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Perhaps the best loved animated-film Disney Theatrical adaptation, the Lion King is one of the first of the Disney animated films to sell as many if not more tickets than their film originals. Directed by Julie Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The use of these costumes and gigantic hollow puppets has the audience in wonder as the elephants, giraffes, lions, hyenas, and birds stroll around the prairie. The Lion King's Tony and Olivier Award winning design is alone worth the purchase of tickets, but the story of a young cub struggling to grow up against tragic circumstances is really what makes the musical. The book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi with music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice made the adaptation an instant classic. The classic has touched the shores North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa since its debut in July 8, 1997, in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Orpheum Theatre, and was an instant success before premiering on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theater on October 15, 1997 in previews with the official opening on November 13, 1997. The Lion King retells the story of Simba and the Circle of Life without the benefit of groundbreaking animation.