New National Tour cast

From BroadwayWorld.com:


The North American touring production of Disney's THE LION KING is pleased to welcome to the company beginning Tuesday, July 13:

J. Anthony Crane as thepower-hungry lion "Scar"; BRENDA MHLONGO as the wise baboon shaman "Rafiki"; Nick Cordileone as the wisecracking meerkat "Timon"; Adam Jacobs as Mufasa's son, "Simba," the lion prince born to be king; SYNDEE WINTERS as the loyal lioness "Nala"; Monica L. Patton as the evil hyena "Shenzi"; KOLTON STEWART as "Young Simba" and MONIQUE LEE as "Young Nala." Crane, Mhlongo, Cordileone, Jacobs, Winters, Patton, Stewart and Lee will join the tour when it premieres in Vancouver, B.C. where it will play a limited four-week engagement at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre from Tuesday, July 13 to Sunday, August 8, 2010.

The press opening night is Thursday, July 15 at 7:30pm. The cast also includes Dionne Randolph as "Mufasa," the great warrior and ruler of the Pridelands; Tony Freeman as the prim and proper hornbilled bird "Zazu"; Ben Lipitz as the carefree warthog "Pumbaa"; OMARI TAU ("Banzai") and BEN ROSEBERRY ("Ed") play the evil hyenas and the role of "Young Simba" will be played by Jerome Stephens, JR.

(alternating with KOLTON STEWART) and the role of "Young Nala" will be played by MADAI MONICA WILLIAMS (alternating with MONIQUE LEE). In Vancouver, THE LION KING will play Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30pm, Sunday evenings at 6:30pm, Saturday matinees at 2:00pm, Sunday matinees at 1:00pm and an additional matinee Wednesday, August 4 at 2:00pm.

Ticket prices start as low as $24.00. Premium TicketPackages, which include prime seat locations, a commemorative souvenir program and an exclusiveVIP merchandise item, are also available. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling604-280-4444, or on line at www.ticketmaster.ca. Orders for groups of twenty (20) or more may beplaced by calling 1-800-889-8457.

The Vancouver engagement of DISNEY'S THE LION KING ispresented by arrangement with Broadway Across Canada. After the Vancouver engagement THE LION KING will return to Canada in April 2011 when the record-breaking musical comes back to Toronto where it had its Canadian premiere in April2000, entertained 2.9 million theater patrons and played 1,560 performances (closing in January2004). The North American touring company will begin performances on April 19, 2011 for a limited five-week run at the Princess of Wales Theatre, the same venue where the Toronto production was originally housed. Audiences in Alberta were captivated by THE LION KING during the summer of 2009 whenthe production set new box office records during its two Canadian engagements in Calgary and Edmonton, grossing a combined total of $13 million and entertaining more than 154,000 guests.

Making a major economic impact in the Province of Alberta, it is estimated that theatergoers spent a combined total of $36 million in Calgary and Edmonton during both engagements of THE LION KING. The North American touring production of THE LION KING has been seen by over 12.5 million theatergoers and grossed over $815 million to date. The tour is one of seven productionsrunning worldwide, along with New York City, London, Hamburg, Paris, Tokyo and Las Vegas. Having already played 60 cities across North America, THE LION KING continues to entertain audiences in new cities.

Read more: http://nationaltours.broadwayworld.com/article/THE_LION_KING_North_American_Tour_Welcomes_New_Principals_to_the_Pridelands_713_20100713#ixzz0twp20NRf

Las Vegas Cast performing @ The Grove

More news on Shannon Skye's health state

As said before, former Young Nala actress Shannon Skye Tavarez has leukhmia and needs urgently a bone marrow transplant. When she was diagnosticated, BroadwayWorld.com wrote this entire article on her.

Shannon Tavarez, who has appeared on Broadway in Disney's THE LION KING, has
been diagnosed with leukemia.

"It hit me really hard, like someone was
throwing a ball at me," the 11-year old said from her hospital bed.

Tavarez was performing when the symptoms first hit. "My lower back and
legs were tight and it hurt to walk."

The young performer now has daily
chemotherapy and needs a bone marrow transplant, but the pool of minority donors
is small. Less than 10-percent of the donor pool is made up of minorities.

Dr. Joel Brochstein of Schneider Children's Hospital told My FOX New
York it is important that Tavarez has the surgery in the next few months.

Tavarez's Broadway friends and family are organizing a bone marrow drive
to take place in July.

A simple swap test inside the mouth is all that
is needed to check to see if someone is a match for Shannon Tavarez.

"This battle is a tough one but I'll get through it," Tevarez says.

Shannon Skye Tavarez is an honor student at PS 176 in Queens, NY.
Shannon attended the Harlem School of Arts and studies at The American Dance and
Drama Studio in Flushing.

Read more: http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/STAGE_TUBE_LION_KING_Child_Star_Tavarez_Fights_Leukemia_20100617#ixzz0twm5gR3x

Major changes in Broadway

The show now runs 8-10 minutes faster, I mean, some scenes were removed. The only one that we'll miss a lot (which has been there onstage since the debut in 1997) is "The Morning Report". What you read is true. The Morning Report scene has been removed from only the Las Vegas and the Broadway production. The Paris, the Hamburg and the Tokyo productions stay with the scene.

The removal was first planned to the Las Vegas production, but when the new cast members arrived on Broadway on June 2010, it had to be removed. One more thing: actor Jeffrey Binder no longer plays his trademark role of Zazu.

From the official report on BroadwayWorld.com:
BroadwayWorld.com has independently confirmed recent online rumors that changes have been made to the Broadway production of THE LION KING when the show recently welcomed new cast members in mid-June. The show now runs 8-10 minutes shorter and has incorporated small cuts that were made first for the show's Las Vegas production. Also no longer in the show is "Morning Report."

A production spokesperson declined comment or confirmation on any changes to the show, but BroadwayWorld.com's scooper did say that audiences are responding to the show just as wildly enthusiastically as they have for years, and those following the numbers know that the production continues to sell out

Read more: http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/CHATTER_Broadways_THE_LION_KING_Undergoes_Changes_20010101#ixzz0twjoSuxR