Las Vegas cast announced!

From Playbill.com

Casting has been announced for the Las Vegas production of the Tony-winning The Lion King, which will begin previews at the Mandalay Bay Theatre May 5 with an official opening May 15.
The cast features performers who have triumphed in productions of Lion King around the world, including stagings in New York, Taipei, South Africa, London, Los Angeles, Australia, Toronto, Shanghai, Paris and Holland.
Thom Sesma (The Times They Are A-Changin') will play the evil Scar with Alton F. White (Ragtime) as Mufasa and Los Angeles native Marvette Williams as Sarabi. South African native Buyisile "Buyi" Zama will play Rafiki. (note she was Rafiki in Taiwan, South Africa and Australia).
The cast will also feature Kissy Simmons (Nala), Clifton Oliver (Simba), Damian Baldet (Timon), Patrick Kerr (Zazu) and Adam Kozlowski (Pumbaa). The three hyenas will be played by Keith Bennett (Banzai), Jacquie Hodges (Shenzi) and Robbie Swift (Ed). Duane Ervin and Elijah Johnson will alternate in the role of Young Simba, and Ruby Crawford and Jade Nelson will alternate in the role of Young Nala.
Since its Broadway opening on Nov. 13, 1997, The Lion King has been seen by 45 million people worldwide. Directed by Julie Taymor — who became the first woman to ever receive a Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical — The Lion King has become an international hit with productions playing all around the globe. The Elton John-Tim Rice musical has won over 30 major awards. Those include six Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical; eight Drama Desk Awards; six Outer Critics Circle Awards; two Sir Laurence Oliviers; the Evening Standard Award for Best Theatrical Event; and three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards.
Tickets will go on sale to the public March 14 during an on-sale event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center beginning at 7 AM. Phone and online sales will launch at 10 AM by calling (702) 632-7580 or (800) 745-3000 or by visiting www.mandalaybay.com or http://www.ticketmaster.com/.

New websites

Oh my! It's been my first post in months! lol! I have to say that the site for The Lion King's Broadway version has been updated with links to "New York", "Las Vegas" (see counter for the prémiere), "North American Tour" and "International Productions". Here's it!

Also, in the Las Vegas tab, a small preview (a clip for the London production) is avaliable.

Circustheatre celebrates 100 years

The German cast of The Lion King, led by Beular Maketha performed numbers "Alles Ademt en Leeft/Nants Ingonyama" (in English), its reprise and "Voel Je Hoe de Liefde Groeit" (Can You Feel the Love Tonight) on the special performance for the 100 jaar Circustheater event (when the Fortis Circustheatre, which held the Dutch production from 2003 to 2006, celebrated 100 years).

Beular Makhetha - Der Ewige Kreis

One of the "Der König der Löwen" original cast ensemble, Beular Makhetha, performed "Der Ewige Kreis" for the StageEntertainment's special Beliebte Musical Melodien. Please note she was the same Rafiki as in "Best of Musical" and "100 Jaar Circustheater" (when Fortis Circustheatre celebrated 100 years).

New Gadget

I've got a thing to tell you. I just added a new gadget to the blog, named "Video Bar". I put the gadget to make an easier way to the author's videos (Juan and Ken are on YouTube). It can be seen by the side of this post. :)

Le Roi Lion celebrates 500th performance

Miss France 2009 is spectator number 700.000 of Le Roi Lion.

She, Chloé Mortaud, Miss France 2009, went to the performance number 500 of Le Roi Lion. To pleasure everybody in the stage, she (after the final curtain), took pictures with people and cast members.

Seattle cast announced

From BroadwayWorld.com

The cast of the awaited Seattle engagement was announced. Seattle's most eagerly awaited stage production ever will leap onto the Paramount Theatre stage from Wednesday, February 11 through Sunday, March 15. The media opening night is Friday, February 13 at 8 pm. This Seattle engagement is one of seven current productions running worldwide along with New York, London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Paris.



The malevolent and evil "Scar" will be played by Timothy Carter, whose credits include The Three Musketeers and Macbeth with The Acting Company; King Lear, As You Like It, and Julius Caesar at Colorado Shakespeare Festival; Richard III and Merry Wives at Windsor at Nebraska Shakespeare Festival; and Hay Fever at Westport County Playhouse. Dionne Randolph will play the lion king "Mufasa." Mr. Randolph's credits include Little Shop of Horrors and Once on This Island. Phindile Mkhize (pictured), a native of South Africa, is the wise "Rafiki." Ms. Mkhize has traveled to Germany, Australia, Holland and Amsterdam performing and sharing her talents, and her credits include The Lion King: The Movie Soundtrack 94, Sarafina 2; Mama, Maria, Maria and Wozamyfohloza.


The meerkat "Timon" will be played by Mark Shunock, who has appeared in productions of Romance, Beauty and the Beast, Princess Turandot, The Skin of our Teeth, Howie the Rookie and Lovelace: The Musical. Tony Freeman, who will portray "Zazu", has previously played the role on Broadway in more than 1,300 performances. Dan'yelle Williamson, a native of Tampa, FL and a graduate of The Boston Conservatory, is the lioness "Nala" and was recently seen in Wicked in Chicago. Mufasa's son, "Simba," will be played by André Jackson, who is an alumnus of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and has numerous Broadway, film and television credits.



The three hyenas will be played by: Randy Donaldson ("Banzai"), whose past credits include Five Guys named Moe and Broadway's Wonderful Town and Annie Get Your Gun; Jayne Trinette ("Shenzi"), whose credits include Caroline or Change, Ain't Misbehavin' and Nuncrackers; and Andrew Frace ("Ed"), whose stage credits include Finding Nemo: the Musical, Roald Dahl's Willy Wonla. Performances in the role of "Young Simba" will be alternated between Chaz Marcus Fleming and Marquis Kofi Rodriguez. Mr. Fleming has studied acting and dance at the Harlem School for the Arts and has appeared in commercials and print ads for The Gap and Toys"R"Us. Mr. Rodriguez has been seen in "Law & Order: SVU," the upcoming feature film Phoebe in Wonderland, and numerous commercials. Performances in the role of "Young Nala" will be alternated between Sadé LouAnn Murray and Ah-Niyah Neal. Ms. Murray is an 11 year-old from Springfield, MA and is making her professional debut in the musical. Ms. Neal, a native of Hempstead, NY and a student at The Harlem School of the Arts, is also making her professional debut in The Lion King musical.

Robin Leach interviews Thomas Schumacher

With the coming Las Vegas production, the main newspaper of the city, the Las Vegas Sun, asked its reporter Robin Leach to interview the president of Disney Theatrical Productions, Thomas Schumacher, with focus on the new production. The production will open at the Mandalay Bay theater in May 2009 (see counter).

Here's the video, posted on YouTube by LasVegasSun