The touring production of Disney's The Lion King comes to Sunderland Empire for a seven-week run from 18 September, it was announced this week.
The show began life as a 1994 animated film and the stage version opened on Broadway in October 1997 after previewing in Minneapolis in June of that year. The West End production opened at the Lyceum in 1999, where it is still running.
The touring production comes to Sunderland after visiting Bristol, Manchester, Dublin, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bradford, Liverpool and Southampton.
The touring production is the biggest musical production ever to tour the UK. It features more than fifty actors, singers and dancers and has a backstage team of over 100. With hundreds of masks, puppets and more than 700 costumes representing 26 different types of animal, 23 giant trucks are used to transport everything across the country.
Tickets go on sale at 10AM on Tuesday 21 January, priced from £20 to £75.