Broadway’s newest Simba takes us along the elevated park, giving a glimpse at how he enjoys summer.
Bradley Gibson
Marc J. Franklin
Bradley Gibson is living his best life.
Walking along the High Line, the New York City elevated park built on a former railroad, it’s clear that the actor is in his element. It is particularly fitting, since the young star moved to New York five years prior, and each year the season brings him back to those new beginnings.
“I began my life here with summer in the city,” he explains. “To me, it means friends, and it means community. There is a lightness in the city!”
So it is kismet that Gibson is facing another new beginning: This summer, the actor stepped into the role of Simba in Disney’s Tony Award-winning hit, The Lion King. “I’m living my childhood dream,” he gushes. “It was the first movie I ever saw in the movie theatres and the first show I ever saw on Broadway. It’s full circle. I’m living my dream every day.”
Flip through photos of Bradley Gibson in our “Summer in the City” series below:
Travel the High Line With The Lion King’s Bradley Gibson
Travel the High Line With The Lion King’s Bradley Gibson
Broadway’s newest Simba takes us along the elevated park, giving a glimpse at how he enjoys summer.
10 PHOTOS
For Bradley Gibson, summer in New York brings him back to the memory of moving to the city and the joy of new beginnings.
Marc J. Franklin
“I began my life here with summer in the city,” he explains. “To me, it means friends and it means community. There is a lightness in the city!”
Marc J. Franklin
It was during his initial exploration of New York that Gibson first happened upon the High Line. “I was eating with my best friend and then we walked up the stairs. We didn’t know what it was as new New Yorkers but we ended up walking. It takes you from 14th Street all the way up to 34th—that’s a pretty good walk!”
Marc J. Franklin
“I love it. It’s not nearly as open as Central Park, and it feels a lot bigger than Bryant Park as far as the walking and the path. I love seeing the architecture, these homes, the art, the agriculture... The city has put a lot of money and time into making it beautiful. The city is all around you, but you can breathe.”
Marc J. Franklin
“It is the perfect place to come by yourself during the day and chill out or come with friends on a nice night when the sun is setting and there is a good breeze going.”
Marc J. Franklin
It’s fitting that the summer brings Gibson back to the feeling of new beginnings as he steps into performances as Simba in Disney’s Tony Award-winning hit The Lion King.
Marc J. Franklin
“Nothing is better than doing a Broadway show in the summer. The summer time on Broadway is full of tourists. And, with a show like The Lion King, which is such a cultural experience for everyone, we see nothing but smiles and joy."
Marc J. Franklin
Bradley Gibson
Marc J. Franklin
The transformative experience is not just for the audience. Gibson has also been relishing his time at The Lion King. “It’s been great! It’s been a big growing moment for me as an artist. I know so many of the great men who played the part, many I look up to and many that I now call friends.”
Marc J. Franklin
“I’m living my childhood dream. It was the first movie I ever saw in the movie theatre and the first show I ever saw on Broadway. It’s full circle. I’m living my dream every day.”
Marc J. Franklin
The step toward reopening, as part of the NY PopsUp initiative, also includes programming at flexible performance spaces like St. Ann’s Warehouse and The Apollo.
