Take a Look at the New Cast of The Lion King North American Tour | Playbill

Production Photos Take a Look at the New Cast of The Lion King North American Tour

The Disney hit is currently playing The Bushnell in Hartford through December 1.

Darnell Abraham in The Lion King North American Tour Matthew Murphy

The North American tour of Disney’s The Lion King—currently playing The Bushnell in Hartford, Connecticut, through December 1—has released photos of new principal cast members Darnell Abraham, Danny Grumich, Erick D. Patrick, and Thembelihle Cele as well as continuing cast member Nick Cordileone, who play, respectively, Mufasa, Pumbaa, Simba, Nala, and Timon.

Check out the new company members in the gallery below.

The touring production also features Peter Hargrave as Scar, Mukelisiwe Goba as Rafiki, Nick LaMedica as Zazu, Forest VanDyke as Banzai, Martina Sykes as Shenzi, and Sam Linda as Ed, plus standbys Wiliam John Austin and Thom Christopher Warren. The role of Young Simba is alternated between Bryce Christian Thompson and Julian Villela, and the role of Young Nala is shared by Ritisha Chakraborty and Jaxyn Damasco.

Rounding out the cast are Kayla Rose Aimable, Ellen Akashi, Iman Ayana, Eric Bean, Jr., Layla Brent, Vernon Brooks III, Sasha Caicedo, Lauren Carr, Shaquelle Charles, Reoagile Choabi, Lyric Danae, Maurice Dawkins, Cedrick Ekra, Marquis Floyd, Valériane Louisy Louis Joseph, Joel Karie, Gabisile Manana, Justin Mensah, Sakhile Mthembu, Sarita Amani Nash, Aaron Nelson, Jeremy Noel, Sicelo Ntshangase, Sayiga Eugene Peabody, Yael Pineda-Hall, Maurica Roland, Poseletso Sejosingoe, Courtney Thomas, Ben Toomer, Denzel Tsopnang, Brinie Wallace, and Jordan Nicole Willis.

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The Lion King, based on the blockbuster animated film of the same name, has been touring North America for more than 22 years; during that time the musical has played more than 10,000 performances in over 90 cities and welcomed more than 23 million theatregoers.

Photos: The Lion King North American Tour Welcomes New Cast Members

Watch: International Casts of The Lion King Perform Multilingual 'Circle of Life'

Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, 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 international hit musical 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 show’s director, costume designer, and mask co-designer, Julie Taymor, was the first woman to win a Tony Award for Direction of a Musical; she continues to supervise new productions of the show around the world.

The Broadway score features Elton John and Tim Rice’s songs from The Lion King animated film along with three new songs by the pair; additional musical material by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, 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, Mancina, and Zimmer.

The book was 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, as well as sound designer Steve Canyon Kennedy, hair and makeup designer Michael Ward, associate director John Stefaniuk, associate choreographer Marey Griffith, music supervisor Clement Ishmael, and production supervisor Dawn Cave. Thomas Schlenk is the general manager with casting by ARC's Mark Brandon. Anne Quart serves as executive producer.

The record-breaking musical continues on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre.

 
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