Kissy Simmons is an American actress. "Kissy" is short for Kissimmee, the Floridian city near Orlando about 80 miles from Floral City where she was born. She is best known for playing Nala in the Broadway production of The Lion King and as of 2011 is reprising the role in the Las Vegas production at Mandalay Bay beginning May 5, 2009. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Simmons was state high-jump champion at Citrus High School in Florida, and attended the University of South Florida on a full track scholarship. [5] [6] She received a BA in speech communications before going on to a successful modeling and theatre career in the Tampa Bay area. [5] [6] [7] Professional credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator), Little Shop of Horrors (Ronnette) and Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris . [5] [6]
In April 2008, Simmons made her Carnegie Hall debut performing at the New York Pops 25th Annual Spring Gala. [8] Then in May 2008, along with Ashley Brown and Sierra Boggess, she performed at The New York Pops 25th Birthday Gala. [9]
Along with ten other select members of the current Lion King cast, Simmons performed September 15, 2008 at The White House for a State Dinner. The invitation came personally from The First Lady Laura Bush, who saw the show during its Kennedy Center engagement. [10] [11]
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it is inspired by William Shakespeare's Hamlet with elements from the Biblical stories of Joseph and Moses and Disney's 1942 film Bambi. The film was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff and produced by Don Hahn, from a screenplay written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Rowan Atkinson, and Robert Guillaume. Its original songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, with a score by Hans Zimmer.
Simba is a fictional character and the protagonist of Disney's The Lion King franchise. Introduced in the 1994 film The Lion King, Walt Disney Animation's 32nd animated feature, the character subsequently appears in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) and The Lion King 1½ (2004) as well as the 2019 remake of the original film. Simba was created by screenwriters Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton. While Mark Henn served as Simba's supervising animator as a cub, Ruben A. Aquino animated the character as he appears as an adult.
The Lion King is a stage musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and a book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, with additional music and lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, and Hans Zimmer. It is based on the 1994 Walt Disney Animation Studios' film of the same name. Directed by Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The show is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions.
Nala is a fictional character in Disney's The Lion King film franchise. Introduced in the animated film The Lion King (1994), Nala subsequently appears as a less prominent character in the film's sequels The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) and The Lion King 1½ (2004), and serves as a recurring character in The Lion Guard (2015–2019). In the original animated film trilogy, the adult Nala is voiced by American actress Moira Kelly. Young Nala's speaking voice in the original film is provided by actress Niketa Calame, while singers Laura Williams and Sally Dworsky provide the singing voices of young and adult Nala respectively. Nala is introduced as the daughter of an unnamed lion and Sarafina, the best friend of Simba, and ultimately becomes his wife as well as the daughter-in-law of Mufasa and Sarabi and the niece-in-law of Scar by the end of The Lion King. Nala becomes Simba’s wife as well as his Queen Consort. Nala is also Kopa, Kiara, and Kion's mother.
Gavin Lee is an English actor who has appeared on the stage in musical theatre, notably as Bert in the musical Mary Poppins, in both the West End and on Broadway, and as Squidward Tentacles in the original Broadway cast of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical.
Ashley Brown is an American singer and actress who is best known for playing the titular character in the United States national tour and Broadway productions of Mary Poppins.
"I Just Can't Wait to Be King" is a song written by Elton John (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics) for the Disney animated feature film The Lion King (1994). The song is performed by American actor and singer Jason Weaver as the singing voice of young Simba, with English actor Rowan Atkinson and American actress Laura Williams providing supporting vocals in their roles as Zazu and the singing voice of young Nala, respectively.
"A Change in Me" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Tim Rice for the musical Beauty and the Beast, a stage adaptation of Disney's 1991 animated film of the same name. The song was written specifically for American singer Toni Braxton when she joined the production to play the role of Belle in 1998, four years into the musical's run. Menken and Rice wrote "A Change in Me" to appease Braxton after Rice promised the singer, who was hesitant to sign her contract, that he would write an entirely new song for her to perform in the musical on the condition that she finally agree to play Belle.
The Little Mermaid is a stage musical produced by Disney Theatrical, based on the animated 1989 Disney film of the same name and the classic story by Hans Christian Andersen about a mermaid who dreams of the world above the sea and gives up her voice to find true love. Its book is by Doug Wright, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman, with additional lyrics by Glenn Slater. Its underwater setting and story about aquatic characters requires unusual technical designs and strategies to create gliding movements for the actors.
Emily Skinner, also known as Emily Scott Skinner, is a Tony-nominated American stage actor and singer. She has played leading roles in such Broadway productions as Prince of Broadway, The Cher Show, Side Show, Jekyll & Hyde, James Joyce's The Dead, The Full Monty, Dinner at Eight, Billy Elliot, as well as the Actor's Fund Broadway concerts of Dreamgirls and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. She has sung on concert stages around the world and on numerous recordings.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a musical play based on the 1831 novel of the same name written by Victor Hugo with songs from the 1996 Walt Disney Animation Studios film adaptation.
Samantha Jane Barks is a Manx actress and singer who rose to fame after placing third in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything in 2008. She has released three studio albums: Looking in Your Eyes (2007), Samantha Barks (2016), and Into the Unknown (2021), and made her film debut as Éponine in the Tom Hooper-directed Les Misérables in 2012. Her performance in the film won her the Empire Award for Best Female Newcomer and a shared National Board of Review Award with the film's cast.
The Lion King is a Disney media franchise comprising a film series and additional media. The success of the original 1994 American animated feature, The Lion King, directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, led to a direct-to-video sequel and midquel, a 2019 film remake, a television film sequel, two spin-off television series, three educational shorts, several video games, merchandise, and the third-longest-running musical in Broadway history, which garnered six Tony Awards including Best Musical. The franchise, led by the musical's box office at $8.1 billion, is the highest-grossing entertainment property. The franchise as a whole has EGOT-ed, meaning it has won the four biggest awards of American show business.
Diamond White is an American singer and actress. In 2012, she was a contestant on the second season of the U.S. version of The X Factor, finishing in fifth place. She voices Frankie Greene on the Discovery Family series Transformers: Rescue Bots, Fuli on the Disney Junior series The Lion Guard and has had cameo appearances on The Haunted Hathaways and Sofia the First and a recurring role on Phineas and Ferb. She also provides the voice of Babs Byuteman on the 2019 Netflix series, Pinky Malinky. In November 2020, she began on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful in the contract role of Paris Buckingham, and in 2023, she began voicing Lunella Lafayette/Moon Girl in the Disney Channel animated series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
"The Madness of King Scar" is a song written by English musician Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, which premiered in the musical The Lion King, a stage adaptation of Disney's 1994 animated film of the same name. "The Madness of King Scar" had been added to the musical along with two other songs. It is one of two tracks that more prominently features vocals from the character Nala. The title is a reference to the 1994 film The Madness of King George.
"Endless Night" is a song written by Lebo M., Hans Zimmer, Julie Taymor, and Jay Rifkin. It premiered in 1997 as part of the musical The Lion King, a stage adaptation of Disney's 1994 animated film of the same name. Mark Mancina produced the song and arranged by Mark A. Brymer. Taymor wrote the lyrics based on the melody from "Lala", a song from the 1995 soundtrack album Rhythm of the Pride Lands. Jason Raize, who first performed the role of Simba for the Broadway production, first performed and recorded "Endless Night"; his version is included on the original cast recording.
"Shadowland" is a song written by Lebo M., Hans Zimmer, and Mark Mancina for the musical The Lion King (1997), a stage adaptation of Disney's 1994 animated film of the same name. Based on the song "Lea Halalela ", a track featured on Lebo's Lion King-inspired concept album Rhythm of the Pride Lands (1995), Lebo composed the track with Zimmer, while both Lebo and Mancina contributed new lyrics to its melody. Lebo based the song's lyrics on his own experiences having been exiled from South Africa during apartheid, therefore imbuing "Shadowland" with themes about refugeeism and survival.
Jordan Samuels is an American actor, dancer, and singer.
The Lion King is a 2019 American musical drama film directed and co-produced by Jon Favreau, written by Jeff Nathanson, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Fairview Entertainment. It is a photorealistic computer-animated remake of Disney's traditionally animated 1994 film of the same name. The film stars the voices of Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Florence Kasumba, Eric André, Keegan-Michael Key, JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph, with Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, and James Earl Jones reprising his role from the original film. The plot follows Simba, a young lion who must embrace his role as the rightful king of his homeland following the murder of his father, Mufasa, at the hands of his uncle, Scar.
Kyliegh Curran is an American actress. She starred in the horror film Doctor Sleep and plays Harper on the Disney Channel mystery series Secrets of Sulphur Springs. She previously played young Nala in a Broadway production of The Lion King.