‘The Lion King’ hits the stage in South Bend

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—The highest grossing musical of all time has arrived in South Bend!

“The Lion King” is now playing at The Morris. The musical will run through March 22.

Two actors from the show discussed what it takes to put on a production like this one.

“Lion King’s unique in that it uses puppetry which is a huge element of the show and the way that the musical score is expanded for this version you’re hearing, gorgeous music that you’re not going hear any of in the other two versions,” Spencer Plachy, the actor who plays Scar, said.

The production even has a connection to South Bend: one of the actors went to the University of Notre Dame.

Kyle Carter is an understudy for Mufasa, as well as a vocal swing, meaning he can fill in for any singer on the stage.

“When I was a very little kid, the two Disney movies I quoted every single line I knew, every single word, were the Lion King and Mulan. So when I was a kid, I either wanted to be Mufasa or Mushu,” Carter said.

Carter went on to earn a degree in industrial design and Italian at Notre Dame.

“As I was figuring out what to do with life, the acting thing just kept coming in no matter what I did,” Carter said.

Carter began auditioning and soon enough, he was closer than he’d ever been, to realizing his childhood dream.

“The first time I sat in the chair and they put the giant Mufasa mask on me and I looked in the mirror, I was like, little six-year-old me secretly knew that this was going to happen,” Carter said.

 For more information about “The Lion King,” visit The Morris Performing Arts Center’s website.