The Lion King returns to Sydney

One of the most beloved musicals of all time is returning to Sydney, and for Jewish audiences, it carries meaning that goes far beyond the savanna.

Disney’s The Lion King is returning to the Capitol Theatre in April, marking the production’s return to Sydney for the first time since its 2013 season. The show, now approaching 30 years on Broadway, has been seen by over 127 million people across more than 100 cities in 24 countries, making it the highest-grossing entertainment title in box office history.

The stage production, conceived and directed by Julie Taymor, won six Tony Awards in 1998 including Best Musical, and has since been performed in nine languages across every continent except Antarctica. It will be the ninth Disney Theatrical Group production to grace a Sydney stage over the past three decades.

But beyond the spectacle of the extraordinary puppetry and the soaring score by Elton John, Hans Zimmer and South African composer Lebo M, The Lion King carries a story with unmistakably Jewish bones.

The original 1994 animated film, Disney’s first truly original animated feature story not based on a fairy tale or folk tale, was co-directed by Rob Minkoff, who is Jewish. When the CGI remake arrived in 2019, it was helmed by another member of the tribe: Jon Favreau. It is a remarkable lineage for a story that, it turns out, draws deeply from the Torah.

As original Lion King producer Don Hahn has acknowledged, Simba’s journey was inspired by two of the most iconic figures in Jewish scripture: Moses and Joseph. According to Kveller, the parallels are clear. Like Moses, who was separated from his people as an infant before returning to lead them out of Egypt, Simba lives in exile before his destiny calls him home. And like Joseph, sold into slavery by jealous brothers, only to rise to power and save his people, Simba suffers betrayal within his own family before claiming his rightful place.

The Jewish creative fingerprints on the franchise run deeper still. Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Jewish chairman of Walt Disney Studios at the time of the original film’s production, was instrumental in shaping it, as was Matthew Broderick, the voice of Simba, who also shares Jewish heritage.

The Sydney season promises a production of extraordinary scale. The score fuses Elton John and Tim Rice’s beloved songs with additional material by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Taymor and Zimmer, creating what the show’s creators describe as a blend of Western popular music and the distinctive sounds of Africa.

The New York Times once declared there is simply nothing else like it, and with thousands more Sydney-siders due to see the production in April, that verdict seems unlikely to change.

The Lion King is at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre from April 18. For tickets, visit thelionkingmusical.com.au