Weekend Poll Results: Fans Name The Lion King Favorite Animal Kingdom-Inspired Show

This weekend’s Broadway Barks event was a huge success, and leading up to the 15th annual dog and cat adoption extravaganza, we’ve had animals on the brain! Just for fun, our weekend poll asked fans to choose their favorite show featuring a living creature in the title. From The Lion King to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, find out which shows that pay tribute to the animal kingdom made the top three.

1. The Lion King — 39%
The African Prideland comes to life in Broadway’s hit musical The Lion King, featuring a menagerie of elephants, giraffes, birds, hyenas, zebras, and of course, Pride Rock’s own royal family. Featuring breathtaking costumes by Julie Taymor, The Lion King pays tribute to the entire animal kingdom—it’s no wonder fans voted it their favorite musical named after an animal.


2. Cats — 16%
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s mega-musical Cats took second place, thanks to the antics of the irresistible Bustopher Jones, Rum Tum Tugger, Grizabella, Jellylorum, Macavity, Mr. Mistoffelees and friends. Based on the poetry collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, Cats transports audience members to the Heaviside Layer to get up close and personal with the Jellicle felines themselves.


3. War Horse — 11%
Featuring innovative creations by the Handspring Puppet Company, War Horse stunned audiences when it opened on Broadway in 2011. Nick Stafford’s moving stage adaptation tells the story of a boy who embarks on a mission to bring his beloved horse home from the frontlines of World War I.