Inside The Lion King’s Sensory-Friendly Performance: A New Standard for Inclusive Theater
From quiet spaces to trained staff, Disney’s Broadway tour is expanding access for audiences with sensory sensitivities
What to Know
- Disney’s The Lion King North American tour hosted a sensory-friendly performance in Seattle in December 2025 in partnership with Seattle Theatre Group and Broadway Across America, offering an inclusive theater experience
- Production adjustments—like lowered house lights, no strobe effects, softened sound and relaxed audience rules—allow guests with sensory sensitivities to move freely, make noise and access quiet spaces and support areas
- Sensory-friendly Broadway performances are expanding nationwide, helping more neurodiverse audiences and families experience live theater in a welcoming, judgment-free environment
Back in December, Disney Theatrical Group, Seattle Theatre Group, and Broadway Across America presented a sensory-friendly performance of The Lion King at The Paramount Theatre. Sensory-friendly and inclusive performances are designed to provide a supportive and judgment-free environment for people with sensory processing challenges so they may enjoy the shared experience of live theater. With trained staff and volunteers, adjusted lighting and sound and a relaxed audience environment, guests are free to move, make noise and engage in ways that feel right for them.
"You see the parents just crying because this is the first time they've ever been able to do this with their kids, because it's safe," says Dr. Daniela Ferdico, co-founder of Sensory Access. "It's really amazing." By making the theater a space where more people can feel comfortable and included, families are surrounded by others who understand their own lived experience.
Live theater is for everyone, and performances like these serve as a reminder of that. "I do this speech at the beginning of the show for our sensory-friendly audiences about how this is a relaxed and accepting environment, and I went out on stage and I just see 1,500 smiles," says Peter Hargrave, who plays Scar in Disney's The Lion King North American tour. "I was going out there to try to make them feel relaxed, but they made me feel relaxed as well."
"It's amazing. I'm pouring my heart on stage. I'm telling them that, 'You guys are not alone. Everybody all over the world's here with you,'" says Mukelisiwe Goba, who portrays Rafiki in Disney's The Lion King North American tour.
With sensory-friendly performances expanding nationwide, more audiences can experience Broadway in a way that works for them.
Learn more in the video below.