Broadway Across Canada's The Lion King
July 2 to August 2, 2009

Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Edmonton, Alberta

When: July 2 to August 2, 2009

Venue: Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium , Edmonton, Alberta

By: Xanthe Couture

The wait has been more than long enough for the Edmonton debut of the stage production of Disney’s The Lion King, a veritable animal menagerie that blends choreography with origins from all over the world.

The excitement of the Tony and Grammy award winning Broadway musical still remains a thrill for long time cast members, such as Andre Jackson, who plays the lead role as Simba.

“I wanted to be in the show since I first saw it. It was a dream fulfilled,” he says. “It goes so far beyond the cartoon. It takes it and ratchets it up ten notches visually and stylistically.”

Jackson had to audition in open casting calls several years in a row starting in 2002 until he was finally selected to be a temporary fill-in, working his way up to the lead role of Simba.

“Year after year, the process would start all over again. I would make it to the end of the audition every time.” Adding, “It wasn’t until the third time that I got a call back four or five months later.”

The lead role also has its perks when he gets to see kids’ reactions when he tells them what he does for a living.

“Its funny because when they see me out of the mask and the beautiful make-up, they either look at me and with a look that says, “this is not you” or “Wow!” he laughs.

The Lion King is now running its second sold-out decade on Broadway and includes many musical veterans such as director Julie Taymor, the first women in Broadway history to win a Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical.

“It’s a story that so many people are familiar with and visually there is no other show that is like it and hasn’t been anything like it since.”

Jackson’s favourite number from The Lion King is ‘the Circle of Life’. “I don’t want to give it away, but its very visually impressive,” he explains.

“We pull the audience in to a 360 degree performance. You are actually on the pride lands. Everyone feels apart of it.”

Although Jackson says every night he hears kids ““screaming their heads off laughing,” the show is also a great time for adults.

“I convinced my uncle in his sixties to come and see it and it defied all his expectations.”

Jackson’s one piece of advice for first timers to show? “Don’t miss the opening scene, you want to be in your seat ready to go. You will kick yourself if you miss it.”

Written by :

xcouture

 

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