‘The Lion King’ circle of life to end in Toronto after less than a year

Cast members perform "Circle of Life" during the media day for Disney's "The Lion King" at the production's rehearsal space in Toronto, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — “The Lion King” will soon utter its final roar in Toronto.

Mirvish Productions announced Tuesday that the last performance of the critically acclaimed and award-winning musical will take place Aug. 30 at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

It’s a shorter run than many expected for a production of its calibre, but the company’s director of sales says producers determined it was better to close the show on “a really high note” than gamble with uncertainties that may come up later this year.

“You don’t want to go out struggling,” John Karastamatis added.

The stage adaptation of the 1994 Disney animated film opened in November, featuring a cast of mostly Canadian performers and crew, with high expectations for an extended run.

Before opening, David Mirvish told The Canadian Press he hoped the production might last at least a couple of years. He projected it would break even after 26 to 36 weeks of performances.

By the time it closes, the show will have played 43 weeks and a total of 345 shows, reaching an expected audience of more than 250,000 people. Karastamatis said the production is profitable.

“We’ve accomplished what we set out to do, we have a new generation of artists on the stage and we’ve had great audiences,” he said.

“It’s kind of a gut feeling, but it’s hard to tell the future, especially nowadays.”

Karastamatis described several factors that could negatively affect ticket sales for a show as long-running as “The Lion King.” For instance, a new political climate has reduced cross-border travel.

“We’re not getting Americans up here. Canadians aren’t going to the United States either. So it’s a whole new world,” he said.

“Our hope for this summer is that Canadians will make up the difference.”

Producers weighed other factors, too. One was that come fall “The Lion King” would be headed into a new theatre season and possibly deemed an “old show” in a busy market of new projects.

“The Lion King” first ran in Toronto from 2000 to 2004, and has since seen a number of travelling versions roll through the city.

Last year’s return was touted as an open-ended run, a significant investment that hired more local talent and occupied a single theatre for an extended period.

Toronto’s “The Lion King” production was an oversized ambition from the start.

Last fall, Mirvish rented an old Toronto Catholic school to house its massive cast, crew and costumes, because there wasn’t an existing rehearsal space in the city that could accommodate them.

As the show got underway, it faced another hurdle when, a day before it opened, its star Simba was sidelined by injury.

Actor Aphiwe Nyezi missed the first two-and-a-half months of the run but returned to “The Lion King” in mid-January. He was temporarily replaced by the lead from the musical’s ongoing North American tour.

Open-ended productions aren’t especially common in Toronto, and their long-running success is never a guarantee.

Mirvish’s last one was the $25-million “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” for which it spent another $5 million to renovate and retrofit the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre. That show ended in 2023 after just 13 months.

Before “The Lion King” closes, Mirvish plans to host a “relaxed performance” for the Aug. 1 matinee. The special version will cater to neurodivergent audiences with noises and music played at a lower level.

There will also be an opportunity to book a “touch tour” that day, which gives ticket holders an opportunity to touch the props and costumes before the show.

The closure of “The Lion King” comes just before this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, which uses the Princess of Wales Theatre as one of its main screening rooms. The festival runs from Sept. 4 to 14.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2025.

David Friend, The Canadian Press