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A Must See

The Lion King Celebrates 80 Million Guests Worldwide

Disney’s The Lion King celebrates yet another milestone. The production, now in its 18th year, is still regarded as the most popular musical in the world. Since its Broadway premiere on November 13, 1997, 22 global productions of The Lion King have been seen by more than 80 million people and, cumulatively, run a staggering 112 years.

To put it in perspective, consider this; The Lion King is only the second show in history to produce five productions worldwide running ten or more years. Translated into seven different languages (Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese), productions of The Lion King can currently be seen on Broadway; London’s West End; Hamburg; Tokyo; Madrid; Melbourne, Australia; Basel, Switzerland; Mexico City; and on tour across North America and Japan, for a total of ten productions running concurrently across the globe. Having played 20 countries and every continent except Antarctica, The Lion King’s worldwide gross exceeds that of any Broadway show, film, or other entertainment title in box office history. As of September 2014, The Lion King grossed a whopping $6.2 billion dollars, beating out Andrew Lloyd Webbers’ Phantom of the Opera, which held the previous record at $6 billion.

The Lion King won six Tony Awards in 1998: 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), making Taymor the first woman in theatrical history to receive that honor. The Disney musical is based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name with music by Elton John and lyrics by Time Rice along with the musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements by Lebo M. Directed by Julie Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The show is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions.

Check out the video of the casts of The Lion King from all around the world celebrating the amazing milestone of 80 million guests:

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