subject: The Lion King Tickets - Reality Hits The Primal Life [print this page] The magical Disney drama "The Lion King" got a dose of reality this summer when Shannon Tavarez, who plays Nala in the Broadway show, was faced with a deadly disease. The upbeat actress, just 11 years old, received an umbilical cord blood transplant early August at the Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, Long Island. The leukemia patient was reportedly doing well after the surgery, reported Dr. Joel Brochstein, with little complications throughout the process.
Tavarez was forced to cancel her role as the young Nala in April, and the entire Broadway cast got involved in her cause - even hosting several bone marrow donor registration drives. See the sparkle that illuminates everyone during this show, with Lion King tickets from StubHub.
For years the Queens, N.Y. native had dreamed about starring in a Broadway show. But just seven months after earning the role at the Minskoff Theatre, Tavarez was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. While she was kept on watch for several weeks following the umbilical cord transplant, everyone is hopeful for improvement. Nonetheless, the show must go on.
Broadway's "The Lion King" musical recently welcomed a handful of new cast members to the stage this summer, as well. In June, Gareth Saxe joined the cast as Scar, Alton Fitzgerald White came on as Mufasa, Cameron Pow started as Zazu, Ben Jeffrey as Pumbaa, Fred Berman as Timon and Chauntee Schuler as Nala. The new actors were welcomed with open arms to the crew that have been performing on Broadway for years.
Already viewed by more than 50 million around the world, the musical has been given more than 70 awards worldwide including the 1998 Tony Award and NY Drama Critics Award for Best Musical, the 1999 Grammy for Best Musical Show Album and the 1999 Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Choreography and Best Costume Design.
The show is based off the animated feature from Disney that premiered in 1994 and features a score from Broadway favorites Elton John and Tim Rice, along with South African material from Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor and Hans Zimmer. Before Broadway, the show premiered at the Minneapolis Orpheum Theatre in July 1997 and moved to Broadway Nov. 13, 1997 at the New Amsterdam Theatre. It moved to its current location, the Minskoff Theatre, in June 13, 1996.
The story follows Simba, the prince of the kingdom whose father, King Mufasa, is murdered by his brother, the evil Scar. While the kingdom is rightfully Simba's, the young cub is afraid of the demands and retreats into the wilderness. There for several years, he meets the colorful friends Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog. While he enjoys his time in the forest, his father's land quickly begins to crumble under the watchful eye of Scar, who was made king when Simba deserted the land. Growing up and getting a bit more perspective, he returns to his kingdom and takes over. As the king, Simba marries his longtime companion Nala and celebrates with a party like that in the opening act.
