The Lion King to perform as part of 2008 Royal Variety Performance and BBC Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night

(November 19, 2008) Disney Theatrical Productions today announced that the cast of Disney’s THE LION KING will perform at two special events as this award-winning musical enters its 10th triumphant year in London.

On Monday 8th December 2008, Disney Theatrical Productions welcomes the 74-piece BBC Concert Orchestra to the Lyceum Theatre, home of THE LION KING, to record a special Christmas Edition of BBC Radio 2’s legendary FRIDAY NIGHT IS MUSIC NIGHT– BBC RADIO 2 CELEBRATES THE MUSIC OF DISNEY. Featuring Oscar®, Grammy ® and Tony Award® -winning music spanning over 65 years of the Disney songbook, this unique concert event will bring together for the first time some of Broadway and the West End’s biggest stars including, Ashley Brown (Broadway’s original MARY POPPINS and ‘Belle’ in Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST), Tituss Burgess (Original Broadway casts of THE LITTLE MERMAID and JERSEY BOYS), Kerry Butler (Original Broadway casts of XANADU and LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS), Maria Friedman (original West End casts of THE WOMAN IN WHITE and THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK), Heather Headley (Broadway's original AIDA and ‘Nala’ in THE LION KING), Adam Pascal (Original Broadway casts of AIDA and RENT), Matt Rawle (original West End cast of EVITA and ZORRO) and Drew Sarich (original ‘Quasimodo’ in THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME and LES MISERABLES in the West End). The West End company of THE LION KING will also perform concert versions of “Circle of Life and “One by One”.

The RADIO 2 CELEBRATES THE MUSIC OF DISNEY concert will be later broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Boxing Day, Friday 26th December 2008.

Then, on Thursday 11th December 2008, the entire cast of Disney’s THE LION KING will perform live for TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, at the 2008 ROYAL VARIETY PERFORMANCE to be held at London’s historic Palladium Theatre. The cast will perform the show’s spectacular opening number “Circle of Life” in full costume, bringing the Palladium Theatre to life with giraffes, zebras, gazelles, cheetahs, wildebeest, rhinoceros – and even an 11ft elephant.

THE LION KING’s performance marks the first occasion that a West End musical has been asked to give an encore performance at the ROYAL VARIETY PERFORMANCE – having previously performed when the show first opened in 1999.