In Paris, from 2007 to 2010 at the Théâtre Mogador, “The Lion King” was seen by 1.5 million spectators.
The show won 3 Molières in 2008: Best Musical, Best Costumes and Best Lights.
Released in June 1994 in the United States, the film “The Lion King” is already a huge worldwide success and has been adapted into 44 languages, including Zulu.
Some changes were necessary for the adaptation to the theater: the show was to last an hour longer than the film. So we lengthened, in particular, Simba’s trip, with the help of the two librettists, Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi. Songs were also added; they are seventeen in number in the show.
The animal characters (notably Zazu, Pumbaa and Timon) are a duality between puppets and actors. The puppet is alive thanks to an actor who, while doing a remarkable job, finds himself in the background; we only see the animal he embodies, but the emotion still emanates from the actor.
The Lion King has been played in 21 countries and a hundred cities. There have been 25 productions seen by over 100 million viewers.
Scheduled in September 2020 then postponed to March 2021, “The Lion King” is scheduled to run until July 31, 2022. Good news, the sale of tickets for season 2 has opened with dates from September 8, 2022 until June 2023!