Disney’s The Lion King Celebrates 6,000 Performances on Broadway

Disney’s blockbuster musical The Lion King, which recently became the highest grossing Broadway show of all time, is now celebrating another Broadway milestone. The April 18 matinee marks the musical’s 6,000th performance. The musical currently ranks as Broadway’s sixth longest-running show.

Based on the popular Disney film, The Lion King first opened on Broadway on November 13, 1997 at the New Amsterdam Theater, before transferring to the Minskoff in 2006. Now in its 15th year, the show has spawned 19 productions around the world and has been translated into seven different languages. The Lion King won six Tony Awards in 1998 including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical. Director Julie Taymor became the first woman in history to win the award for Best Direction of a Musical.

The Lion King currently stars Adam Jacobs as Simba, Alton Fitzgerald White as Mufasa, Patrick R. Brown as Scar, Tshidi Manye as Rafiki, Jeff Binder as Zazu, Ben Jeffrey as Pumbaa, Fred Berman as Timon and Chauntee Schuler as Nala.