July 5, 2015 is a rather important day in Broadway history; after 4,308 performances, Alton Fitzgerald White took his final curtain call as the iconic character Mufasa, in The Lion King.
Alton Fitzgerald White (Miss Saigon, The Who’s Tommy, Smokey Joe’s Café, Ragtime, The Color Purple) first starred as Mufasa 12 years ago, in the first touring production of the long-running Broadway hit. He returned to the role in The Lion King production at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas from 2009 to 2011, and became a staple at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway.
The Lion King is the highest-grossing Broadway show in New York history and one of the most popular stage musicals in the world. Since its Broadway premiere on November 13, 1997, 22 productions have been seen by more than 70 million people worldwide. Notably, The Lion King is only the second show in history to generate five productions worldwide running 10 or more years.
White wrote on his Facebook page, “I am forever grateful to Disney for a relationship and experience that has positively shifted my life FOREVER!!!! I am super-excited and grateful that THE UNIVERSE is guiding me toward new ways of sharing my gifts and of doing SERVICE!!!”
Broadway Black extends a hearty thank you to Alton White for performing in front of countless fans and for his thunderous and powerful talent that made The Lion King a Broadway staple.
