Behind The Scenes

Family dinner at home in Albuquerque

October 18, 2012
Share

Tweet This is sort of a typical family dinner in our Albuquerque household. Usually post-show, around 10:30-11 pm, Nick, Conwell, Tony and I arrive home and fix a snack on our own to wind down. On this particular evening, Ang Top Chef’ed her way through our freezer and fridge and made a simple, delicious dinner […]

Read the full article →

Another Pumbaa sighting

October 15, 2012
Share

Tweet The life of a standby in The Lion King is feast or famine. Sometimes if an actor I’m covering gets injured or sick, I could be on for up to a few days while he recovers. But that hasn’t really happened in the past few months. I usually know about their vacations in advance […]

Read the full article →

BACKSTAGE BANTER: Meet MUFASA!
Actor Dionne Randolph as you’ve never seen him

September 28, 2012
Share

Tweet You think you know the Big Daddy of the Pride Lands… but you don’t. Dionne Randolph is the longest continuous running Mufasa that Disney has employed, and at nine years with The Lion King, he is one of the most veteran on the Gazelle tour. The beefcake actor with the silky, heartbreaking voice who […]

Read the full article →

Backstage ghosts at The Fabulous Fox Theater

September 2, 2012
Share

Tweet One of the coolest things about touring is working in different theaters all over the country. All have their own identity, and The Fabulous Fox in St. Louis is worthy of its name. Interior of The Fabulous Fox But as beautiful and ornate as the front of the house is, the real magic is […]

Read the full article →

BACKSTAGE BANTER: Rob Parks, ensemble singer & Simba/Ed understudy

August 8, 2012
Share

Tweet Michigan native and opera-trained vocalist Rob Parks has performed with The Lion King Gazelle Tour for over 2 years, singing as part of the ensemble, ambling down the aisles as the Rhino, and understudying two principal roles: Simba and Ed the Hyena. Although he’s taken the stage as the young King of the Pridelands […]

Read the full article →

Pumbaa in the hizzouse

August 6, 2012
Share

Tweet This past week Ben Lipitz was on vacation, so I got to play Pumbaa and goof off with my good buddy Nick Cordileone (Timon) onstage and off. Nick took some cool shots of our day yesterday! Here are our costumes, ready for wear: Image 8 During our down time and between shows on a […]

Read the full article →

Who’s your (Scar) Daddy?

July 30, 2012
Share

Tweet Two years ago, my son met his dad for the first time in a most unconventional, dramatic way. Because Max decided to exit the womb almost 2 months early, he caught Mike flat-footed on Pride Rock. My water broke right before Mike was to take the stage as Scar in The Lion King at […]

Read the full article →

The opposite of sardines

May 21, 2012
Share

Tweet When I asked my esteemed colleague Tony Freeman (standby for Timon, Zazu, Pumbaa and Scar) what the title of this post should be, he answered, ”What’s the opposite of sardines?” I guess that about sums it up. IMG_6315 Every city where The Lion King lands, the dressing room situation varies. It all depends, of […]

Read the full article →

The strange scene at home

May 11, 2012
Share

Tweet When you live with Lion King theater actors, you never know what you will see when you come home. (In the previous Hollick case, titled “The Great Max Birth of 2010”, Mike was the one that showed up all crazy — at the hospital.) We’re sharing our Orlando house with Nick Cordileone (he plays […]

Read the full article →

The Great Orlando Escapade

April 30, 2012
Share

Tweet Wow.  We are rounding out 2 weeks in Orlando and no posts. Why the silence? What happened to the Hollicks? Let me explain.  We have been busy. Busy having fun! You see, we are sharing a nice big house in Davenport, Florida, outside of Orlando with Nick Cordileone (Timon), his ten-year-old daughter Hero, and […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →