Drama Desk Winner THE LION on the Hunt for New Star

The Lion, the highly acclaimed, Drama Desk Award-winning musical written and performed by Benjamin Scheuer, is searching for a new star, producer Eva Price announced today. Scheuer, who has been performing the piece in various productions since 2014, will play his final performance in his autobiographical musical on February 19, 2017 at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, CA. Due to popular demand, The Lion will continue its tour across America, and the search is underway for a new star.

"I'm looking forward to seeing someone new step into this role, and to make it his or her own. They can be any age, any gender, any race. While the story is obviously very personal to me, it is also very universal and has resonated with audiences across the country for a variety of reasons," says Scheuer.

Video submissions for the new "Ben" are now being accepted. Singer-guitarists may upload videos of themselves playing "Cookie-tin Banjo" and email their submissions to TheLionCasting@gmail.com. The sheet music can be downloaded at http://tinyurl.com/zuwfyuf and Scheuer has even provided helpful video clips showing the guitar picking of the song at https://youtube.com/watch?v=2Fntuk9V_BI (without vocals) and https://youtube.com/watch?v=G_Kw_dbcIRY (with vocals).

Labeled as one of the "Top 10 Performances of 2015" by The Huffington Post, NBC New York, and Manhattan Digest, The Lion debuted at Manhattan Theatre Club in summer 2014 and returned for a limited engagement early in 2015 at The Lynn Redgrave Theatre at Culture Project. The New York Times wrote that "only the hardest hearted could resist [The Lion]" and the NY Daily News proclaimed it "an irresistible winner." Scheuer won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance as well as a 2015 Theatre World Award. Additional nominations included Outstanding Lyrics (Drama Desk Awards), Outstanding Solo Show (Lucille Lortel Awards), Outstanding Solo Performance (Outer Critics' Circle Awards) as well as the Outer Critics' Circle John Gassner Award.

Since the tour of The Lion began, the show has continued to receive critical acclaim in sold-out regional engagements across the U.S., including performances in Portland, OR, Milwaukee, WI, Rochester, NY, New Haven, CT, and Washington, DC where it is currently in residence. The current tour will continue as follows, with additional national and international touring venues for 2016-2017 to be announced shortly:

April 19 - May 1
American Conservatory Theater's Strand Theater
1127 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

May 12 - June 5
City Theatre Company
1300 Bingham Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203

January 4 - February 19, 2017
Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024

The Lion is directed by Sean Daniels with scenic design by Neil Patel, lighting design by Benjamin Stanton, sound design by Leon Rothenberg, and costume consultation by Jennifer Caprio. It was presented Off-Broadway at the Lynn Redgrave Theater, and currently on tour, by Eva Price, Stacey Mindich, Warner/Chappell Music, Tom McGrath, Spruce Lake Theatrical, Jamie DeRoy/Haley Swindal/Dan Shaheen, and Robert Kraft.

Benjamin Scheuer's Songs from The Lion comes out June 3 via Warner/ADA. For more music and info check out www.benjaminscheuer.com.

For more information about The Lion visit www.TheLionMusical.com.

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