Disney's THE LION KING Opens Tonight at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center

The Charlotte return of Disney's THE LION KING opens tonight, Thursday, August 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Belk Theater for a limited engagement of four weeks through September 1. In Charlotte, THE LION KING plays Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

"Thus far sales have exceeded our expectations, but there are still seats available," said Blumenthal Performing Arts President Tom Gabbard. "The best availability can be found during the last week of the engagement and the special Actors Fund matinee performance on Thursday, August 22 at 1:00pm."

Tickets to THE LION KING are available at the Belk Theater Box Office, by phone at 704.372.1000 and online at BlumenthalArts.org. Premium Ticket Packages, which include prime seat locations, a commemorative souvenir program and an exclusive merchandise item, are also available.

THE LION KING began as a 1994 animated feature-length film developed and produced by the Walt Disney Company. The story, a coming of age parable set among animals indigenous to its setting, the African savanna, tells the tale of Simba, the lion cub who rises to be the King of the jungle.

The production features Patrick R. Brown as "Scar", L. Steven Taylor as "Mufasa", Tshidi Manye as "Rafiki", Andrew Gorell as "Zazu", Ben Lipitz as "Pumbaa", Nick Cordileone as "Timon", Jelani Remy as "Simba", Nia Holloway as "Nala", Keith Bennett as "Banzai", Rashada Dawan as "Shenzi" and Robbie Swift as "Ed."

The role of "Young Simba" is alternated between Jordan Hall and Nathaniel McIntyre and the role of "Young Nala" is alternated between Nya Carter and Zyasia Page.

The North American touring productions of THE LION KING have been seen by more than 15 million theatergoers and grossed over $1 billion to date. Having already played more than 70 cities across North America, THE LION KING now proudly makes its Charlotte return in Belk Theater. The current schedule is listed below.

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR SCHEDULE THROUGH AUGUST 2014:

Charlotte - Belk Theater
August 6 - September 1, 2013

Pittsburgh - Benedum Center
September 3 - 29, 2013

Dallas - Music Hall at Fair Park
October 2 - 20, 2013

Tempe - ASU Gammage Auditorium
October 22 - November 17, 2013

Los Angeles - Pantages Theatre
November 20, 2013 - January 12, 2014

Honolulu - Blaisdell Concert Hall
January 14 - March 9, 2014

Seattle - Paramount Theatre
March 11 - April 6, 2014

Atlanta - The Fox Theatre
April 10 - 27, 2014

Toronto - Princess of Wales Theatre
April 30 - June 15, 2014

Washington, D.C. - Kennedy Center Opera House
June 17 - August 17, 2014