This month marks 25 years of THE LION KING and we were incredibly excited to be invited to attend a special performance followed by an exclusive back stage tour and Q&A with some of the cast and creatives.
Did you know it takes 50 cast members plus an additional 100 people backstage to make each performance happen? Read on for more nuggets from THE LION KING’S 25 year history.
The Lion King – 25 Facts and Stats
- THE LION KING has been playing at London’s Lyceum Theatre for 25 years
- This year The Lion King sponsors the Black British Theatre Awards which will be held at The Lyceum on Monday 4 November 2024.
- Since the UK premiere in London on Tuesday 19 October 1999, THE LION KING has been seen by over 19 million theatergoers and remains the bestselling musical in London.
- George Asprey (Scar) and Shaun Escoffery (Mufasa) have been in THE LION KING for 16 years.
- Taking all the global productions into account, THE LION KING has now been seen by more than 114 million people across six continents in 25 productions worldwide. It has played on every continent except Antarctica.
- THE LION KING is the sixth longest-running West End musical of all time.
- Julie Taymor made Broadway history by becoming the first woman to win the Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical
- Just under 17,000 people come through the doors at the Lyceum Theatre each week (the theatre seats 2,100 and there are 8 shows a week).
- It takes approx. 150 people to put on the show each night – 50 on stage, 100 backstage.
- The Lion King is a uniquely international company from 17 countries around the world
- In 1998, THE LION KING won six 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 (Julie Taymor). The show’s full creative team, all of whom won Tony Awards® for their work on THE LION KING (Broadway), reunited in 1999 to recreate the show for the London stage
- There are 232 puppets in the show, including rod, shadow and full-sized puppets. Some of these were inspired by Japanese Bunraku puppetry.
- There are 25 species of animals, birds, fish and insects represented in the show including 27 kite birds.
- It took 37,000 hours to build the original puppets and masks.
- During the show, all members of the ensemble portray both flora and fauna.
- The largest and longest animal in the show is the Elephant. At 13 feet long and 9 feet wide, the puppet requires four actors to carefully walk her down the orchestra aisle.
- Five African languages are spoken or sung in the show, they are: Sotho, Swahili, Zulu, Tswana and Xhosa
- There are over 350 costumes in the show; including 22 hand-beaded corsets, each consisting of thousands of individually sewn beads.
- It requires 50 cast members plus an additional 100 people backstage to make each performance happen.
- There are more than 232 puppets in the show, including rod puppets, shadow puppets and full-sized puppets.
- The show features a rich tapestry of songs and compositions, including from pop legend Elton John, South African composer Lebo M, together with lyricist Tim Rice.
- Taking inspiration from African tradition The Lion King features two percussionists on either side of the stage who bring the Serengeti to life using an array of instruments from all over the world.
- There will be a BBC Radio 2 Gala Performance in aid of BBC Children in Need on Sunday 10 November, 2.30pm and the Walt Disney Company is making a £50,000 donation and the performance will be BSL interpreted.
- The tallest animals are the 5.5 metre giraffes in the song ‘I Just Can’t Wait to be King’ and the smallest animal in the show is the 13cm trick mouse at the end of Scar’s cane.
- There are 106 ants on the Ant Hill Lady.
ABOUT THE LION KING
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 LION KING 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 Olivier Awards for Best Choreography and Best Costume Design.
The show’s director, costume designer and mask co-designer Julie Taymor continues to play an integral part in the show’s ongoing success. The first woman to win a Tony Award® for Direction of a Musical, Taymor has in recent years supervised 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 John and Rice; additional musical material by South African Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor and Hans Zimmer; and music from “Rhythm of the Pride Lands.”
Need to Know: Disney’s The Lion King the Musical plays at the Lyceum Theatre, London and is booking until end of March 2025
Related links
Book tickets for the Black British Theatre Awards
Shaun Escoffery interview
Kayi Ushe interview
DISNEY’S THE LION KING CELEBRATES 25 YEARS IN THE WEST END • Afridiziak Theatre News
