman Wood.

For more than 20 years, the North American touring productions of The Lion King have employed hundreds of theater professionals, played over 9,000 performances during more than 220 engagements in over 90 cities to an audience of more than 21 million theatergoers. Few tours in theatre history have achieved its reach or impact.