The Lion King musical will premiere for New Zealand audiences for the first time ever in June 2021, after being on hiatus for over a year due to COVID-19.
The internationally-toured live version of Disney's beloved film will open in June at Auckland's Spark Arena, which will convert to a specially designed layout to accommodate the show.
Over 100 million people worldwide have seen the on-stage spectacular, which has broken box office records with performances in over 100 cities in 20 different countries.
Five Kiwi performers will be selected to join the diverse cast by way of an open audition which will be held in the coming months.
"This will be the first time that The Lion King has been staged in New Zealand and the scale of this production is way beyond any other theatre experience previously seen in Auckland," NZ promoter Michael Coppel said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the president of Disney's Theatrical company said he "couldn't wait" for Kiwi audiences to experience the production of "enormous scale, beauty and heart".
The Lion King's Broadway score features the much-celebrated songs of Elton John and Tim Rice, who also penned three new songs for the production.
The six-time-Tony-Award-winning show will open for a limited season on Thursday, June 24, 2021. Those wishing to be first in line for tickets when they are released can sign up at the Lion King International website.
