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Category_Musicals, Elton John, Irene Mecchi, Julie Taymor, Lebo M, Lyceum Theatre London, Mark Mancina, Roger Allers, The Lion King, Tim Rice

The Lion King welcomes its 12 millionth visitor!

Disney’s award-winning musical The Lion King recently welcomed its 12 millionth visitor at London’s Lyceum Theatre. The show will celebrate its 15th anniversary in October in London where the show remains the West End’s best-selling stage production. Winning over 70 theatre awards worldwide, this captivating stage production follows the adventures of the young lion cub Simba, as he learns to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and his destined role of King. The internationally celebrated stage adaptation of Disney’s animated film premiered on Broadway in 1997 and has now been seen by over 70 million people across six continents. In addition to the record-breaking productions in London and New York, The Lion King can currently be seen in Hamburg, Madrid, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Sydney and on tours around the UK, North America and Japan. Recently announced future productions of the musical include Mexico City and Shanghai Disney Resort. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XtpRsdF_Bw The book was adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed the animated feature, and Irene Mecchi, who co-wrote the screenplay of The Lion King. The original score from the animated film was expanded for the stage and now features 15 musical numbers. As well as writing completely new songs, South African composer Lebo M created an evocative blend of African rhythms and chorales, with additional material by Julie Taymor and Mark Mancina: Elton John and Tim Rice then added three new numbers to the five that they wrote for the award-winning score of the animated film. The resulting sound of The Lion King is a fusion of Western popular music and the distinctive sounds and rhythms of Africa. The Lion King is the highest-grossing Broadway show in New York history and one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Since its premiere, 22 global productions have, cumulatively run a fantastic 104 years. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions it is only the second show in history to generate five productions worldwide running 10 or more years.