[3] The musical debuted on July 8, 1997, in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Orpheum Theatre and was an instant success before premiering on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theater on October 15, 1997, in many previews with the official opening on November 13, 1997.

On June 13, 2006, the Broadway production moved to the Minskoff Theatre to make way for the musical version of Mary Poppins, where it is still running after more than 10,000 performances.

On June 13, 2006, to make way for the Broadway production of Mary Poppins, the show moved to the Minskoff Theatre, where it is still running after more than 10,000 performances.

[14] In September 2014, The Lion King became the top-earning title in box-office history for both stage works and films, surpassing the record previously held by The Phantom of the Opera.

[23] The West End cast performed at a concert for the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in June 2022.

Back at her baobab tree, Rafiki paints an image of the cub and asks the spirits to conjure the new prince's name: Simba.

Simba arrives and asks his best friend, a female cub named Nala, to come with him to the elephant graveyard.

Simba feels responsible for Mufasa's death, but the duo take the cub to their jungle home and show him their carefree way of life and bug diet ("Hakuna Matata").

He is haunted by visions of Mufasa and rapidly switches between delusional confidence and paranoid despair ("The Madness of King Scar").

Timon realizes what is happening and laments the end of Simba's Hakuna Matata lifestyle ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight").

Mufasa's spirit appears in the sky and tells Simba he is the one true king and must take his place in the Circle of Life.

Timon and Pumbaa distract some hyenas by doing the Charleston, allowing Simba and Nala to reach Pride Rock.

Like its predecessor, the Beauty and the Beast musical, the show adds more songs to its stage production, including "Morning Report", sung by Zazu the hornbill and later added to the film for the Platinum Edition DVD release.

"Endless Night", also from Rhythm of the Pride Lands with Swahili lyrics as "Lala", is sung by Simba while reflecting on Mufasa's promise to always be there.

For principal characters such as Mufasa and Scar, the costumes feature mechanical headpieces that can be raised and lowered to foster the illusion of a cat "lunging" at another.

[citation needed] A Los Angeles production began performances at the Pantages Theatre on September 29, 2000, with an official opening on October 19, 2000.

[citation needed] A Canadian production was staged in Toronto and ran for nearly four years at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

The cast included Cornell John as Mufasa, Luke Youngblood as Young Simba, Dominique Moore as Young Nala, Martyn Ellis as Pumbaa, Simon Gregor as Timon, Rob Edwards as Scar, Paul J. Medford as Banzai and Josette Bushell-Mingo as Rafiki.

[53] The first one, named "The Zebra Tour", ran from September 6, 2012, to February 22, 2015, with stops in Bristol, Manchester, Dublin, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Plymouth, Bradford, Liverpool, Southampton, Sunderland and Cardiff.

The second, the "Rhino Tour", started on July 9, 2019, and finished on November 11, 2023, after visiting Cardiff, Bristol, Edinburgh, Bradford, Manchester, Southampton, Sunderland, Birmingham, and Dublin.

[3] For the German production, there is a "Lion School" training program to select up to ten child actors each to play young Simba and Nala, who only perform once or twice a week due to child labor laws and generally don't stay at the theater for the curtain call except for their first and last performances.

[56][57][58] A Dutch production was produced by Joop van den Ende Theaterproducties/Stage Entertainment and played at the Circustheater in Scheveningen, The Hague, running from April 4, 2004, until August 27, 2006, when it was replaced by another Disney musical, Tarzan.

[61] On October 20, 2011, the first Spanish production premiered at the Teatro Lope de Vega in Madrid, where it is still running after more than 4,500 performances.

[64] Beginning in June 2007, The Lion King debuted its first-ever performance on the African continent in Johannesburg, South Africa at the Teatro at Montecasino.

This production was led by Buyi Zama and was performed in English, though a couple of Chinese elements were added to the story.

[73] On March 28, 2018, the first international tour officially opened at the Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila, with stops in Singapore, South Korea (Daegu, Seoul, and Busan), Taipei, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Auckland, and Abu Dhabi.

The tour is performed in English, with subtitles in each country's official language projected in the screen, with alterations in the script to make references to local culture.

[74][75] As a result of the 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak and subsequent evacuation of the city, the show's originally planned March 2020 Chinese run, which would have taken place in both Wuhan and Beijing, was ultimately cancelled, with performances to be rescheduled.

[78] On June 20, 2022, it was announced the show would go to the Middle East for the first time, with a limited engagement to take place from November 16 until December 10 at Abu Dhabi's Etihad Arena.

[94] Most of the current productions employ a smaller ensemble of 10 musicians (flutes, French horn, 2 keyboards, bass, guitar, drums, marimba, 2 percussionists), and fill out the rest with the electronic music system KeyComp.