The new Toronto production of Disney’s The Lion King is proving to be a hit, and Mirvish Productions announced Monday it will extend performances through next summer.
The new Toronto production began Nov. 2 and officially opened Nov. 10, making Toronto the first city in North America to have a second sit-down production of the musical.
The original Canadian production of what is considered one of the most popular musical productions of all time, opened in Toronto in March 2000 to critical acclaim and sold-out houses.
The original show played a record-breaking 1,567 performances at the Princess of Wales Theatre, closing in 2004 after having been seen by more than three million patrons, Mirvish Productions said in a release.
The show created hundreds of jobs, launched the careers of dozens of artists and pumped an estimated $1.4 billion into the local economy, according to the theatre company.
Now the new show is in high demand and appears to be minting a whole new generation of fans, while receiving rave reviews from The Globe and Mail, CBC, CTV, Global News, Toronto Star and others, Mirvish Productions noted.
The Broadway score features Elton John and Tim Rice’s songs from The Lion King animated film along with three new songs by John and Rice and additional music by South African Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor 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 Lebo M’s rich choral numbers," Mirvish says.
A new block of tickets for performances April 29 to Aug. 30, 2025, will go on sale at 10 a.m. this Saturday, Dec. 7 at www.mirvish.com or by phone at 1-800-461-3333.
