Lion King Tix Go on Sale

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today's date: April 29, 2013
Contact:
PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh
Shaunda Miles, miles@trustarts.org
Diana Roth, roth@trustarts.org

Tickets for Disney’s THE LION KING On Sale in Pittsburgh on Monday, May 6, 2013
Performances begin on Tuesday, September 3 and and play for four weeks through September 29, 2013, at the Benedum Center.

Pittsburgh, PA:  Disney Theatrical Productions and PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh announce that tickets for the long-awaited return engagement of Disney’s THE LION KING will go on sale to the public on Monday, May 6, 2013 at 9:00a.m. EDT.  Pittsburgh’s most eagerly awaited return will once again leap onto the Benedum Center stage on Tuesday, September 3 for a limited engagement of four weeks through Sunday, September 29.  The opening night is Friday, September 6 at 8:00 p.m.

Tree of Life 

The show’s six-week premiere engagement in 2004 played a sold-out run at the Benedum Center and received the following praise from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1/12/04),  “ The Lion King is a triumph of visual design, but it is also a marriage of human and animal, of actor and puppet, that seems to extend and multiply theatrical possibility.” For Pittsburgh’s second sold-out engagement, six-weeks in 2008, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review commented (1/15/08), “The spectacle and solid storytelling of The Lion King continue to delight audiences as this Disney musical makes a return appearance in Pittsburgh.”

Disney’s THE LION KING is part of the PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh series, presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Broadway Across America and Pittsburgh Symphony.

In Pittsburgh THE LION KING will play Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Friday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. There will be a 1:00 p.m. matinee performance on Thursday, September 26.  Beginning Monday, May 6, 2013 tickets (starting at $30) will be available at the Theater Square Box Office, 655 Penn Avenue, and online at TrustArts.org.  VIP Ticket Packages are also available and include a prime seat location, a commemorative souvenir program and an exclusive THE LION KING merchandise item. To charge tickets, call (412) 456-4800. Orders for groups of fifteen (15) or more may be placed by calling (412) 471-6930; email at groupsales@TrustArts.org or www.TrustArts.org/groupsales.

Ticket buyers are reminded that www.TrustArts.org and Box Office at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue are the only official retail ticket outlets for all performances at the Benedum Center, a project of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Ticket buyers who purchase tickets from a ticket broker or any third party, should be aware that the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s box office is unable to reprint or replace lost or stolen tickets and is unable to contact patrons with information regarding time changes or other pertinent updates regarding the performance.

The North American touring productions of THE LION KING have been seen by more than 14 million theatergoers and grossed over $983 million to date.  Having already played more than 70 cities across North America, THE LION KING now proudly makes its third return engagement at the Benedum Center, Pittsburgh, PA, September 3-29, 2013.  The current schedule is listed below.  

ABOUT THE LION KING
In its 16th year, THE LION KING remains ascendant, and one of the most popular stage musicals in the world.  Since its Broadway premiere on November 13, 1997, 21 global productions have been seen by more than 68 million people and, cumulatively, run a staggering 96 years.  Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), THE LION KING is only the second show in history to generate five productions worldwide running 10 or more years.  Translated into seven different languages (Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Mandarin, Spanish and Portuguese), productions of THE LION KING can currently be seen on Broadway and on tour across North America, in Tokyo and on tour in Japan, in London’s West End and on tour throughout the UK, and in Hamburg, Madrid and Sao Paolo.  To date, THE LION KING has played 98 cities in 16 countries on every continent except Antarctica.

Among the most successful titles in entertainment history, with a cumulative gross in excess of $5 billion, the stage production of THE LION KING has already earned more than the biggest hit films in movie history: more than the Lord of the Rings trilogy combined, more than the six Star Wars films combined, and more than Avatar and Titanic, the two highest-grossing films in movie history, combined.

The award-winning musical will celebrate a new milestone in December 2013 when it returns to Australia, making it the tenth concurrent worldwide production of THE LION KING, the highest number of productions running at any one time in the show’s history.  

THE LION KING won six 1998 Tony® Awards:  Best Musical, Best Scenic Design (Richard Hudson), Best Costume Design (Julie Taymor), Best Lighting Design (Donald Holder), Best Choreography (Garth Fagan) and Best Direction of a Musical.  THE LION KING has also earned more than 70 major arts awards including the 1998 NY Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the 1999 Grammy® for Best Musical Show Album, the 1999 Evening Standard Award for Theatrical Event of the Year and the 1999 Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Choreography and Best Costume Design.

The show’s director, costume designer and mask co-designer Julie Taymor continues to play an integral part in the show’s ongoing success.  The first woman to win a Tony® Award for Direction of a Musical, Taymor has in recent years supervised new productions of the show in Las Vegas, Madrid and the UK tour and just completed casting the Brazilian production in Sao Paolo.

The Broadway score features Elton John and Tim Rice’s music from The Lion King animated film along with three new songs by John and Rice; additional musical material by South African Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor and Hans Zimmer; and music from "Rhythm of the Pride Lands," an album inspired by the original music in the film, written by Lebo M, Mark Mancina and Hans Zimmer.  The resulting sound of THE LION KING is a fusion of Western popular music and the distinctive sounds and rhythms of Africa, ranging from the Academy Award®-winning song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” to the haunting ballad “Shadowland.”

The book has been adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed The Lion King animated feature, and Irene Mecchi, who co-wrote the film’s screenplay.  Other members of the creative team include:  Michael Curry, who designed the masks and puppets with Taymor, Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound design), Michael Ward (hair and makeup design), John Stefaniuk (associate director), Marey Griffith (associate choreographer), Clement Ishmael (music supervisor) and Doc Zorthian (production supervisor). Anne Quart serves as associate producer.

 Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

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