THE LION KING to Open in Sydney in 2026
The award-winning musical production will open at the Capitol Theatre with performances from April next year.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Feb. 06, 2025
Disney’s The Lion King will return to Australia, premiering in Sydney in April 2026. The award-winning musical production will open at the Capitol Theatre with performances from April next year. The Lion King has captivated nearly four million Australian audience members over the last two tours, and this new Sydney season of the world’s most iconic musical is an exciting opportunity for loyal fans to reconnect and to spark a new wave of excitement in the next generation. A global phenomenon, The Lion King has been seen by more than 120 million worldwide, cementing its status as one of the most beloved musicals of all time.
Opening ten years after The Lion King was last on stage in Australia, this will be the third local production for this multi-award-winning, internationally celebrated Disney musical. Returning once again to the Capitol Theatre, the original Australian production premiered on the same stage in Sydney in October 2003, followed by a second national tour that opened to Sydney audiences in December 2013.
Responsible for bringing some of the biggest and most celebrated shows to Australia, Disney Theatrical Group has driven over 500,000 interstate visitors to Sydney across the past decade through partnerships with the NSW government and Destination New South Wales. The Lion King will be the ninth musical from Disney Theatrical Group to play in Sydney over the past twenty years, following an impressive list of smash hits that include recent national tours of Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins, and Frozen. An incredible 10 million audience members have seen a Disney musical in Australia.
“Every time we return to Australia, we are reminded of the region's considerable talent pool, both on stage and off, and we can’t wait to gather a talented and exciting company for The Lion King,” said Disney Theatrical Group Executive Producer Anne Quart and Managing Director Andrew Flatt. “On behalf of Thomas Schumacher and all of us at DTG, we thank Stephen Found and Graeme Kearns at the Capitol Theatre and Australian audiences, who have always welcomed our shows so warmly. We'll see you soon.”
Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Senior Vice President & Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand, said: “We are thrilled to welcome The Lion King back to Sydney, the place where it all began in Australia over 20 years ago. The Walt Disney Company ANZ is proud to be one of only three places in the world where, alongside Broadway and the West End, we self-produce musicals, directly employing hundreds of Australian theatre professionals. Thank you to Destination NSW and the New South Wales Government for partnering with us once again to bring this iconic piece of theatre back for a new generation of fans to experience.”
Destination NSW Acting CEO Karen Jones said: “Disney’s The Lion King is a global phenomenon that has captivated millions of theatre-goers around the world, and I’m thrilled it will make its roaring return to Sydney next year. Destination NSW is laser-focused on delivering a vibrant calendar of world-class cultural experiences for Sydney to achieve our ambition of making NSW the premier visitor economy of the Asia Pacific worth $91 billion by 2035. I look forward to welcoming Disney’s The Lion King back to Sydney and the thousands of visitors who will come to experience its majesty.”
Ticket information will be announced later in 2025. To be kept informed of ticketing details, sign up for the waitlist at thelionkingmusical.com.au. Casting information for the new Sydney production will be announced at a later date. The Australian premiere of Disney's The Lion King is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
ABOUT THE LION KING
Approaching 30 landmark years on Broadway, The Lion King continues its ascent as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Since its premiere on November 13, 1997, 28 global productions have been seen by more than 120 million people. Produced by Disney Theatrical Group, under the direction of Andrew Flatt, Anne Quart, and Thomas Schumacher, The Lion King has made theatrical history with three productions worldwide running 20 or more years and two others running 25 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; in London’s West End; Paris; Hamburg; Tokyo; Madrid; São Paulo; and on tour across North America and the U.K. & Ireland for a total of nine productions running concurrently across the globe. Having played over 100 cities in 24 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 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 on to 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 (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), Lisa Dawn Cave (production supervisor), Thomas Schlenk (general manager), and ARC/Mark Brandon, CSA (casting). Anne Quart serves as executive producer.
Comments
Videos