Vincent Jamal Hooper Joins THE LION KING as 'Simba' This Month

The Lion King will welcome Vincent Jamal Hooper as “Simba” beginning Tuesday, September 26. The show marks Hooper’s Broadway and Lion King debut. Current cast member Brandon A. McCall will play his final performance Sunday, September 24.

Vincent Jamal Hooper (Simba). Broadway debut! Vincent has performed around the world in multiple companies of Hamilton (including in Puerto Rico alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda), playing the roles of Hamilton, Burr, Lafayette/Jefferson, George Washington and King George III. Off-Broadway: White Girl in Danger. Regional: Passing Strange, In the Heights, The Great Society, Hairspray. TV/film: “Chicago Med” (NBC), “Shots Fired” (FOX) and “American Crime” (ABC). IG: @_vincentjamalhooper.

In The Lion King on Broadway: “Scar” is played by Stephen Carlile, L. Steven Taylor is “Mufasa,” Tshidi Manye is the baboon shaman “Rafiki,” Nick LaMedica portrays the hornbilled bird “Zazu,” Ben Jeffrey is the warthog “Pumbaa” and Fred Berman is the meerkat “Timon.”  Mufasa’s son, “Simba,” the lion prince born to be king, is played by Brandon A. McCall and Pearl Khwezi is the lioness “Nala.” James Brown-Orleans, Bonita J. Hamilton and Robb Sapp portray the hyenas “Bonzai,” “Shenzi” and “Ed.”

ABOUT THE LION KING

Celebrating 25 landmark years on Broadway, The Lion King continues ascendant as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world.  Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), The Lion King has made theatrical history with two productions worldwide running 15 or more years and two others running 20 or more years. 

Performed over its lifetime in nine different languages (English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese), there are currently nine productions of The Lion King around the world: Broadway, London, Paris, Hamburg, Tokyo, Madrid, Sao Paolo and on tour across North America and the U.K. & Ireland. The Lion King has played over 100 cities in 24 countries on every continent except Antarctica, and its 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 Broadway score features Elton John and Tim Rice’s songs 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 Lebo M’s rich choral numbers.

Elton John, Lebo M, and Hans Zimmer all collaborated on the 2019 version of the film, executive produced by Julie Taymor and Thomas Schumacher, which has gone onto extraordinary worldwide success.

The book has been adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed the animated The Lion King 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), Anthony Lyn (associate director), Marey Griffith (associate choreographer), Clement Ishmael (music supervisor) and Lisa Dawn Cave (production supervisor), Thomas Schlenk (general manager) and ARC / Mark Brandon, CSA (casting). Anne Quart serves as co-producer.

For more information worldwide, visit LionKing.com, Facebook and Instagram.

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