Derek Smith, Cameron Pow & Adrienne Walker to Feel the Love in Broadway's The Lion King

Hakuna matata! Derek Smith, Cameron Pow and Adrienne Walker will take on the roles of Scar, Zazu and Nala, respectively, in The Lion King on Broadway. The trio are set to begin performances on July 5 and replace Gareth Saxe, Jeffrey Kuhn and Chantel Riley in Disney's hit tuner.

Smith returns to the Broadway company, where he previously performed the role of Scar beginning in 2000, having also played the role on the North American Tour and will remain with the cast through October 9, at which point Saxe will resume as Scar. Pow was the second actor to play Zazu on the North American Tour beginning in 2003 and has also played the role on Broadway and in London’s West End. Walker is new to The Lion King, making her Broadway debut as Nala.

Meanwhile, from July 12 through August 28, Ben Lipitz, who recently celebrated his 5,000th performance as Pumbaa on the North American Tour, will play the role in New York while Broadway’s Pumbaa, Ben Jeffrey, joins the Broadway cast of Aladdin.

The Main Stem company currently additionally includes Jelani Remy as Simba, L. Steven Taylor as Mufasa and Tshidi Manye as Rafiki.