The Lion King Jr Musical at The Loft Theatre, April 26 - 30

        Lots of roaring and animal sounds are coming from the Loft Theatre in the Grinnell Arts Center.  There are lions, hyenas, zebras, giraffes, a Mandrill baboon, a meerkat, and a warthog, and they are all preparing for a production of Disney’s The Lion King Jr musical on April 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30, all at 7 p.m. 
        The Grinnell Community Theatre is excited to present another junior musical, following the fun of Beauty and the Beast Jr in 2019 and Frozen Jr in 2022.  All of these junior musicals are one hour long with no intermission. Like the others, The Lion King Jr musical contains all of the beloved songs, such as “Circle of Life,” “I Just Can’t Wait to be King,” “Be Prepared,” “Shadowland” and the delightful “Hakuna Matata.” 
      The production follows the adventures of young lion cub Simba, heir to his father, Mufasa.  Simba’s wicked uncle, Scar, plots to take Mufasa’s throne by luring him and young Simba into a stampede of wildebeests.  Young Simba escapes, but Mufasa is killed.  Simba returns as an adult lion to take back his homeland from Scar with the help of his jungle friends. 
      The Grinnell Community Theatre wishes to thank all 54 young performers who auditioned for The Lion King Jr. We are very fortunate in this community to have so many gifted young actors and singers. Our thanks to parents and teachers for nurturing and supporting the arts. We are pleased to announce the cast and crew:
ENSEMBLE:  Sydney Cox, Elizabeth Crites, Evelyn DeCoster, Clara Dillon, Emily Gruman, Thea Hanson, Louis Kite, Macy Laug, Rosie Leasure, Maggie Leonard-Aparicio, Maggie Lindberg, Beatrice Robinson and Greta Sandquist 
HYENAS:  Ben Davis, Gabriel Hernandez and Ty McIntyre; LIONESSES:  Claire Grundler, Nora Pedersen, Acadia Robinson and Ruby Zimsen-Campe; BANZAI:  Ella Schubert
SHENZI:  Thora Schimmel
ED:  Avery Vande Krol
RAFIKI:  Kapria Derby
ZAZU:  Frances Pedersen
SCAR:  William Kelley-Chown
TIMON:  Lucy Lindberg
PUMBAA:  Evan Kite
SIMBA:  Aaron Blanchard
NALA:  Alex Vogt
MUFASA:  Joey Junge
SARABI:  Lanie Kaup
SARAFINA:  Anna Lindberg
Costumes and Design: Alesia Lacina, Barb Lease and Lee Smith
Stage Manager: Ashley Grundler
Student Stage Manager: Lucy Turley
Lights: Sig Barber
Sound: Tom Lacina
Directors: Tom Lacina & Debby Pohlson
      Ticket information will be announced at a later date. The Grinnell Community Theatre is program of the Grinnell Area Arts Council. For more information, visit www.grinnellarts.org or call 641.236.3203.