THE LION KING Bids Farewell to Australia

Disney Theatrical Productions today thanked the Australian public as the spectacularly successful season of landmark musical THE LION KING closed this weekend.

As the final curtain fell on Sunday 28 February at Perth's Crown Theatre, the current production had been seen by 1.7 million people around the country and played 869 performances at more than 99 percent capacity.

Executive Producer of THE LION KING (Australia) James Thane said, " We sincerely thank Australia for warmly embracing our wonderful cast and director Julie Taymor's extraordinary vision. We're now looking forward to our next production, ALADDIN -- the new Broadway musical comedy that will premiere at Sydney's Capitol Theatre in August."

THE LION KING premiered at Sydney's Capitol Theatre in December 2013 with the support of the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. The successful premiere season attracted 150,000 overnightvisitors to Sydney. Seasons followed in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.

This production featured the most multicultural cast of any Australian-produced stage musical to date, with performers from 13 countries across five continents and was recently nominated for four Green Room Awards, Melbourne's premier peer-presented, performing arts industry awards.

In its 18th year, THE LION KING continues ascendant as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Since its Broadway premiere on November 13, 1997, 23 global productions have been seen by morethan 80 million people and, cumulatively, run a staggering 132 years. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), THE LION KING is only the second show in history to generate five productions worldwide running 10 or more years. Translated into eight different languages (Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin), productions of THE LION KING can currently be seen on Broadway; London's West End; Hamburg; Tokyo; Madrid; Perth, Australia; Mexico City; and on tour across North America and Japan, for a total of nine productions running concurrently across the globe. Having played 20 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 has in recent years supervised new productions of the show around the world.

The Broadway score features Elton John and Tim Rice's music from The Lion King 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 the haunting ballad "Shadowland."

The book has been adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed The Lion Kinganimated 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, Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound design), Michael Ward (hair and makeup design), John Stefaniuk (associate director), Marey Griffith (associate choreographer), Clement Ishmael (music supervisor) and Doc Zorthian (production supervisor). Anne Quart serves as associate producer.

For more information worldwide, visit LionKing.com.

Photo Credit: Deen Van Meer