The Toronto production of The Lion King, having been open for less than a year at the Princess of Wales Theatre, will end its run on Aug. 30, Mirvish Productions has announced.
The previously open-ended production is expected to have played 345 performances over the course of its 10-month run.
“We take great pride in the current Toronto production of The Lion King,” producer David Mirvish said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The talent both on and off the Princess of Wales stage is exemplary. They represent a new generation of artists and artisans, some of whom were not even born when the original Toronto production was staged in 2000.”
Mirvish previously produced the musical in the early 2000s – from March, 2000 until January, 2004 – for 1,567 performances. In 2023, the company estimated that run had pumped $1.4-billion into the local economy at the time. Had SARS not interrupted the run, it would have gone for longer, Mirvish told The Globe and Mail.
When the company announced the “sit-down” production of The Lion King in 2023, they were optimistic that Toronto could emulate the success of the show in other markets. The Lion King remains one of Broadway’s highest-grossing musicals, and the show has also done well in cities such as London, Paris and Madrid.
In addition to the sit-down production in Toronto, the touring production of The Lion King continues to play across Canada, with planned stops planned this summer in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. (The tour stopped in Ottawa and Buffalo, two markets that overlap with Toronto’s, in 2024.)
“We thought this was a natural time to close,” said John Karastamatis, director of communications and programming for Mirvish Productions.
“Ten months is a very good run; there were compelling reasons to close it while it’s still doing very well, and especially during the summer, which is ideal for a multi-generational show like this one.”
Karastamatis added that the show recouped its initial investment in March, and has been profitable for the producers ever since.
“That’s the thing about theatre: It’s constantly changing, you’re constantly doing new things. You hope the audience is there, and they have been for The Lion King. It’s been a great run.”
