Disney's The Lion King hit a major milestone November 13: The beloved musical has now been running on Broadway for a staggering 25 years. Based on the 1994 animated film, the show remains the third-longest-running in Broadway history. Watch a video of highlights from the historic performance above.
To celebrate the occasion, the matinee performance that day had members of the original cast and creative team in attendance, including Tony-winning director Julie Taymor and lyricist Tim Rice. Once the show ended, former Young Simbas and Nalas from the entire run reunited onstage at the Minskoff Theatre to sing a special song. Outside the theatre, audience members were treated to a Lebo M concert and street party (Lebo M composed music for The Lion King, on screen and on stage).
Go inside the special performance below:
Julie Taymor and Elliot Goldenthal at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Lebo M at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Tim Rice at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Garth Fagan at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Steven Taylor at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Steven Taylor, Stephen Carlile, and Cameron Pow at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Zinhle Dube at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Brandon A. McCall at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Pearl Khwezi at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Ben Jeffrey and Fred Berman at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Pearl Khwezi and Bonita J. Hamilton at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
The Company of The Lion King onstage after their 25th anniversary celebration performance
Young Simba and Young Nala alumni onstage at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Julie Taymor and creative team at The Lion King 25th Anniversary Performance
Lebo M performs at a street party for The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
Lebo M performs at a street party for The Lion King 25th Anniversary Celebration
The Lion King stands out amongst Broadway's long-running productions for also having the longest run within the top five highest-grossing shows on the Main Stem: nearly 1,300 consecutive weeks and counting. The show is currently playing in nine productions across three continents, with 115,000 people seeing a performance ever week. Over its 25 years, The Lion King has been seen by 112 million people between its 27 productions worldwide.
The Broadway production also notably has many staff still on hand that were there on day one, including performer Lindiwe Dlamini, and seven musicians, including conductor Karl Jurman.
The Tony-winning musical officially opened November 13, 1997, at the New Amsterdam Theatre, subsequently transferring to the Minskoff Theatre in June 2006. It still runs there to this day.
Brandon A. McCall as Simba and Pearl Khwezi as Nala in The Lion King
Brandon A. McCall as Simba in The Lion King
A scene from The Lion King
Jayden Theophile as Young Simba, L. Steven Taylor as Mufasa, and company of in The Lion King
L. Steven Taylor as Mufasa in The Lion King
Pearl Khwezi as Nala in The Lion King
Brandon A. McCall as Simba in The Lion King
Brandon A. McCall as Simba and company of The Lion King
Tshidi Manye (center) as Rafiki and company of The Lion King
Tshidi Manye as Rafiki in The Lion King
