The time has come: Disney's 'The Lion King' is returning to Tucson

Michelle Scalpone had a better view of what was going on backstage than on the stage when she saw the touring production of “Beauty and the Beast” at Tucson Music Hall when she was 13.

But that view ignited in her a passion that has become a career that is bringing her back to her hometown of Tucson this week with one of Broadway’s biggest and most enduring musicals.

Scalpone, a Tucson native and 2006 graduate of Sahuaro High School, is an assistant stage manager on Disney’s “The Lion King,“ which Broadway In Tucson is bringing to Centennial Hall from Sept. 14 to Sept. 25.

“It is almost a timeless story. It’s the story about family. It’s the story about love,” said the 34-year-old, who has called New York City home for the past dozen years. “It is music that my generation, we grew up with and it’s so familiar. And then you get the spectacle of a giant elephant coming through the audience. When do you get that seeing ‘Hamilton?’”

Scalpone remembers seeing those gigantic animal puppets parading down the aisles of Tucson Music Hall when she saw her first “Lion King” back in 2006, the only time it has played Tucson. The show ran here for six weeks.

“I still remember the giraffes coming down. We were right behind the conductor and I remember the elephants coming down the aisle and I saw the giraffes,” she recalled.

Scalpone, who majored in theater production with an emphasis in stage management at the University of Arizona and interned at Juilliard, landed her first production job as a teen working backstage with The Gaslight Theatre. She also did an internship with Arizona Theatre Company and worked with Tucson’s Live Theatre Workshop.

“I got as much theatrical experience I could out of Tucson,” she said. “I love the theater and I love what I do. I never stopped.”

Scalpone, whose resume includes dozens of shows on and off Broadway and touring productions, was hired by “The Lion King” 10 days before the pandemic shut down theaters in March 2020. She sat on the sidelines for 18 months before theaters reopened about a year ago and has been on the road with the production since.

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“It’s a special musical to see and to be a part of,” she said during a phone call from the show’s stop in San Diego last week. “It’s Broadway legacy and classic Disney fun.”

Because she is a Tucson native, Scalpone will be the cast and crew’s official Old Pueblo tour guide during the show’s nearly two-week run here. In addition to showing them the UA campus, she said she will take them to North Fourth Avenue, which she said represents a big part of Tucson, and will introduce them to Eegee’s and Tucson’s plethora of Mexican food.

“I need real tortillas and cheese crisps in my life,” she said with a laugh. “I complain about Tex-Mex all the time when we’re on the road. ‘It’s not real Mexican food!’ I love Mama’s Pizza. It’s better than any pizza in New York that I’ve ever had.”

‘Lion King’ fun facts

The North American touring version of Disney’s “The Lion King” is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Here’s some crazy numbers that tell the story of the show:

9,000 performances over 227 engagements in 93 cities before 21 million theatergoers

155,890 miles driven between engagements, which amounts to enough miles to circle the Earth just over six times.

48 babies were born to cast members while they were on the road.

The words “Hakuna Matata” have been said over 223,000 times.