Out in the desert, Simba collapses from heat exhaustion. Vultures begin to circle, but are scared away by Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog. Simba feels responsible for Mufasa's death, but the duo take the cub to their jungle home and show him their carefree way of life and bug diet (" Hakuna Matata"). Simba grows to adulthood in the jungle. When Carlos Rivera played his 1000th performance on January 27, 2016, he turned into the actor who's been performing as a leading Simba for the longest time in the show. He played the role in Spain for 700 times and for more than 300 times in Mexico. [73] He finally left the show in May 2016. I Just Can't Wait to Be King" – Geoff Hoyle, Kajuana Shuford, Scott Irby-Ranniar and The Lion King Ensemble Vusi Sondyazi is one of the actors who've been on the show for the longest time. He's been serving as an ensemble singer and Mufasa understudy since 2003 and stays in the Gazelle Tour cast at the present, after having performed on Broadway, Taipei and Las Vegas as well. With the release of the Mexican cast recording, Spanish was the first language in which the musical was performed that spawned two different cast recordings. Mexican Spanish lyrics were translated by Aleks Syntek and Armando Manzanero. [79]

As of June 27, 2010, nine minutes of the Broadway version were cut, among them the entire "Morning Report" musical number. [21] The song was also removed from subsequent productions and cast recordings, such as the Spanish one. A Dutch production was produced by Joop van den Ende Theaterproducties/ Stage Entertainment and played at the Circustheater in Scheveningen, The Hague, running from April 4, 2004, until August 27, 2006, when it was replaced by another Disney musical, Tarzan. A Dutch revival ran for 1,139 performances at the same Circustheater from October 30, 2016, to July 21, 2019. [47] Rafiki's chants in "Rafiki Mourns" were written by Tsidii Le Loka, who originated the role on Broadway. Note: The songs "Grasslands Chant", "The Lioness Hunt", "Chow Down", "They Live in You", "Rafiki Mourns", "One by One", "The Madness of King Scar", "Shadowland", "Endless Night" and "Simba Confronts Scar" are new songs written for the musical. During the show's run in China, Chinese elements were included in the musical. One of the songs was adapted to a well-known Chinese pop song, "Laoshu ai dami" or "Mice Love Rice". [60] AustraliaTHE LION KING Becomes 3rd-Longest Running Broadway Show of All Time; Passes CATS". Broadway World. October 31, 2015 . Retrieved October 31, 2015.

On October 20, 2011, the first Spanish production premiered at the Teatro Lope de Vega in Madrid, where it is still running after more than 4,000 performances. [50] [51]

The original Broadway cast recording is the only cast recording of the musical that comes with the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". It's also the only cast recording that does not come with the full reprise of "Circle of Life", the last four verses of that song being added to the CD. Balungile Gumede and Marvette Williams are the actresses who have played Sarabi for the longest timespan in the show. Balungile as of February 2018 is a cover Sarabi, however she started in the German production of the show in 2010 taking over Marvette playing Sarabi until 2017 when she was replaced by Kerry Jean. They are followed by Tryphena Wade, who's also performing as the lioness since 2010. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom mandating the closure of all theatres, the production was forced to take a lengthy hiatus and its return at the London Lyceum Theatre was announced for July 29, 2021. [44] Several new scenes are present, including a conversation between Mufasa and Zazu about Mufasa's parenting and a perilous scene in which Timon finds himself nearly drowning in a waterfall while Simba feels powerless to help him. A major narrative addition is the depiction of Nala's departure in the scene "The Madness of King Scar", where the mentally deteriorating villain tries to make Nala his mate. Nala refuses and later announces her intention to depart the Pride Lands and find help. She receives the blessings of the lionesses and Rafiki during the new song "Shadowland". The Circle of Life: The Lion King returning to Toronto". National Post. 2010-04-19 . Retrieved 2018-09-23.