Ten Years Ago: The Lion King and Speed

In 1994, I was in La Jolla, Ca rehearsing the pre-Broadway tryout of  the revival of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying starring Matthew Broderick and Megan Mullally.  The cast organized an outing to support Matthew and fellow cast member Ernie Sabella by going to a screening of The Lion King.  You see Matthew was the voice of Simba and Ernie voiced Poomba.  Little did they or any of us know that The Lion King would go on to be one of Disney’s most successful animated films and broke ALL box office records.  Five years later, I would  be cast in the role of Shenzi in the Original Los Angeles Production playing at the Pantages in Hollywood.  I would also receive my first acting nomination from the NAACP for Best Featured Performance by an Actress in a Musical.  The award was given to my idol Charlayne Woodard for her one-woman show, but I was excited to be nominated, walk my first red-carpet and rub elbows with many industry professionals I had admired over the years.

The musical debuted July 8, 1997 and was an instant success before premiering on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theater on October 15, 1997 in previews and opening on November 13, 1997. On June 13, 2006, the Broadway production moved to the Minskoff Theatre, where it is still running after more than 6,700 performances.  It is Broadway’s fourth longest-running show in history and the highest grossing Broadway production of all time, having grossed more than $1 billion.  Check out the clips from the film and the hit Broadway musical below…

Being a huge fan of Keanu Reeves I was first in line to go see his latest film – SPEED.  Little did I know that in that film would also have an actress who I admire and follow to this day – Oscar winner  Sandra Bullock.  SPEED was one of the most successful summer action-adventure flicks in 1994 winning two Oscars and MTV/Kids Choice Awards for its stars…Check out the trailer below