South African actor Aphiwe Nyezi will portray adult Simba.HO/The Canadian Press
Mirvish Productions has crowned its Lion King(s).
The Toronto-based theatre company announced the cast for its sit-down production of The Lion King on Thursday morning.
South African actor Aphiwe Nyezi will portray adult Simba, while three young Canadian actors will share the role of Simba as a lion cub: Lucien Duncan-Reid, Ira Nabong and Oliver Woon.
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Mirvish says the cast is 51 actors strong, with 41 from Canada and 10 from South Africa.
Salvatore Antonio, who was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award last year for his role in the horror anthology series Slasher: Ripper, will portray Scar, while Canadian Broadway alumna Camille Eanga-Selenge will play Nala.
Performances are set to begin at Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre on Nov. 2.
David Mirvish announced last year that he would mount a second open-ended production of The Lion King, two decades after the last one wrapped.
The original Canadian production of the musical opened in Toronto in March, 2000, and closed in January, 2004, after more than 1,000 performances.