Back in May 2024, The Hollywood Bowl in California hosted two concerts of The Lion King, featuring a starry cast of actors from the original film and the Broadway show alike. The filmed capture, The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl, is now available to stream on Disney+ beginning February 7.
The Disney+ special includes the filmed performance, as well as interviews with the cast and creatives. For a sneak peek, hear choreographer Jamal Sims, assistant choreographer Reina Hidalgo, and associate choreographer Kai Martinez speak on their creative process in the video above.
Special guests included film alums Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, and Jason Weaver (who voiced Scar, Timon, Pumbaa, and Young Simba, respectively); Billy Eichner, Timon in the 2019 remake; Bradley Gibson, who has starred as Simba in the film's Broadway musical adaptation; EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson; The Lion King Broadway alum Heather Headley; co-composer and vocalist Lebo M.; and North West.
See photos from the concerts in the gallery below.
The evenings featured a screening of the movie with a live orchestra playing Hans Zimmer's score, plus performances from the event's special guests. They also paid tribute to the long-running stage musical with performances of select numbers featuring the production's iconic costumes, set designs, and puppets.
The concerts were produced by Disney Concerts, AMP Worldwide, Fulwell 73 Productions, and Live Nation-Hewitt Silva. Misty Buckley served as production designer, with Gabe Turner and Sally Wood as creative showrunners for Fulwell 73.
Loosely a retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet reimagined to follow a pride of African lions, The Lion King released in movie theatres in 1994, featuring songs by Elton John and Tim Rice. After becoming a smash-hit in movie theatres, Disney brought the film to the stage in 1997, creating one of the biggest hits Broadway has ever seen. As directed and designed by Julie Taymor, the uniquely theatrical production employs African dance and music in concert with innovative puppetry to bring the film's animal characters to the stage. Twenty-seven years later, the musical is still one of Broadway's top-grossing musicals, with many other concurrent productions around the world. A film remake, using CGI to achieve a more "live-action" feel, was released in 2019.
