The Lion King: Tiny Desk Concert

Josh Rogosin | November 11, 2022
Actors and musicians on Broadway have a grueling performance schedule: eight shows a week with only Mondays off. Yet the band and cast of The Lion King were ecstatic to spend their one free day traveling from New York to Washington, D.C. to celebrate 25 years of the iconic musical with a performance at NPR’s Tiny Desk.

Many of the songs written by Elton John and Tim Rice will be familiar — like the Oscar-winning “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and “Hakuna Matata.” But the cast also treated the enthusiastic Tiny Desk crowd to songs written just for the stage. “They Live In You” wasn’t in the original movie, but is sung in the show by Mufasa (L. Steven Taylor) to his cub Simba (Brandon A. McCall). The young lioness Nala sings “Shadowland'', another gem from the musical sung by Pearl Khwezi (the first South African cast in the role).

Infused throughout the music of The Lion King is spine-tingling African rhythm and language. It’s as captivating as the groundbreaking costume design by director, co-writer and artist Julie Taymor. The team at Disney Theatrical sent the masks of Simba and Nala in time to be prominently displayed on the desk during the concert. Examining their details up close gave me chills — just like the ones I felt watching the show at the New Amsterdam Theatre, way back in 1997 when the musical first debuted.

SET LIST
“Circle of Life”
“They Live in You”
“Can You Feel the Love Tonight”
“Hakuna Matata”
“Endless Night / Shadowland”
“Circle of Life” (Reprise)

MUSICIANS

CAST
L. Steven Taylor
Tshidi Manye
Brandon A. McCall
Pearl Khwezi
Lindiwe Dlamini
Mduduzi Madela
S’bu Ngema

MUSICIANS
Jim Abbott: keyboard, guitar
Anders Bostrom: flutes
David Kuhn: bass
Rolando Morales-Matos: percussion
Juan Carlito Mendoza: drums

Music Arrangements
Jim Abbott

The Lion King Broadway Resident Director
Rufus Bonds Jr.

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer/Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Creative Director: Bob Boilen
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Sofia Seidel
Animator: Jackie Lay
Audio Assistant: Natasha Branch
Production Assistant: Jill Britton
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer, Teresa Xie
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #nprmusic #thelionking

[nprmusic]

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[thuli]

Whoever’s idea this was deserves a raise 🥺❤

[baileywithab]

Imagine having a voice so iconic that they literally will not, and can not, ever replace you... that first note gets me every time

[AliceSmith-xo]

Anyone else loving the "I'm bout making my ancestors proud" sweater?

[TravelwithTasha]

Tshidi has been there since the beginning. She is the only original cast member, and she has been going 25 years strong on that show. She is amazing.

[yelzmusic]

This is already one of my favourite Tiny Desk Concerts. I'm about 15 seconds in 😂

[purple_sky]

Goosebumps when she started singing at the beginning 😮 so nostalgic and so uplifting at the same time.

[Zimani]

This show was the first big thing my then boyfriend and I did. We saw the show in Toronto, and he grabbed my hand in awe when the animals came out at the beginning of the show. I was in tears with the majesty of the whole thing.

I married him a few years later, but Covid took him from me at the beginning of this year. Watching this performance brings back so many beautiful memories. I am in tears again, thank you

[sundus]

Love seeing Tshidi Maniye still going strong playing Rafiki. You can tell she LOVES this job, well the whole cast shows great love for this musical.

[carnelian]

Lol I work at The Lion king, hear this 8 times a week backstage and still am somehow not sick of these songs

[TJGalacticEmpress]

The beginning always make me cry. Like physically bawl. Their voices just touches my soul. Wow

[BadLuckDez]

"I'm bout making my ancestors proud" 🙌🏽

[skykai]

I love the drummer's little grins throughout this performance. He's like, "I can't believe I get to do this for a living." It's a testament to the brilliance of songwriting that someone like him, who plays the same songs every night, still experiences the joy of these infectious songs sung by unparalleled talent. Thank you, NPR, and yes, whoever booked them to come on. Ah-ho! 🌍

[Msshayson]

Who ever set this up, you were raised right and we are all proud of you.

[YXTongvaLand]

00:00 - Circle of Life
3:46 - They Live In You
7:35 - Can You Feel the Love Tonight
10:57 Hakuna Matata
13:25 Endless Night/Shadowland

[IthatengMokgoro]

As a proud South African, it’s always hard to hold back the tears when Tshidi Mannya belts out ‘Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba', but my favourite moment here is when Brandon McCall and Pearl Khwezi perform “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” The chemistry is intense – 7:24

[mraverybrown]

As a theater/broadway fan/student, I love that Tiny Desk is intentional with including these beautiful theater performances! Salute to the cast and band, of The Lion King! Long live the theater! 🙌🏿🤍

[alexharper]

That tiny little woman must be carrying a spare set of lungs with her... magnificent

[lottexforbes]

The CHEMISTRY between Simba and Nala!!! The way they are looking at each other at the end of Can You Feel the Love Tonight was amazing. Completely understand why they’re playing together

[lisadavis]

The opening chant gives me chills even after 25 years from the first time I heard it. These voices echo love.