Lion King, Les Mis coming to LR
Disney’s The Lion King — the centerpiece of Celebrity Attractions’ 2017- 18 Broadway season — will roar onto the Robinson Center Performance Hall stage in Little Rock, April 18- May 6, 2018.
The show is a realization by director Julie Taymor of the Disney animated film, with songs by Elton John and Tim Rice and a book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi ( adapted from the screenplay by Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton).
A $ 70 million, two- year Robinson Center renovation increased the size of the stage and backstage, making it possible to bring in really big touring shows, including the two current biggest — Disney’s The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera ( which Celebrity Attractions is opening Wednesday for a two- week run), which the hall had been previously inadequate to support.
The season will open Oct. 1315 with the touring production of Kinky Boots, winner of of six Tony Awards ( including Best Musical; score by Cyndi Lauper, book by Harvey Fierstein), in which a struggling shoe- factory owner works to turn his business around with help from Lola, a fabulous entertainer in need of some sturdy stilettos. The rest of the lineup: Nov. 29- Dec. 3: Les Miserables ( music by Claude- Michel Schonberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, book and lyrics by Alain Boublil, Jean- Marc Natel and Schonberg based on the novel by Victor Hugo), Cameron Mackintosh’s new production, heading out on the road after a 2 ½ - year Broadway
“resurrection,” with new staging and reimagined scenery inspired by 19th- century paintings.
March 16- 18, 2018: Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage, based on the film ( book by Eleanor Bergstein), in which Baby and Johnny, “two fiercely independent young spirits from different worlds, come together in what will be the most challenging and triumphant summer of their lives.”
May 29- June 3, 2018: Beautiful — The Carole King Musical ( music and lyrics by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil; book by Douglas McGrath), featuring King’s songs and chronicling the singer- songwriter’s rise to stardom.
Four- and five- show season ticket packages are $ 122$ 441. Call ( 501) 244- 8800 or visit the website, CelebrityAttractions.com.