California's Hollywood Bowl will host a live-to-film concert event celebrating the 30th anniversary of Disney's 1994 animated film The Lion King May 24–25. The evenings will feature a screening of the movie with a live orchestra playing Hans Zimmer's score. Audiences are encouraged to attend in costume.
Also featured will be live performances of the film's songs starring a host of special guests. Reprising their work from the original animated film will be Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, and Jason Weaver (who voiced Scar, Timon, Pumbaa, and Young Simba, respectively), joined by Billy Eichner, Timon in the 2019 remake; Bradley Gibson, who has starred as Simba in the film's Broadway musical adaptation; EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson; and more celebrity guests to be announced.
And Gibson won't be the only The Lion King Broadway representation. The evening will pay tribute to the long-running stage musical with performances of select numbers featuring the production's iconic costumes, set designs, and puppets.
Tickets will go on sale for the event April 19 via Ticketmaster.
The evenings are being produced by Disney Concerts, AMP Worldwide, Fulwell 73 Productions, and Live Nation-Hewitt Silva. Misty Buckley is production designer, with Gabe Turner and Sally Wood serving as creative showrunners for Fulwell 73.
Loosely a retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet reimagined to follow a pride of African lions, The Lion King released in movie theatres in 1994, featuring songs by Elton John and Tim Rice. After becoming a smash-hit in movie theatres, Disney brought the film to the stage in 1997, creating one of the biggest hits Broadway has ever seen. As directed and designed by Julie Taymor, the uniquely theatrical production employs African dance and music in concert with innovative puppetry to bring the film's animal characters to the stage. Twenty-seven years later, the musical is still one of Broadway's top-grossing musicals, with many other concurrent productions around the world. A film remake, using CGI to achieve a more "live-action" feel, was released in 2019.
