THE LION KING North American Tour Opens Tonight in Albuquerque

The Albuquerque premiere of Disney's THE LION KING opens tonight, October 4 at 7:30pm at Popejoy Hall for a limited engagement of four weeks through October 28, 2012. In Albuquerque, THE LION KING plays Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 7:30pm, Friday evenings at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 2:00pm and 8:00pm and Sundays at 1:00pm and 6:30pm. There will be a 1:00pm matinee performance on Thursday, October 11. "Albuquerque has received The Lion King with open arms," said Tom Tkach, Director of Popejoy Hall. "Though we have sold out of several performances, tickets may still be purchased, with weeknight performances having the best availability."

Tickets to THE LION KING are available at the Lobo Ticket Office at The Pit and select Albertsons locations, by calling the UNM Bookstore Ticket Office at (505) 925-5858 or (877) 664-8661 Tuesday through Friday, 10am-6pm, or via the internet at unmtickets.com and popejoypresents.com. Ticket prices for the engagement start as low as $52.50. Premium Ticket Packages, which include prime seat locations, a commemorative souvenir program and an exclusive merchandise item are also available. Best availability of seats is on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday performances throughout the run. Additional tickets for every performance are released 72, 48 and 24 hours prior to each performance so patrons are advised to check back regularly for availability of seats for any performance.

THE LION KING began as a 1994 animated feature-length film developed and produced by the Walt Disney Company. The story, a coming of age parable set among animals indigenous to its setting, the African savanna, tells the tale of Simba, the lion cub who rises to be the King of the jungle.

The sardonic and deviously cunning "Scar" is played by Brent Harris. Dionne Randolph is "Mufasa," the great warrior and ruler of the Pridelands. Buyi Zama is the wise baboon shaman "Rafiki." Mark David Kaplan portrays the prim and proper hornbilled bird "Zazu." Ben Lipitz is the carefree warthog "Pumbaa" and Nick Cordileone is the wisecracking meerkat "Timon." Mufasa's son, "Simba," the lion prince born to be king, is played by Jelani Remy and Syndee Winters is the loyal lioness "Nala."

The three evil hyenas are played by Keith Bennett ("Banzai"), Rashada Dawan ("Shenzi") and Robbie Swift ("Ed"). The role of "Young Simba" is alternated between Zavion J. Hill and Adante Power and the role of "Young Nala" is alternated between Sade Phillip-Demorcy and Kailah McFadden.

The North American touring production of THE LION KING has been seen by more than 14 million theatergoers and grossed over $928 million to date. Having already played more than 70 cities across North America, THE LION KING now proudly makes its Albuquerque premiere at Popejoy Hall. The current schedule is listed below.