Broadway’s ‘The Lion King’ to Sponsor Marrow Drive for Former Child Cast Member
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Last month, we told you about Shannon Tavarez, a former cast member of the Broadway production of Disney Theatrical’s ‘The Lion King,’ who was diagnosed with AML Leukemia at age 10. On July 23, from 10 am – 3 pm, cast and crew from the musical will be on hand hosting a bone marrow drive in Shannon’s honor at the Minkskoff Theatre in New York City, where the show performs.
For more information, see MatchShannon.com
Categories: Theatre Tags: Disney Theatrical, Human Interest, Shannon Tavarez, The Lion King
Las Vegas Cast of ‘The Lion King’ to Offer Free Performances July 9 at LA’s The Grove
Cast members from Disney’s THE LION KING (at Mandalay Bay) will be performing in Los Angeles at The Grove outdoor shopping and entertainment district during a free event on Friday, July 9 at 5 pm and 7 pm PT.
Performers will include Kissy Simmons, who joined the Las Vegas company after appearing as “Nala” on Broadway; Buyi Zama, a native of South Africa, who has performed as “Rafiki” in seven productions of THE LION KING around the world; and Jelani Remy as “Simba,” previously seen in the theatrical touring production of High School Musical. Join the cast as they celebrate “THE LION KING Day” at The Grove, performing iconic songs from the Broadway phenomenon such as “Circle of Life,” “Shadowland,” “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” and “Endless Night” alongside the FAME Church Choir, Los Angeles.
As part of the celebration, guests can also join in the festivities by creating their own LION KING themed mask made from recycled products with Ann Closs-Farley Designs from 3-7 PM.
For Las Vegas, Disney hand-selected an acclaimed, international cast of performers from productions of THE LION KING across the globe including Broadway, Taipei, South Africa, London, Los Angeles, Australia, Toronto, Shanghai, Paris and Holland.
The cast will also be performing during CBS’s live telecast of the Daytime Emmys on Sunday, June 27 at 8 PM ET/PT
Categories: Theatre Tags: Disney Theatrical, Events, Los Angeles, The Grove, The Lion King
The Sphere of Life: ‘The Lion King’ May Get 3D Treatment
Some of the more exciting recent news to come out of Walt Disney Studios came from Disney’s Don Hahn via Empire Online.
Hahn, who has recently finished a 3D conversion of Beauty and the Beast and is currently working with Tim Burton on a feature-length version of Burton’s short Frankenweenie told the site that he’ll soon be working on getting The Lion King 3D conversion underway. In the past, Hahn has entertained the idea of converting other Disney animated classics to 3D but has stopped short of making any promises, most likely waiting to see where Beauty landed. Missing its target of Valentine’s Day 2010 and despite a Blu-ray release and huge marketing push this fall, we can still anticipate seeing the 3D film next year. Buzz on the conversion has been overwhelmingly positive.
In related news, Hahn confirmed that the sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is hopping along while confirming what’s already been known regarding The Snow Queen, noting that the story just wasn’t there for now.
Categories: Movies Tags: Don Hahn, The Lion King
Former Star of Broadway’s ‘The Lion King’ Fights for Life at Age 11
At the age of 10, Shannon Tavarez managed to accomplish what most never could, taking on a pivotal role in one of the most popular theatrical productions in Broadway’s history, that of young Nala. Less than a year later, Shannon finds herself fighting for her life having been diagnosed with AML Leukemia, a cancer whose victims have an average age of 65.
Shannon now spends her days receiving chemotherapy treatments and acting as a spokesperson for DKMS, the world’s largest bone marrow donor matching service. In Shannon’s case, finding a donor is particularly difficult because of her mother being African-American and her father is Dominican. On her quest for finding a donor, Shannon has prepared the following video for DKMS:
To begin registering yourself as a bone marrow donor, click here.
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Disney Theatrical, Human Interest, Shannon Tavarez, The Lion King
Cast of ‘The Lion King’ Las Vegas to Perform During 2010 Daytime Emmy Awards
CBS has just announced that the Las Vegas cast of Disney Theatrical’s The Lion King will perform during the 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards airing live from the Las Vegas Hilton on Sunday, June 27 from 9 PM – 11 PM ET/PT. The performance joins a previously announced line-up of Vegas-based acts such as the Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil and the showgirls of Jubilee. The awards show will be hosted by Regis Philbin.
Other presenters added to the previously announced line-up include Wayne Brady, Jeff Foxworthy, Vanessa Marcil and Alex Trebek. A tribute to television’s ‘American Bandstand’ and emcee Dick Clark will be hosted by Ryan Seacrest and will feature Donny Osmond, Chubby Checker, Tony Orlando and cast of The Jersey Boys amongst others.
Categories: Television, Theatre Tags: Awards, CBS, Disney Theatrical, Emmys, Events, Las Vegas, The Lion King
Sneak Peek: ‘The Bachelorette’ Hits the Broadway Stage with Disney’s ‘The Lion King’
On next week’s episode of ABC’s ‘The Bachelorette,’ the Big Apple rolls out the red carpet, as the remaining 11 men begin an exciting trip around the world to capture Ali’s heart. The Bachelorette arrives in New York City before the men to participate in a fun, fabulous make-over and photo shoot for InStyle.
Seven enthusiastic bachelors visit Broadway’s long-running, landmark musical, The Lion King. The show’s producer, Thomas Schumacher, surprises the men when he tells them that they will audition on the stage for alone time with Ali. A good-natured, but intense competition ensues among the men, who attempt to sing and dance their way into Ali’s heart. In the end, Ali selects one lucky bachelor, who also will be featured with her in that night’s performance of The Lion King in front of a packed house.
ABC has released this sneak peek of the episode featuring the bachelors as they audition for the prized role in the night’s performance. Mercifully, the segment ends just before the singing portion begins.
Categories: Television, Theatre Tags: ABC, Ali Fedotowsky, Broadway, Disney Theatrical, The Bachelorette, The Lion King, Thomas Schumacher, TLK
Hallmark Introduces New Disney Augmented Reality Greeting Cards for Father’s Day, Birthdays
Since they were first introduced for Valentine’s day, Hallmark has been steadily growing its offering of augmented reality greeting cards. By purchasing the cards in-store, the recipient can download special software specific to the card (Windows only) and use their webcam to produce an interactive augmented reality visual featuring their favorite characters.
Pictured on the top are new Father’s Day cards featuring Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo and Disney’s The Lion King and are available at most Hallmark stores. The cards on the bottom feature characters from Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story and the Disney Princesses and are available exclusively at Walmart. To see pictures of all of the available cards, visit the Hallmark augmented reality card website.
For more information on the cards as well as sample videos of the cards in action, check out our original coverage here.
Categories: Merchandise Tags: Augmented Reality, Cinderella, Finding Nemo, Greeting Cards, Hallmark, Holidays, Merchandise, Princesses, The Lion King, TLK, Toy Story, TS
Report: Whoopi Goldberg Performs One Night Only in The Lion King on Broadway
This past Thursday, actress, comedienne and co-host of ABC’s The View, Whoopi Goldberg took the stage at the Minkskoff Theatre to perform in Disney’s The Liong Kingfor one night only.
The night’s special performance was introduced by Disney Theatrical president and producer Thomas Schumacher who first talked about how there have been over 10,000 shows produced in Broadway’s history and that out of those, only eight have gone on to host more than 5,000 performances and that The Lion King had just become number nine (which it did back in November). After noting that director Julie Taymor was also in the audience for the evening’s performance, Schumacher then went on to explain that the performance was being taped for The View and outlined the three cameos Goldberg would be appearing in throughout the show.
Our first look at Whoopi was as ‘Bird Lady,’ a member of the procession of animals that marches down the aisles to the stage during the opening scene in which all the animals gather for the presentation of Simba.
We next saw her as the curtain pulled back to reveal Scar in the elephant graveyard alongside his three four hyena companions: Banzai, Shenzi, Ed and.. a Shenzi clone. Goldberg, re-creating the role she had originated in the film, took the lead as Shenzi, although she appeared to stumble through some lines (which is completely understandable) and appeared to have difficulty either operating and/or remembering to operate Shenzi’s mouth, although she eventually caught on. When ceremoniously dismissed by Scar (and a bit of humorous back and forth), the Shenzi clone slowly stumbled her way off stage, but not before facing the audience and noting how hard it was.
Whoopi’s final appearance was that as Rafiki (again, being backed up by the regular cast member). This time, as the Rafikis confronted Simba, Goldberg took more of a secondary role amongst the heavily modified ‘we know your father’ dialogue. Whoopi also appeared as Rafiki later on swinging solo on a vine to deliver a few lines.
You can see some photos from the performance’s curtain call featuring Whoopi as Rafiki on BroadwayWorld.com. The segment will air on The View on Wednesday, January 20.
Categories: Theatre Tags: ABC, Disney Theatrical, The Lion King, The View, Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg Returns to Broadway in Disney’s The Lion King for One Night Only
On this morning’s episode of The View, Whoopi Goldberg announced she will be appearing in the Broadway production of The Lion King at the Minskoff Theatre for one night only. During the evening performance on January 14, 2010, Goldberg will make a series of surprise cameos throughout the popular musical. Her rehearsal experience is being recorded to air as a special presentation as part of The View next week.
Goldberg is no stranger to either the stage, nor The Lion King, having originated the character of Shenzi the hyena.
Update: 1/14/10 – ABC has informed us that the behind-the-scenes segment will air on The View on Wednesday, January 20.
Categories: Theatre Tags: Broadway, Celebrities, Disney, Disney Theatrical, Events, Lion King, Shenzi, The Lion King, TLK, Whoopi Goldberg
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