\u201cDisney\u2019s The Lion King\u201d has raked in more than $2 billion in the almost 30 years that it\u2019s been on Broadway, making it the highest grossing Broadway musical of all time. And it\u2019s no wonder \u2014 the show is emblematic of modern musicals in many ways. It\u2019s based on a successful film, it\u2019s good for families and it\u2019s got a pretty impressive visual wow factor. All of this makes it a perfect choice to open the 2026-27 Pittsburgh Cultural Trust PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh Series, no matter how many times it\u2019s graced the Benedum Center stage in Downtown Pittsburgh before.<\/p>\n
Audiences simply cannot get enough of it. And yes, it\u2019s still gasp-worthy, even if the padded-out runtime can drag.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Lion King\u201d is, arguably, the crown jewel of the Disney Renaissance. The animated film was released in 1994, with an instant classic score by Elton John and Tim Rice and boasting a voice cast that included James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. It was the highest grossing film of a year that brought us \u201cForrest Gump\u201d and \u201cSpeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
So naturally, the next step was to make it a musical! The show debuted on Broadway in 1997 and is still roaring, making its Broadway run nearly old enough to run for Senate. It was also decently acclaimed, winning six Tony Awards including Best Musical. The show was directed by the legendary Julie Taymor.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not going to break any new ground talking about \u201cThe Lion King.\u201d Anyone over the age of 7 who\u2019s particularly motivated to see it has likely seen it. It was even my very first Broadway musical, on a seventh grade trip to New York City a \u2026 certain number of years ago. But if you haven\u2019t gotten to see it yet, or you have a newly aware Disney kid in your orbit, I will say this: there\u2019s still magic in this show.<\/p>\n
In theory, \u201cThe Lion King\u201d is Shakespearean: its plot is loosely based on \u201cHamlet,\u201d after all. In the musical, Simba (Gilbert Domally) returns to face his uncle, Scar (Peter Hargrave) after Scar murdered Simba\u2019s father, King Mufasa (a gravitas-filled David D\u2019Lancy Wilson) and took over the Pride Rock throne. Along the way, Simba learns about how to be a leader and how to put the past behind him, thanks to the wise Rafiki (Thembelihle Cele, in a show highlight performance).<\/p>\n
But the puppets! And the incredible costumes! Simba\u2019s friends, meerkat Timon and warthog Pumbaa, are respectively played by hilarious and talented puppeteers Thom Christopher Warren and Danny Grumich, and they feel shockingly lifelike. The same goes for Mufasa\u2019s advisor bird Zazu, performed by Robb Sapp, whose puppet movements are graceful and swooping but who also executes some great physical comedy.<\/p>\n
The full ensemble is charged with complex choreography and breathtaking costuming, with choreography by Garth Fagan, costume design by Julie Taymor, and mask and puppet design by Taymor and Michael Curry. The cast leaps, twirls, stalks, bounds, swoons and battles in large masks, colorful costumes and headpieces, allowing for a surprising amount of suspension of disbelief that puts us smack-dab in the heart of Africa.<\/p>\n
And it gets even more immersive, with several scenes featuring cast members walking through the auditorium\u2019s aisles. The second act opener \u201cOne by One\u201d is an especially lovely example that really got the audience ready to dive back into the story.<\/p>\n
Scenic design by Richard Hudson and lighting design by Donald Holder feel surprisingly natural, lending to the completely outdoor setting well with skies full of stars, stunning sunrises and fiery fight scenes. One of the highlights was Scar\u2019s villain song \u201cBe Prepared,\u201d which devolved into a red-lit evil disco accentuated with perfectly timed jets of steam.<\/p>\n
All of the familiar favorite songs are there, from high-energy \u201cI Just Can\u2019t Wait to be King\u201d to the awe-inspiring, sweeping opener \u201cCircle of Life.\u201d The biggest trouble with the musical is just how much it adds for the sake of padding runtime \u2014 while some of the non-movie scenes are super cool, like the act one hunt\/dance from the pride\u2019s lionesses, a lot of it feels unnecessary and a little out of place.<\/p>\n
But some things are just timeless, and \u201cThe Lion King\u201d is one of them. It\u2019s still exciting and familiar all at once, a great show for adults and kids alike. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if it was still on Broadway in 2057, and hopefully everyone takes their chance to see it.<\/p>\n
\u201dDisney\u2019s The Lion King\u201d will run at the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh through Sept. 27, as part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust\u2019s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh Series. To learn more and get tickets, visit trustarts.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n (Editor\u2019s Note: Acorrection has been made in the names of actors in this story from a previous version.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cDisney\u2019s The Lion King\u201d has raked in more than $2 billion in the almost 30 years that it\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-284118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}