Elton John Shocks “The Lion King” Audience With Surprise Performance

Elton John made a shocking appearance at the 20th-anniversary celebration of The Lion King on Sunday, November 5.

The Tony-nominated composer took the stage following the curtain call and performed the hit song Circle of Life with the cast of the long-running musical.

Creative team members Julie Taymor, Tim Rice, Garth Fagan, Lebo M., Mark Mancina, Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, as well as hundreds of alumni and others, were in attendance at the performance.

The Lion King is the third longest running show on Broadway. It first debuted on Broadway on November 13, 1997, and won six Tony Awards including Best Musical.

Since its inception, it has grown into 24 global productions in eight languages, seen by over 90 million people in every continent excluding Antarctica.

Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions and directed by Thomas Schumacher, it has a worldwide gross exceeding that of any film, Broadway show or other entertainment titles in box-office history.

Based off the 1994 animated classic, the stage musical adaptation of The Lion King features Elton John’s and Tim Rice’s award-winning songs.

Disney recently unveiled the full voice cast of its starry reboot, directed by Jon Favreau, featuring Donald Glover, Beyonce, James Earl Jones, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Alfre Woodard, John Oliver and Keegan-Michael Key. It is set to open July 19, 2019.

***Reuters