Shīzi Wáng 狮子王 the musical will debut in Shanghai in 2015

The Lion King is 17 years old this year. The musical that is, not the movie. The movie is even older, celebrating its 20th anniversary earlier this week. That makes me feel old. I mean, I watched that in theatres.
Since then, after collecting a trophy case of accolades and over a billion dollars in ticket sales, The Lion King is being produced in Mandarin for the first time. Shanghai Disney Resort, the latest in a string of Disney theme parks, is set to open some time next year and will stage the Chinese version of the critically acclaimed Broadway show.

United Asia Live Entertainment, a company backed by the newly restructured Shanghai Media Group and South Korean conglomerate CJ Corporation, is holding open auditions for singers and dancers in the multimillion-dollar Mandarin adaption of The Lion King musical. This is the third international musical production for UALE, which previously brought Mama Mia and Cats to Chinese audiences, and marks SMG’s growing partnership with Walt Disney Studios. Hedging its bets, SMG is also partnered with DreamWorks Animation in Oriental DreamWorks.

Registrations for July auditions in Shanghai and Beijing are now open.

Dancers
Male and female dancers
Between 18 to early-30s
Background in contemporary dance or ballet

Singers
Agile male and female singers
Between 18-45 years old

Before shooting to fame with her hit single Ai Ni 愛你 , Kimberley Chen played Young Nala in the Australian Lion King. In 2006, Kimberley performed in Shanghai as part of the Australian Asia tour. Photo credit: Zorg Lin

Both dancers and singers are required to prepare one of the following songs to showcase their voice and range. A piano accompaniment will be provided at the audition. Sheet music may be downloaded here. (Just so you know, these English song titles are not my translations. I’m not even really sure what “A Hard Waiting” means…) Interestingly, only a few of the songs are from the musical genre, highlighting the short history of musical theatre in China.

Male
Wang Leehom – The Only One 唯一
Wang Leehom – Forever Love
David Huang – You Got Me Drunk 你把我灌醉
Gary Chaw – Superwoman
Jam Hsiao – Princess 王妃
Wang Leehom – Change Myself 改变自己
Jacky Cheung – Love is Eternity 爱是永恒
Leslie Cheung – Me 我
Sun Nan – Burning 燃烧
Yu Quan – Run 奔跑
Jam Hsiao – Alocasia Love 海芋恋
Ricky Hsiao – You Are My Eyes 你是我的眼
Crowd Lu – I Love You 我爱你
Wang Feng – When I Think About You 当我想你的时候
Wang Feng – Beijing Beijing 北京北京
Wang Feng – Life in Full Bloom 怒放的生命

Female
Coco Lee – Reflection 自己
Yao Beina – Let It Go 随它吧
Jane Zhang – The Winner Takes it All 胜者为王
Shunza – Coming Home 回家
Shunza – Star 星星
A-mei – Listening to the Sea 听海
G.E.M – Intoxicated 你把我灌醉
Della Ding – I am a Small Bird 我是一只小小鸟
Coco Lee – Sunny Day
A-mei – Maybe Tomorrow 也许明天
A-mei – Three Days and Nights 三天三夜
Tanya Chua – Beautiful Love
Jane Zhang – A Hard Waiting 终于等到你
Jane Zhang – If This is Love 如果这就是爱情
Landy Wen – Can’t Help Being Forgiving 忍不住原谅
Landy Wen – Hedgehog 刺猬

Audition dates
Shanghai: 5, 6, 7, 8 July
Beijing: 10, 11, 12, 13 July

If you’re interested in auditioning, fill out the registration form here. Non-Chinese nationals who speak Mandarin are also welcome to audition.

Questions about the casting of The Lion King can be directed to Zhao Guolan 赵国兰.
Shanghai office: 021-64453103
Mobile: 18621035996
thelionking@uaechina.net
Or just leave a comment here on the blog and we’ll try to find an answer for you~

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