SPECIAL ADDED PERFORMANCE OF DISNEY’S THE LION KING TO BENEFIT THE ACTORS FUND

Charlotte, NC –July 10, 2013 - The Actors Fund, a national human services organization that helps all professionals in performing arts and entertainment, is pleased to announce that the producer, cast, and management of Disney’s THE LION KING have added a special performance to benefit The Fund on Thursday, August 22 at 1:00pm at The Belk Theater in Charlotte, NC. The acting company will donate their time and talent for this performance that will directly benefit The Actors Fund. 

Tickets for this special performance are on sale now at regular box office prices. Ticket buyers are reminded that the only way to guarantee the authenticity of the ticket is to purchase from an authorized ticket seller and the ONLY authorized ticket sellers are the Belk Theater Box Office, by phone at 704.372.1000 and online at BlumenthalArts.org and CarolinaTix.org. Orders for groups of twenty (20) or more may be placed by calling 704.379.1380. Ticket buyers who purchase tickets from a ticket broker or any third party, should be aware that Blumenthal Performing Arts is unable to reprint or replace lost or stolen tickets and is unable to contact patrons with information regarding time changes or other pertinent updates regarding the performance.

Tickets for all other performances of the Charlotte return engagement of THE LION KING, which will play for four weeks at the Belk Theater from Tuesday, August 6 through Sunday, September 1, are currently on sale. Good seats are still available, especially for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night performances.

ABOUT THE ACTORS FUND
The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that helps everyone—performers and those behind the scenes—who works in performing arts and entertainment, helping more than 13,500 people directly each year, and hundreds of thousands online. Serving professionals in film, theatre, television, music, opera, radio and dance, The Fund’s programs include social services and emergency financial assistance, health care and insurance counseling, housing, and employment and training services. With offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, The Actors Fund has—for 131 years—been a safety net for those in need, crisis or transition. Visit www.actorsfund.org for more information or call The Fund at (212) 221-7300.

ABOUT THE LION KING
In its 16th year, THE LION KING remains ascendant; it is the highest-grossing Broadway show in New York history and one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Since its Broadway premiere on November 13, 1997, 21 global productions have been seen by more than 70 million people and, cumulatively, run a staggering 106 years. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher), THE LION KING is only the second show in history to generate five productions worldwide running 10 or more years. Translated into eight different languages (Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Mandarin, Spanish and Portuguese), productions of THE LION KING can currently be seen on Broadway and on tour across North America, in Tokyo and on tour in Japan, in London’s West End and on tour throughout the UK, and in Hamburg, Madrid and Sao Paolo. To date, THE LION KING has played 98 cities in 17 countries on every continent except Antarctica.

Among the most successful titles in entertainment history, with a cumulative gross in excess of $5 billion, the stage production of THE LION KING has already earned more than the biggest hit films in movie history: more than the Lord of the Rings trilogy combined, more than the six Star Wars films combined, and more than Avatar and Titanic, the two highest-grossing films in movie history, combined.

The award-winning musical will celebrate a new milestone in December 2013 when it returns to Australia, making it the tenth concurrent worldwide production of THE LION KING, the highest number of productions running at any one time in the show’s history.

THE LION KING won six 1998 Tony® Awards: Best Musical, Best Scenic Design (Richard Hudson), Best Costume Design (Julie Taymor), Best Lighting Design (Donald Holder), Best Choreography (Garth Fagan) and Best Direction of a Musical. THE LION KING has also earned more than 70 major arts awards including the 1998 NY Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the 1999 Grammy® for Best Musical Show Album, the 1999 Evening Standard Award for Theatrical Event of the Year and the 1999 Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Choreography and Best Costume Design.

The show’s director, costume designer and mask co-designer Julie Taymor continues to play an integral part in the show’s ongoing success. The first woman to win a Tony® Award for Direction of a Musical, Taymor has in recent years supervised new productions of the show in Las Vegas, Madrid and the UK tour and just completed casting the Brazilian production in Sao Paolo.

The Broadway score features Elton John and Tim Rice’s music from The Lion King animated film along with three new songs by John and Rice; additional musical material by South African Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor and Hans Zimmer; and music from "Rhythm of the Pride Lands," an album inspired by the original music in the film, written by Lebo M, Mark Mancina and Hans Zimmer. The resulting sound of THE LION KING is a fusion of Western popular music and the distinctive sounds and rhythms of Africa, ranging from the Academy Award®-winning song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” to the haunting ballad “Shadowland.”

The book has been adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed The Lion King animated feature, and Irene Mecchi, who co-wrote the film’s screenplay. Other members of the creative team include: Michael Curry, who designed the masks and puppets with Taymor, Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound design), Michael Ward (hair and makeup design), John Stefaniuk (associate director), Marey Griffith (associate choreographer), Clement Ishmael (music supervisor) and Doc Zorthian (production supervisor). Anne Quart serves as associate producer.

For more information worldwide, visit LionKing.com.

The Charlotte engagement of THE LION KING is presented by arrangement with Blumenthal Performing Arts and is a subscription offering of the Duke Energy Broadway Lights Series.