THE LION KING Opens Tonight in Nashville

The Nashville return of Disney's THE LION KING opens tonight, Thursday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall for a limited engagement of four weeks through Sunday, June 2. The show's six-week premiere engagement in 2006 played a sold-out run at TPAC.

In Nashville, THE LION KING plays Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. Matinees are at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. There will be a 1:00 p.m. matinee performance on Thursday, May 30. There will not be a 6:30 p.m. performance on Sunday, June 2.

"While sales are strong, tickets can still be purchased, with weeknights having the best availability," said Kathleen O'Brien, TPAC president and chief executive officer. "The response and excitement we've seen for The Lion King's return to Nashville has exceeded our expectations, and we're excited to be raising the curtain again on this wonderful show. Don't miss your chance to see The Lion King for the first time or to experience it again."

Tickets to THE LION KING are available at the TPAC Box Office, by calling (615) 782-4040, or via the Internet at www.tpac.org. Ticket prices for the engagement start as low as $27.00. 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 Timothy Carter as "Scar", Dionne Randolph as "Mufasa", Nteliseng Nkhela as "Rafiki", Mark David Kaplan as "Zazu", Ben Lipitz as "Pumbaa", Nick Cordileone as "Timon", Jelani Remy as "Simba", Syndee Winters as "Nala", Keith Bennett as "Banzai", Rashada Dawan as "Shenzi" and Robbie Swift as "Ed."

The role of "Young Simba" is alternated between Zavion J. Hill and Adante Power and the role of "Young Nala" is alternated between Sade Phillip-Demorcy and Kailah McFadden.

The North American touring productions of THE LION KING have been seen by more than 14 million theatergoers and grossed over $983 million to date. Having already played more than 70 cities across North America, THE LION KING now proudly makes its return to TPAC in Nashville.