Peter Hargrave, Nick LaMedica, and Khalifa White to Join THE LION KING National Tour

LaMedica and White begin performances on Thursday, September 29, while Hargrave debuts on Thursday, October 13.

By: Sep. 18, 2022
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

Peter Hargrave, Nick LaMedica, and Khalifa White to Join THE LION KING National Tour

The North American tour of Disney's The Lion King will welcome Peter Hargrave, Nick LaMedica and Khalifa White as Scar, Zazu and Nala, respectively. The new cast members will begin performances in Salt Lake City at The Eccles Theater, where the award-winning musical will play a four-week return engagement from Thursday, September 29 through Sunday, October 23, 2022. LaMedica and White begin performances on Thursday, September 29, while Hargrave debuts on Thursday, October 13.

Since returning in October 2021 from its 18-month pandemic shutdown, The Lion King North American tour has proven as strong as ever, playing to capacity houses in 16 cities and entertaining over 800,000 guests during more than 300 performances in just the last 11 months. The tour is scheduled to play 13 cities during the 2022-23 season, with additional engagements to be announced.

PETER HARGRAVE (Scar). Beyond a dream to be in the Pridelands. Credits Off-Broadway and regionally including Cleveland Play House, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Disney Cruise Line. TV: "Law & Order: SVU," "FBI," "Godfather of Harlem," "Dynasty" and "Madam Secretary." Training: CWRU/CPH MFA.

Nick LaMedica (Zazu). Broadway Tour & Tokyo: WAR HORSE. Off Broadway: The Mint. Regional: Denver Center, The Rep St. Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cleveland Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, TheaterWorks Hartford, City Theatre Company, Barrington Stage Company, Two River Theater. NY: American Globe Theatre. Television: "Chicago Fire." BFA: Marymount Manhattan College. www.NickLaMedica.com

Khalifa White (Nala). Broadway: Caroline or Change. Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors (Ronnette), School of Rock. 1st Nat; Aida (Aida), Ain't Misbehavin, The Bodyguard, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Dreamgirls, Beehive, Hairspray, HKDL|WDW(Nala/Tiana/Kibibi)/NCL, #TheSearchForRoxie, UCF Alumknight. Check out "You Ok? (Black Girl)" on all streaming platforms. IG|Tiktok: @Lifaland, www.khalifawhite.com.

Hargrave, LaMedica and White join current tour cast members Gerald Ramsey (Mufasa), Gugwana Dlamini (Rafiki), Tony Freeman (Timon), John E. Brady (Pumbaa), Darian Sanders (Simba), Forest VanDyke (Banzai), Martina Sykes (Shenzi), Robbie Swift (Ed), Scarlett London Diviney (Young Nala), Jaylen Lyndon Hunter (Young Simba), Jordan Pendleton (Young Simba) and Farrah Wilson (Young Nala).

Rounding out the cast are Derek Adams, Kayla Rose Aimable, William John Austin, Iman Ayana, Isaiah Bailey, Samantha Lauren Barriento, Eric Bean, Jr., Layla Brent, Christin Byrdsong, Sasha Caicedo, Thembelihle Cele, Adrianne Chu, Leroy Church, Daniela Cobb, Lyric Danae, Marquis Floyd, Mukelisiwe Goba, Marquise Hitchcock, Gabisile Manana, Christopher L. McKenzie, Jr., Justin Mensah, Nhlanhla Ndlovu, Aaron Nelson, Jeremy Noel, Sicelo Ntshangase, Sayiga Eugene Peabody, Yael Pineda-Hall, Christopher Sams, T. Shyvonne Stewart, Jennifer Theriot, Courtney Thomas, Thom Christopher Warren, Diamond Essence White, Jordan Nicole Willis and Sherman Wood.

In Salt Lake City, The Lion King will play Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 2:00pm & 8:00pm and Sundays at 1:00pm & 6:30pm. There will also be 2:00pm matinees on Thursday, September 29 and Thursday, October 20. Premium Ticket Packages, which include a prime seat location, a souvenir program and a cinch bag, are also available. Tickets are available at the Eccles Theater Box Office (131 South Main St), by calling ArtTix at 801.355.2787 (M-F 10am-6pm & Sat 10am-2pm), or via the internet at Broadway-at-the-Eccles.com. Orders for groups of ten (10) or more may be placed by calling 801.703.2057 (M-F 10am-5p).

For more than 20 years, the North American touring productions of The Lion King have been seen by over 21 million theatergoers. Having already played more than 9,000 performances in over 90 cities across North America, The Lion King now proudly returns to Salt Lake City at the Eccles Theater.

About The Lion King

After 24 landmark years on Broadway, The Lion King continues ascendant as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Since its premiere on November 13, 1997, 25 global productions have been seen by nearly 110 million people. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), The Lion King has made theatrical history with six productions worldwide running 15 or more years, with four of those running 20 or more years.

Performed over its lifetime in nine different languages (English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese), productions of The Lion King can currently be seen on Broadway; London's West End; Paris; Hamburg; Tokyo; Madrid; on tour across North America, Japan and the U.K. & Ireland, with a separate production touring internationally, for a total of ten productions running concurrently across the globe. Having played over 100 cities in 21 countries on every continent except Antarctica, The Lion King's worldwide gross exceeds that of any film, Broadway show or other entertainment title in box office history.

The Lion King won six 1998 Tony Awards®: Best Musical, Best Scenic Design (Richard Hudson), Best Costume Design (Julie Taymor), Best Lighting Design (Donald Holder), Best Choreography (Garth Fagan) and Best Direction of a Musical. The Lion King has also earned more than 70 major arts awards including the 1998 NY Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the 1999 Grammy® for Best Musical Show Album, the 1999 Evening Standard Award for Theatrical Event of the Year and the 1999 Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Choreography and Best Costume Design.

The show's director, costume designer and mask co-designer Julie Taymor continues to play an integral part in the show's ongoing success. The first woman to win a Tony Award for Direction of a Musical, Taymor supervises new productions of the show around the world.

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; additional musical material by South African Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor and Hans Zimmer; and music from "Rhythm of the Pride Lands," an album inspired by the original music in the film, written by Lebo M, Mark Mancina 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.

Elton John, Lebo M, and Hans Zimmer all collaborated on the 2019 version of the film, executive produced by Julie Taymor and Thomas Schumacher, which has gone onto extraordinary worldwide success.

The book has been adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed the animated The Lion King feature, and Irene Mecchi, who co-wrote the film's screenplay. Other members of the creative team include: Michael Curry, who designed the masks and puppets with Taymor, Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound design), Michael Ward (hair and makeup design), Anthony Lyn (associate director), Marey Griffith (associate choreographer), Clement Ishmael (music supervisor), Lisa Dawn Cave (production supervisor) and Binder Casting/Mark Brandon, CSA (casting). Anne Quart serves as co-producer.

For more information worldwide, visit LionKing.com, Facebook and Instagram.

The John Gore Organization is the leading presenter, distributor, and marketer of Broadway theater worldwide. Under the leadership of 18-time Tony-winning theater producer and owner John Gore, its family of companies includes Broadway Across America, Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com, Group Sales Box Office and Broadway Brands. The company presents shows in 48 cities across North America as well as on Broadway, Off-Broadway, London's West End, Japan, and China. It has won Tony Awards in every producing category as well as numerous other Drama League, Drama Desk and Olivier Awards. The John Gore Organization is committed to supporting theater access and education programs that introduce Broadway to the next generation of audiences and theater professionals.

Broadway Across America (BAA) is part of the John Gore Organization family of companies, which includes Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com, Group Sales Box Office and Broadway Brands. Led by 18-time Tony-winning theater producer John Gore (Owner & CEO), BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring productions in North America, operating in 48 markets with over 400,000 subscribers. Presentations include Disney's The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon and Hamilton. Current and past productions include Ain't Too Proud, Beautiful, Cats, Chicago, Dear Evan Hansen, Mean Girls, Moulin Rouge! and To Kill A Mockingbird.




Videos