How to Get Cast in Broadway’s ‘The Lion King’

Like the original film, the story follows Simba, the son of Mufasa and rightful heir to the Pride Lands. When he’s still a child testing his limits, Mufasa’s brother, Scar, leads a coup to kill the king and take his place. Blaming himself for his father’s death, Simba flees and grows up in the company of a carefree meerkat, Timon, and his warthog friend, Pumbaa. As an adult, the true king returns to the Pride Lands to defeat his uncle and reclaim the throne.

The current Broadway ensemble features:

• Vincent Jamal Hooper as Simba
• Ezekiel Kekuna and Albert Rhodes Jr. as Young Simba
• L. Steven Taylor as Mufasa
• Stephen Carlile as Scar
• Sidney Nicole Wilson as Sarabi
• Pearl Khwezi as Nala
• Annika Franklin and Nia Thompson as Young Nala
• Tshidi Manye as Rafiki
• Nick LaMedica as Zazu
• Ben Jeffrey as Pumbaa
• Fred Berman as Timon
• James Brown-Orleans as Banzai
• Bonita J. Hamilton as Shenzi
• Robb Sapp as Ed

Mark Brandon, the executive casting director of ARC, is the current CD for the Broadway production. He told us that he’ll go to any length to find the right actors. “I think any good CD is going to do whatever they need to do to get the job done. For ‘The Lion King,’ I’ve approached kids and their parents on the train.

“We’re there to support you, the actor, and to support the team that’s behind the table and be the liaison between the two,” he continued. “I also think a good eye and good taste is very important for a casting director, and in some ways, you have that walking in; and in some ways, you develop some of that as you go along in your casting life.”

Brandon wants actors to know that he’s rooting for them in the room. “We’re on their side. We’re sometimes seen as the enemy because we are sort of the gateway into the rest of the creative team, and we do have to be specific and know what we’re looking for. But we want them to be good. A nurturing creative environment in the audition room is very important. You can tell there are some audition rooms that are not the most nurturing, and I feel like it’s partly our responsibility to be able to create that environment in the room, which is so important for people to be able to do what they do.”

Because the show features a unique blend of puppetry and mask work, the audition process is different from that of most Broadway musicals. “Very few people who come in are strong actors and already have puppetry skills,” Brandon told Playbill. “First they come in to sing and read, and they do everything without puppets or masks. Then if we’re interested in them as we go forward, we have individual masks and puppet session with them.”

Since “The Lion King” features separate choruses for singing and dancing, the CD says that auditioners don’t have to be triple threats. Instead, he focuses on finding singers with a large range and dancers who are trained in modern ballet.

Brandon says that the worst thing an actor can do in the room is attempt to recreate past performances. “I say, ‘This is what the song is about. I know that you can connect to this; you just have to find your story. I don’t want to hear Simba’s story—I want to hear your story.’ That’s what makes it special and unique. That’s what keeps me going and keeps it fresh, because every person that walks through the door is different and tells their own story. And that’s what I encourage everybody to do.”

​​Vincent Jamal Hooper, who’s currently starring as Simba, says that making it to Broadway means embracing local opportunities first. The actor proved himself in his home state of Texas when he played Benny in the ZACH Theatre’s 2017 production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights.” His work in the show led to him getting cast in the touring production of Miranda’s “Hamilton.” 

“My game plan heading into auditions became: Book the role of Benny, prove your work ethic and ability, then open up a conversation about ‘Hamilton,’ ” Hooper told Broadway World. “Someone must’ve been looking out for me, because that’s exactly what happened.

“Now, actually making it to the three appointments I had over the course of that following year was a whole other thing,” he continued. “I lived in Texas at the time, so making the trip to NYC each time was not particularly convenient. Thankfully, I had friends who were gracious enough to lend their dollars and airline miles to the effort. After putting on a few one-man concerts in the audition room, we made it happen.” 

Hooper’s work in “Hamilton” led directly to his Broadway debut in “The Lion King”—in the lead role, no less. “It was such a profoundly surreal moment,” he told Playbill. “It takes so much faith to be an actor in any capacity. You work towards something for, in my case, just over a decade, staying ready as best you can. And in the span of a phone call, it becomes real. It’s monumental. I cautioned myself against indulging in the full magnitude of what I was about to do. So, instead, I dove headfirst into what is familiar to me: character work—research and exploration and discovery. I found a comfort there that I think really helped in the adjustment process.”

Disney’s Theatrical Productions casting page has a notice for adult singers and adult dancers to join the company. There’s another call for children, aged 9–12, to play Young Simba and Young Nala. Keep in mind that kids must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and audition materials are provided for them; dancers must wear form-conscious clothing; and singers must prepare 30 seconds of an R&B, pop, or rock song that showcases their talent (pieces from “The Lion King” or other musicals aren’t allowed). If they can’t make it to in-person tryouts, singers and child actors may submit a YouTube or Vimeo audition link via email.

You may also want to bookmark our main Broadway casting calls and auditions page, as “The Lion King” has issued casting calls through Backstage in the past. The show sought actors for the Los Angeles production in 2019 and the Broadway and national tour in 2021. There was also a virtual casting call in 2022 and a notice for ensemble dancers in summer 2023.

Here’s everything you need to know about getting cast on Broadway.

Trust in fate. In a conversation with Playbill, Hooper had some advice for his younger self. “Nothing that is meant for you will ever pass you by—ever,” he said. “It sounds like an empty platitude, but it is something that I stand by and that has brought me a lot of long-standing peace in my career. As actors, we can spend a lot of time reading into why this or that thing didn’t go our way. Our minds get plagued with questions that we can’t answer and assumptions that we can’t verify. I’ve found freedom in the acceptance that I am on a singular journey and am being directed. Every place I land is purposeful.” 

Be who you are. Brandon knows what it takes to stand tall among Pride Rock royalty. He advises auditioners to follow directions—and not be afraid to display who they are. “To be able to be yourself and look people in the eye and tell them the truth—first of all, you need technique to do that,” he told us. “But it sounds relatively simple. That’s what makes our jobs difficult. 

“People think that there are 20 choices for [every role],” he continued. “And in my world…with the specificity and the details involved, we’re lucky if we have two choices. That’s why being yourself is such an integral part of it, because that’s the only thing you have. You have your technique and you have your person, not your audition persona that you create in the hallway before you walk in the door.”