TORONTO — Simba is coming back to Toronto, and he intends to stay a while.
Mirvish Productions says "The Lion King" will begin an open-ended run at the Princess of Wales Theatre in a year's time.
It's a full-circle moment for the company, which last ran a so-called "sit-down" production of the award-winning Disney show from 2000 to 2004.
The musical is a stage adaptation of the 1994 Disney animated film about Simba, a young lion cast out from his land when his father is killed.
Touring productions of "The Lion King" have visited Toronto in the intervening years, most recently in 2019, but producer David Mirvish says doing a second sit-down production of the same show is unheard of in North America.
He says the show's unflagging popularity makes it a good candidate for a long run in the city, starting Nov. 2, 2024.
Mirvish says he hopes "The Lion King" stays around for at least a couple of years, though the company's last sit-down production, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," ended in July after just 13 months.
With that show, the production company hoped a new spin on a familiar franchise would draw theatregoers back to live performances following multiple pandemic disruptions. Mirvish insists it was a success, but he also said not enough people turned up to keep the show going for the two years he'd initially planned on.
The approach with "The Lion King" isn't entirely different, though Mirvish said this franchise is an even surer bet.
There are nine concurrent productions of the show across the world, all of which are drawing audiences, he noted.
"That tells us something about its enduring and sort of universal appeal that gives me confidence to do it at this point," he said.
The repeat success of touring productions that have stopped in Toronto lends him extra confidence, he said.
Mirvish said he expects the show to break even after 26 to 36 weeks.
He said the 2000 run of the musical served as many people's entry point to the theatre, and he hopes the same thing happens this time around.
Casting will begin immediately, with open calls across the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2023.
Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press
