THE LION KING Opens At The Eccles Theater

The Salt Lake City premiere of Disney's The Lion King opened on September 30 at 7:30pm at the Eccles Theater for a limited engagement of 4 weeks through Sunday, October 23. In Salt Lake City, The Lion King will play Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30pm, Thursday, Sept. 29 and Thursday, Oct. 20 at 2pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2:00pm and 8:00pm and Sundays at 1:00pm and 6:30pm.

Tickets to The Lion King are available at the Eccles Theater Box Office, by calling ArtTix at 801-355-2787 (M-F, 10am-6pm, Sat. 10am-2pm), or via the Internet at Broadway-at-the-Eccles.com. Ticket prices for the engagement start as low as $35.50. Premium Ticket Packages, which include a prime seat location, a souvenir program and a cinch bag, 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 Peter Hargrave as "Scar," Gerald Ramsey as "Mufasa," Gugwana Dlamini as "Rafiki," Tony Freeman as "Timon," Nick LaMedica as "Zazu," John E. Brady as "Pumbaa," Darian Sanders as "Simba," Khalifa White as "Nala," Forest VanDyke as "Banzai," Martina Sykes as "Shenzi" and Robbie Swift as "Ed."

The role of "Young Simba" is alternated between Jaylen Lyndon Hunter and Jordan Pendleton and the role of "Young Nala" is alternated between Scarlett London Diviney and Farrah Wilson.

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 N. Willis and Sherman Wood.

For more than 20 years, the North American touring productions of The Lion King have been seen by over 21 million theatergoers. Having already played more than 9,000 performances in over 90 cities across North America, The Lion King now proudly makes its Salt Lake City premiere at the Eccles Theater.

ABOUT THE LION KING

After 24 landmark years on Broadway, The Lion King continues ascendant as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Since its premiere on November 13, 1997, 25 global productions have been seen by nearly 110 million people. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), The Lion King has made theatrical history with six productions worldwide running 15 or more years, with four of those running 20 or more years.

Performed over its lifetime in nine different languages (English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese), productions of The Lion King can currently be seen on Broadway; London's West End; Paris; Hamburg; Tokyo; Madrid; on tour across North America, Japan and the U.K. & Ireland, with a separate production touring internationally, for a total of 10 productions running concurrently across the globe. Having played over 100 cities in 21 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 supervises new productions of the show around the world.

The Broadway score features Elton John and Tim Rice's songs 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 Lebo M's rich choral numbers.

Elton John, Lebo M, and Hans Zimmer all collaborated on the 2019 version of the film, executive produced by Julie Taymor and Thomas Schumacher, which has gone onto extraordinary worldwide success.

The book has been adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed the animated The Lion King 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), Anthony Lyn (associate director), Marey Griffith (associate choreographer), Clement Ishmael (music supervisor), Doc Zorthian (production supervisor) and Binder Casting/Mark Brandon, CSA (casting). Anne Quart serves as co-producer.

For more information worldwide, visit LionKing.com, Facebook and Instagram.

The Salt Lake City engagement of Disney's THE LION KING is presented by arrangement with Broadway Across America and is a subscription offering of the Broadway at the Eccles.

The John Gore Organization is the leading presenter, distributor, and marketer of Broadway theater worldwide. Under the leadership of 18-time Tony-winning theater producer and owner John Gore, its family of companies includes Broadway Across America, Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com, Group Sales Box Office and Broadway Brands. The company presents shows in 48 cities across North America as well as on Broadway, Off-Broadway, London's West End, Japan, and China. It has won Tony Awards in every producing category as well as numerous other Drama League, Drama Desk and Olivier Awards. The John Gore Organization is committed to supporting theater access and education programs that introduce Broadway to the next generation of audiences and theater professionals.

Broadway Across America (BAA) is part of the John Gore Organization family of companies, which includes Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com, Group Sales Box Office and Broadway Brands. Led by 18-time Tony-winning theater producer John Gore (Owner & CEO), BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring productions in North America, operating in 48 markets with over 400,000 subscribers. Presentations include Disney's The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon and Hamilton. Current and past productions include Ain't Too Proud, Beautiful, Cats, Chicago, Dear Evan Hansen, Mean Girls, Moulin Rouge! and To Kill A Mockingbird.

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