LAS VEGAS, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- The stage musical "The Lion King" will open at Mandalay Bay, the Las Vegas hotel-casino venue and Disney Theatrical Productions announced jointly Tuesday.
The first Disney theatrical production to play in the gambling mecca is to open May 2, 2009, at the Mandalay Bay Theatre, with preview performances scheduled to begin April 20, 2009.
There also are companies of "The Lion King" in New York, London, Hamburg, Paris, Tokyo and Fukuoka, Japan.
Mandalay Bay's production will be virtually identical to those of the other companies and will be staged with all of the same music, sets and costumes, Disney and Mandalay Bay said, adding that ticket prices, on-sale dates and performance schedules will be announced at a later date.
"We're incredibly pleased to bring 'The Lion King' to the audiences of Las Vegas," Thomas Schumacher, the musical's producer and president of Disney Theatrical Group, said in a statement. "Mandalay Bay has seen great success with other shows thanks to its extraordinary commitment to producing theater of the highest caliber. When we decided to bring 'The Lion King' to Las Vegas, we knew that this was the right show at the right venue at the right time."
