The world’s top grossing musical, Disney’s The Lion King is finally coming to the local shores to stun Philippines-based audiences. Michael Cassel Group and Disney Theatrical Productions have announced the availability of tickets to the Manila premiere of the No. 1 musical globally.
Tickets to The Lion King musical will be available to the general public beginning Friday, November 3, 2017 (through Ticketworld and Ticketworld Online). The landmark musical event will begin performances at The Theatre at Solaire on March 18, 2018. The local staging is presented by Concertus Manila, one of the top promoters of live entertainment in the country.
As early as now, the musical is creating a loud buzz among Filipino stage production enthusiasts. Here are three more reasons why The Lion King is a musical that Philippine-based fans will certainly rave more about.
Coming to Manila after over 20 years
The Lion King musical debuted in July 1997 at the Orpheum Theatre in Minnesota. The first staging was an overwhelming success and paved the way for the grand mounting at the New Amsterdam Theater in Broadway in October 1997.
From there, the musical toured many locations and stunned countless of audiences. By September 2014, the musical earned a record as the top-earning title in all-time box-office history for stage productions. It surpassed the success of the previous record holder, The Phantom of the Opera.
After the Philippine premiere, The Lion King musical’s international tour will also hit Singapore (June 2018), South Korea (October 2018), Taiwan (2019), and South Africa (2020).
Filipino thespians join the cast
Six actors from the Philippines will join the cast of the musical. Julien Joshua Dolor, Juan Gabriel Tiongson, and Pablo Palacpac will share the role of Young Simba. The role of Young Nala will be shared by Sheena Bentoy, Felicity Napuli, and Uma Martin.
They will join Australian actor Andre Jewson (Zazu), New Zealand-born performer Jamie McGregor (Timon), and a circle of South African thespians like Pierre Van Heerden (Pumbaa), Calvyn Grandling (Simba), Noxolo Dlamini (Nala), Candida Mosoma (Shenzi), Bjorn Blignaut (Banzai), and Mark Tatham (Ed).
In October, cast members for the international tour of the musical was announced. Among the principal cast members are Ntsepa Pitjeng, who also performed the role when the musical went to the U.S., Brazil, the U.K., and Switzerland. From London’s West End production is Mthokozisi Emkay Khanyile (Mufasa) and Antony Lawrence (Scar).
About 33 other actors complete The Lion King ensemble.
Globe Telecom co-presents the event
After bringing to the country several world-class musicals, Globe Telecom is at it again through its live productions arm Globe LIVE. “We are thrilled to be part of this collaboration and are looking forward to connecting our customers to this iconic global smash hit,” said Globe’s Creative Marketing and Multimedia Business Senior Advisor Joe Caliro. “This is one production that should not be missed.”
The company even facilitated a special priority booking offer from October 25 to November 2 for Globe platinum, postpaid, and Visa credit, debit, and prepaid cardholders. They were able to buy tickets to the musical before those are made available to the general public and with 10% discount on their ticket prices.