Elton John "THE LION KING" Julie Taymor / World Premiere 1997 Tryout Playbill

Description

This is a rare Summer 1997 playbill from the Pre-Broadway tryout and WORLD PREMIERE engagement of the landmark ELTON JOHN, TIM RICE, ROGERS ALLERS and IRENE MECCHI musical "THE LION KING" at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (The Pre-Broadway engagement took place from July 8th to August 31st, 1997. The production would
begin previews on October 15th, 1997 at the New Amsterdam Theatre, officially open on November 13th, 1997 and move to the Minskoff Theatre on June 13th, 2006 where it is still selling out nightly
. The show is currently the fourth longest running musical in Broadway history and will soon surpass "Cats" to rank number three.) ..... Winner of six Tony Awards including "Best Musical", the cast included JOHN VICKERY (who signed the front cover, adding his character's name "Scar"), SAMUEL E. WRIGHT, GEOFF HOYLE, TSIDII LE LOKA, TOM ALAN ROBBINS, JASON RAIZE, HEATHER HEADLEY, STANLEY WAYNE MATHIS, TRACY NICOLE CHAPMAN, KEVIN CAHOON, SCOTT IRBY-RANNIAR, KAJUANA SHUFORD and MAX CASELLA
.....
Side note: "THE LION KING" is the highest grossing production in Broadway history and the most successful title in entertainment history, with a cumulative gross in excess of billion. The stage production of "THE LION KING" has already earned more worldwide than the biggest 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
..... CREDITS: Music and Lyrics by ELTON JOHN ("Aida", "The Lion King", "Billy Elliot: the Musical", "Lestat") and TIM RICE (Jesus Christ Superstar", "Evita", "Chess", "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", "Aida", "Beauty and the Beast", "King David", "The Lion King", "Aladdin"); Book by ROGERS ALLERS and IRENE MECCHI adapted from the screenplay by IRENE MECCHI, JONATHAN ROBERTS and LINDA WOOLVERTON; Additional Music and Lyrics by LEBO M. MARK MANCINA, JAY RIFKIN, JULIE TAYMOR and HANS ZIMMER; Sets designed by RICHARD HUDSON (Tony Award winner); Costumes designed by JULIE TAYMOR (Tony Award winner); Choreographed by GARTH FAGAN (Tony Award winner); Directed by JULIE TAYMOR (Tony Award winner); Produced by DISNEY ..... DETAILS: The 40 page playbill measures 5 3/8" X 8 1/2" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes, list of musical numbers, individual photos and bios of each of the actors and bios of each member of the creative team as well as a related article on JULIE TAYMOR and the musical (see scanned images) ..... CONDITION: With the exception of a corner crease at the lower right and light edge wear, this rare playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.