Empire State Building and Sardi's to Honor Disney's Lion King

By Andrew Gans
November 8, 2007

As Disney's The Lion King approaches its tenth anniversary on Broadway — Sunday, Nov. 11 at the Minskoff Theatre — both the Empire State Building and the Manhattan restaurant Sardi's will honor the Tony-winning musical.

On Friday, Nov. 9 the Empire State Building will be lit in Lion King yellow to recognize the show's tenth anniversary. Tshidi Manye, who currently plays Rafiki in the family-friendly musical, will appear in costume to throw the ceremonial switch at the landmark building. She will be joined by several of her cast members as well as Lion King associate producers Aubrey Lynch II and Anne Quart.

Manye will also be on hand Nov. 9 when Sardi's unveils a Rafiki caricature, which will hang on the walls of the world-famous restaurant. Rafiki will join Beauty and the Beast's Beast and The Phantom of the Opera's Phantom as the only other Broadway musical characters to be immortalized on the walls of the restaurant.

The Lion King originally opened at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre Nov. 13, 1997. Directed by Julie Taymor — who became the first woman to ever receive a Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical — The Lion King has become an international hit with productions playing all around the globe. In fact, the Elton John-Tim Rice musical has won over 30 major awards. Those include six Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical; eight Drama Desk Awards; six Outer Critics Circle Awards; two Sir Laurence Oliviers; the Evening Standard Award for Best Theatrical Event; and three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards.

For more information visit www.DisneyOnBroadway.com.