Disney’s The Lion King has hit a major milestone, becoming the 5th longest running musical to ever play in London’s West End.
The show beats Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, which was a record-breaker in its day as the longest-running musical.
Cats opened at the New London Theatre, now the Gillian Lynne Theatre, in May 1981 and closed 21 years later in May 2002, chalking up an impressive 8,949 performances. The show was London’s longest-running musical from 1989, when it surpassed Andrew Lloyd Webber’s other hit musical at the time, Jesus Christ Superstar, to October 2006, when it was beaten by Les Miserables.
Now, as at April 2024, Disney’s mega-hit musical The Lion King has played for 9,638 performances, well surpassing Cats.
The milestone had gone unchecked, with Society of London Theatre figures for September 2023 only marking the show as 8,897, a figure that hadn’t been updated in that latest round of stats.
It means that London’s longest-running musicals list is now ranked with Les Miserables in the top spot, followed by The Phantom of the Opera, Blood Brothers, Mamma Mia!, The Lion King and then Cats.
Overall, Disney’s The Lion King is the 7th longest-running show in West End history, with the list also including The Mousetrap and The Woman in Black.
Another West End record-breaker coming up fast is Mamma Mia! The show celebrated its 25th anniversary this weekend, and sits in the Number Four slot of longest-running musicals, just behind Blood Brothers, which played 10,013 performances. By our reckoning, it should take the Number Three spot this summer.
This October The Lion King marks another important milestone, having played for 25 years at the Lyceum Theatre in the West End.
The 25th anniversary celebrations will include a community garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival in July 2024. Named “The Circle of Life” , the garden will feature live performances from The Lion King and interactive activities through the week.
More than 19 million people have seen The Lion King in London, with every performance needing 150 people to put on the show, including 50 on stage and 100 backstage, along with 232 puppets and 350 costumes.
Disney’s The Lion King is now booking at the Lyceum Theatre to 19 October 2024.
Book tickets to Disney’s The Lion King in London
Lyceum Theatre, London
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