The North American tour of Disney’s The Lion King will welcome several new cast members beginning September 24 at the Peace Center in Greenville, South Carolina.
Joining the cast of the Tony-winning musical will be Darnell Abraham as Mufasa, Juson Williams as Pumbaa, Erick D. Patrick as Simba, Thembelihle Cele as Nala, and Sam Linda as
Ed. These artists will succeed current cast members Gerald Ramsey, John E. Brady, Darian Sanders, Khalifa White, and Robbie Swift, who will play their final performances as, respectively, Mufasa, Pumbaa, Simba, Nala, and Ed, September 22.
Abraham, Williams, Patrick, Cele, and Linda will join current tour cast members Peter Hargrave as Scar, Mukelisiwe Goba as Rafiki, Nick Cordileone as Timon, Nick LaMedica as Zazu, Forest VanDyke as Banzai, and Martina Sykes as Shenzi.
Purchase The Lion King memorabilia in the Playbill Store
The role of Young Simba is alternated between Bryce Christian Thompson and Julian Villela, and the role of Young Nala is alternated between Ritisha Chakraborty and Leela Chopra.
Rounding out the company are Kayla Rose Aimable, Ellen Akashi, William John Austin, Iman Ayana, Eric Bean, Jr., Layla Brent, Vernon Brooks III, Sasha Caicedo, Lauren Carr, Shaquelle Charles, Reoagile Choabi, Daniela Cobb, Lyric Danae, Maurice Dawkins, Cedrick Ekra, Marquis Floyd, Valériane Louisy Louis Joseph, Joel Karie, Gabisile Manana, Justin Mensah, Sakhile Mthembu, Sarita Amani Nash, Nhlanhla Ndlovu, Aaron Nelson, Jeremy Noel, Sicelo Ntshangase, Sayiga Eugene Peabody, Yael Pineda-Hall, Poseletso Sejosingoe, Jennifer Theriot, Courtney Thomas, Ben Toomer, Denzel Tsopnang, Brinie Wallace, Thom Christopher Warren, and Jordan Nicole Willis.
Watch: International Casts of The Lion King Perform Multilingual 'Circle of Life'
Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, 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 international hit musical 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,
was the first woman to win a Tony Award for Direction of a Musical; she
continues to supervise 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 the pair; additional musical material by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, 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, Mancina, and Zimmer.
The book was 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, as well as sound designer Steve Canyon Kennedy, hair and makeup designer Michael Ward, associate director John Stefaniuk, associate choreographer Marey Griffith, music supervisor Clement Ishmael, and production supervisor Dawn Cave. Thomas Schlenk is the general manager with casting by ARC's Mark Brandon. Anne Quart serves as executive producer.
The record-breaking musical continues on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre.
Khalifa White in The Lion King
Peter Hargrave in The Lion King
Darian Sanders and Khalifa White in The Lion King
Darian Sanders in The Lion King
Nick LaMedica in The Lion King
