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Sport Science teams up with ‘The Lion King on Broadway’ for three-part series
The series showcases the daily physical demands of ‘The Lion King’ ensemble
What do you get when you mix The Lion King and Sport Science? Hakuna Matata.
In celebration of the show’s upcoming 20th anniversary in 2017, Sport Science teamed up with the Disney Theatrical Group to develop a three-part video series that showcases the athleticism and physical demands required of The Lion King on Broadway cast, which performs eight shows over the course of six days per week.
The first video, which was released Tuesday, highlights the stamina of The Lion King ensemble. The clip follows Lion King on Broadway cast member India Bolds, who over the course of the 2 1/2-hour show plays a staggering nine different characters and makes 14 costume changes.
Sport Science unveils some head-turning details about the overall fitness of the show’s dancers, which includes the fact that dancers have an aerobic capacity of elite soccer players. The group also found that Bolds covered a distance of 2.68 miles during the show, toppling the average of last year’s NBA MVP Stephen Curry.
The Lion King on Broadway, which is the third longest-running Broadway musical behind Chicago and The Phantom of the Opera, first debuted on Nov. 13, 1997. The series’ second video on biomechanics is scheduled to be released on Friday and the third video on reaction and recognition will run on Dec. 12.