Actors in Ghostlight Productions’ upcoming Sequim show “The Lion King Jr.” say its soundtrack and story sound and feel as timeless as ever.

“It still has all the great music and stuff in it that makes it so great,” said Hayden Rayburn, who plays adult lion Simba.

The show runs Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 27 in the Sequim High School Auditorium, 533 N. Sequim Ave., with showtimes at 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, July 18-19 and 25-26, and at 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 19-20 and 26-27. Tickets are available online at ghostlightwa.org, or at the door.

Whether you’ve seen the original 1994 Disney animated movie, its 2019 remake, and/or the Broadway show, actors and showrunners say the “Junior” version is fairly similar with some fun musical, story and staging differences.

“The Lion King Jr.” travels to the Pride Lands of Africa where Simba (played by Rayburn as an adult and Daniel Pereira as a child) is destined to become king after his father Mufasa (Caeden Emmons). However, Scar (Caleb Crawford) seeks to take over through manipulation, mind tricks and murder.

Simba encounters some colorful characters, such as Timon (Trinity Devlin) and Pumbaa (Abyssinia Jefferson), sings some memorable songs and finds his courage to push forward.

“If you’ve only seen the movies, then this will be a new experience for you,” said show director Cecie Gonzalez McClelland.

“The Lion King Jr.” incorporates songs from the Broadway stage production into the show along with the classics from Elton John and Tim Rice, such as “Circle of Life,” “I Just Can’t Wait to be King,” “Hakuna Matata,” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?”

Crawford, who has seen the Broadway show in New York, said the new songs included in the stage and “Junior” versions are some of his favorite songs in the whole show now.

“As we’ve worked with it, it’s grown on me, and I like knowing the meaning behind some of these words that we’ve learned as we’ve gone through this production,” Crawford said.

For casting, he purposefully put his name in for being the bad guy Scar.

“There were tons of amazing songs, and I had to choose one and “Be Prepared” and all of his iconic lines won me over,” he said.

While Scar is dark and scary with sad events at different moments in the show, Rayburn said writers did a great job at contrasting moods.

“It’s a children’s show, but it does get dark at certain points, but it does balance it out with happy and good-feeling moments,” he said.

Some feel-good songs he mentioned include “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” and “Hakuna Matata.”

Production

Auditions for the musical were held in early May and rehearsals began later that month, Gonzalez McClelland said.

She leads the show alongside Music Director Morgan Bartholick-Lemaire, Choreographer Anna Pederson, Scenic and Lighting Designer Mark Lorentzen, and Makeup Designer Olivia Wray.

Gonzalez McClelland said “The Lion King” holds a special place in her life dating back to seeing the original movie as a teen with her 5-year-old brother and experiencing his awe of the movie and the magic it brought.

She said it’s continued to pop up through her life, including in a jungle theme in her children’s nursery, and now directing the musical, her first children’s production in 15 years.

“It became a wonderful dream come true,” Gonzalez McClelland said.

Working on the show, she said she’s never had so many supportive parents before, and the cast has meshed so well together, particularly with a mix of students from Port Angeles and Sequim.

Showrunners note the show is about an hour long with an approximate 15-minute admission.

For more information about this and other Ghostlight Productions events and shows, visit ghostlightwa.org,

“The Lion King Jr.”

Presented by Ghostlight Productions

Sequim High School Auditorium, 533 N. Sequim Ave.

7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, July 18-19, 25-26;

2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, July 19-20, 26-27

Tickets Available online at ghostlightwa.org, or at the show’s door

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Actresses Cecelia Pereira (in pink band) and Gemma Himmelman ready their lioness makeup for a dress rehearsal for “The Lion King Jr.” at Sequim High School. Pereira plays Adult Nala while Himmelman Sarafina, her mother in the show. Find tickets for the show, which runs from July 18-27, at ghostlightwa.org.