Disney's THE LION KING Opens Saturday, March 25 at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City

The Salt Lake City return of Disney's The Lion King opens tomorrow, Saturday, March 25 at 8:00pm at the Eccles Theater for, a limited engagement of four weeks through Sunday, April 16. In Salt Lake City,The Lion King will play Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 2:00pm and 8:00pm, Sundays at 1:00pm and 6:30pm, along with weekday matinees on Thursday, March 30 and Friday, April 14 at 2:00pm. "Thus far sales have exceeded our expectations, but patrons are encouraged to contact the box office for best availability," said John Ballard, MagicSpace Entertainment.

Tickets to The Lion King are available at the Eccles Theater Box Office at 131 S. Main St., Salt Lake City (Mon - Fri 10:00am-6:00pm, Sat 10:00am-2:00pm), or by calling Art Tix at 801-355-ARTS (2787), or via the Internet at broadway-at-the-eccles.com. Ticket prices for the engagement start as low as $35. Premium Ticket Packages, which include prime seat locations, a commemorative souvenir program and an exclusive merchandise item, are also available.

The Lion King began as a 1994 animated feature-length film developed and produced by the Walt Disney Company. The story, a coming of age parable set among animals indigenous to its setting, the African savanna, tells the tale of Simba, the lion cub who rises to be the King of the jungle.

The production features Mark Campbell as "Scar," Gerald Ramsey as "Mufasa," Buyi Zama as "Rafiki," Nick Cordileone as "Timon," Drew Hirshfield as "Zazu," Ben Lipitz as "Pumbaa," Dashaun Young as "Simba," Nia Holloway as "Nala," Keith Bennett as "Banzai," Tiffany Denise Hobbs as "Shenzi" and Robbie Swift as "Ed."

The role of "Young Simba" is alternated between Devin Graves and JorDan Williams and the role of "Young Nala" is alternated between Grier Burke and Meilani Cisneros.

About The Lion King

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. Translated into 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 associate producer.

For more information worldwide, visit LionKing.com.

The Salt Lake City engagement of Disney's The Lion King is presented by arrangement with the Eccles Theater and Zions Bank Broadway at the Eccles.

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