The Lion King confirmed for Brisbane

For the first time ever, Disney’s blockbuster musical The Lion King will travel to Brisbane for a season commencing in September 2014.

Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, confirmed today that the show will head to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre with performances commencing on September 26 this year. 

It has been 20 years since The Lion King was released on film (can you believe it!?) and the musical (the highest-grossing Broadway show in New York history and one of the most popular stage musicals in the world) now boasts an incredible 17 years on stage. With a cumulative gross in excess of $5 billion, the stage production of The Lion King is one of the successful titles in entertainment history and places its earnings above the biggest hit films in movie history: more than the Lord of the Rings trilogy combined, more than the six Star Wars films combined, and more than Avatar and Titanic, the two highest-grossing films in movie history, combined.

This Australian production, currently playing at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre, is one of 10 concurrent productions of The Lion King running concurrently around the world, with shows on Broadway and on tour across North America, Tokyo and on tour in Japan, in London’s West End and on tour throughout the UK, and in Hamburg, Madrid and Sao Paolo.

This locally-crafted production features the most multicultural cast of any Australian-produced stage musical to date, with performers hailing from Zimbabwe, China, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Brazil the United States and of course Australia.

A new generation of Australians have been waiting to see this production for what seems like an age, with the confirmation of the current Sydney season given in a press conference back in February 2012.

At that very press conference, Thomas Schumacher alluded to a national tour, saying (via satellite link up) “It is logical that we can go to other cities, but the plan is not fixed yet.”

No further touring dates have been announced at this stage, but given Schumacher’s comments, they won’t be far off!

Get excited, Australia. The King is back!

Pre-sale available now. General tickets are available from April 4.

www.lionking.com.au