Previews: DISNEY'S THE LION KING at KeyBank State Theatre At Playhouse Square

The winner of six Tony Awards ® including Best Musical, Best Choreography, and Best Scenic, Costume, and Lighting Designs, Disney's beloved musical THE LION KING returns to Cleveland and Playhouse Square's KeyBank State Theatre, July 6 - August 8, 2026.

The 2 ½-hour production (with intermission) is part of Disney on Broadway's North American tour, North America's longest-running (over 24 years) and most-attended Broadway tour, with 10,000 performances in over 90 cities, reaching more than 28 million theatergoers.

The production is adapted from Disney's 1994 Oscar-winning animated film of the same name with Grammy-winning music by Elton John and Tim Rice.

The worldwide theatrical spectacle tells the coming-of-age story of Simba, a young lion prince who overcomes his guilt over his father Mufasa's tragic death to reclaim his rightful throne from his power-hungry uncle, Scar. 

Portraying the lead role of Scar for the Cleveland run will be Peter Hargrave, who earned his Master of Fine Arts in Acting from Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House's acting program in 2018.

Hargrave's credits include Off-Broadway and regional theater appearances at Cleveland Play House, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Texas Shakespeare Festival, as well as television appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Godfather of Harlem, Dynasty, and Madam Secretary.

I recently talked with Hargrave and Cleveland native Robb Sapp, who plays Ed, one of Scar's simple-minded, cackling hyena henchmen, about the production, their roles, and returning to Cleveland. 

Where are you originally from?
Peter Hargrave: Amarillo, Texas 

What was your time living in Cleveland like? 
PH: I have only the fondest memories of living in Cleveland. My wife and I moved there in 2015, when I was attending the Case/Cleveland Play House MFA program. We had only been married a year at that point, and it was a place that embraced us in every way. It was also a phenomenal time to be in Cleveland from a sports and arts perspective. We just really fell in love with it. It's a place that my wife and I will forever consider one of our homes.   

Did you have any favorite local places?
PH: We were and are suckers for Angelo's Pizza in Lakewood and Mitchell's Ice Cream. We have been on this tour for about four years touting how great Angelo's Pizza is.

What will it be like coming back?
PH: I went to shows at Playhouse Square all through grad school, and that is the dream: to come back and perform in one. It will be a really meaningful tour experience for me.

What is it like portraying Scar? 
PH: It's everything you could want as an actor. The show is such a theater staple, taking a story so many people grew up with and marrying it with every theatrical marvel in the book, from puppetry and dance to the use of many different languages. Our story has a great hero, and every hero needs a great villain. Scar is that great villain. 

What is your approach to the role?
PH: Our worldwide team is so good about letting us create our character from our own personality. I also believe my Scar will always be influenced by Jeremy Irons' portrayal of him in the animated movie. That being said, when you come to see THE LION KING musical, it is not a carbon copy of the movie. You get to experience more because it is happening right in front of you, and that is a special thing to be a part of.

Do you enjoy being the baddie?
PH: It seems to be my lot in life; I get cast a lot as a villain. I do love it because villains face so many emotional obstacles at any given point. No one is evil for the sake of being evil. Many times, they are battling their own particular pain, and villains have the longest runway to understand and expose it. That is one thing I really enjoy. It is also not a bad gig to sing perhaps the most iconic Disney villain song of all time, "Be Prepared," every night.

How long have you been in the role?
PH: Almost four years.

How intricate is your "puppet" costume?
PH: Scar's costume weighs 37 1/2 pounds and has five control boxes hidden inside that help my mechanical mask move up and down in front of my face. While it is quite heavy, it's one of the most fabulous pieces of dual storytelling an actor could imagine. As an audience member, are you supposed to be looking at the actor's face or the puppet's face? There is no wrong answer. Anywhere you look, you are going to get the story.

You also have a 5" shadow mouse hidden in your cane; do you operate that?
PH: Yes, it is a bit of theater magic to do so and also operate my mask at the same time.

Will you be performing as Scar for every show in Cleveland?
PH: Yes, eight shows a week for the entire six-week run.

Proud Clevelander, Robb Sapp rejoins the North American tour as Ed directly from the Broadway company. He swapped places with the actor playing Ed on the tour for a three-city run so he could perform in Cleveland and give the other actor the opportunity to perform on Broadway.

Sapp grew up in Solon and attended Solon High School, where he studied theater before earning his BFA in theater from Syracuse University. He has been a part of THE LION KING production on and off for the past 16 years. His other Broadway credits include portraying Boq in Wicked and Pinocchio in Shrek the Musical.

How have you approached the role of Ed, an unhinged, dimwitted character with no speaking lines?
Robb Sapp: When I auditioned for the role, I wasn't given much information about Ed, so I went in and did this laugh-monologue they asked me to do on the spot. It was really fun to expand my creative mind and have no boundaries, because I was creating an approach to Ed for myself. Within the parameters of the story and the direction, there is this opportunity to create my own language for him and make new discoveries about him every show.

How do you navigate the physicality of the role?
RS: That 30-40 pound costume-puppet apparatus and mask adds an entirely new layer to playing the character. We are told to breathe our character's energy through the costuming and out into the audience. 

Is it fun playing a henchman?
RS: It's so fun. I think the audience delights in the comedy the trio of hyenas brings to the story, but when we (Ed and the other hyenas) flip the switch to being real killers out for food, I find it exciting and exhilarating to bring a sense of danger to the story. I rarely get to play bad guys, so there is something delicious about doing so as Ed.  

How has it been having Peter, another actor with ties to Cleveland, on the tour?
RS: It's been so fun to talk with someone who has big love for Cleveland. We talk about our favorite spots and where we want to take our tour friends when we get to Cleveland. 

Are you performing as Ed for every show in the Cleveland run?
RS: All but the July 18 performances.

Do you have any tour regimen or superstitions you follow?
RS: I have wanderlust and really enjoy living out of a suitcase and being in hotels. I don't really have any superstitions but have sort of rhythms when I am traveling. I like to think ahead and prepare for the cities and climates we will encounter, so I can pack strategically. 

How do you keep fit?
RS: People ask me how often I work out, and I tell them I work out eight times a week being in the show. I have a really hard time exercising for the sake of exercising. I need something a little more stimulating, and the show and heavy costuming are perfect for me.    

Do you have a lot of friends and family coming to see you?
RS: Friends, family, my teachers from Solon, and others from all over Cleveland. I have even had people from Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere reaching out to say they are coming. It's really exciting. I remember being the teen standing outside the Playhouse Square stage doors trying to meet Broadway stars while others my age were out having fun at parties. Now it's super cool that I get to perform there and maybe be that person I used to want to meet for someone else.

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