The Lion King is celebrating 20 years on Broadway and last night the King of Pop, Elton John himself, surprised the audience at a special celebratory performance of the show. Also on hand were creative team members Julie Taymor, Tim Rice, Garth Fagan, Lebo M., Mark Mancina, Roger Allers, and Irene Mecchi who were joined by hundreds of alumni and others for a special performance of the show.
The evening of celebration culminated in a surprise performance by The Lion King’s Tony-nominated composer Elton John, who was revealed to the exhilarated audience for a special performance of his hit song, “Circle of Life,” joined by the entire company of The Lion King.
After Elton John’s performance, the creative team for the show joined him and the cast on stage for a bow.
That’s a pretty powerful moment. Congrats to Disney Theatrical President Thomas Schumacher and his talented team for shepherding Disney on Broadway to this great point in its existence. As of 2014, The Lion King franchise passed $6.2 Billion making it the largest earning Franchise in history.