Theater

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

August 8, 2012
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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 […]

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Who’s your (Scar) Daddy?

July 30, 2012
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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 […]

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Greenville’s Greatest Hits

July 29, 2012
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Tweet We Hollicks left our hearts in Greenville. After the three back-to-back party cities of New Orleans, Orlando and Miami, it felt good to just slow down, surrender to a daily routine, and leisurely romance a sweet, beautiful city instead of hitting various places hard and fast. Now that I’ve sufficiently bugged you out, let […]

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The opposite of sardines

May 21, 2012
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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 […]

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The way to a cast’s heart is through their stomach

April 14, 2012
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Tweet You all know by now just how bowled over we are with the food in the restaurants here in the Big Easy. But when Creole and Cajun cuisine is made for you personally, from scratch, with love, it’s truly overwhelming. Crawfish A few weekends ago, the entire Lion King cast and crew got a […]

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Can acting save the world?

April 13, 2012
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Tweet Teaching a master class at NOCCA I love what I do. I realize I am so very fortunate. Acting is my chosen career, something that I have essentially committed my life to. I never take it for granted, but sometimes I lose perspective of the fact that this is a very unique lifestyle. You […]

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What’s a standby to do? Hakuna Matata!

April 7, 2012
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Tweet This week has been unusual for me, as I was called on to perform as Scar on Wednesday and then yesterday, on for Pumbaa. Typically, I sit pretty in the dressing room throughout the show, “on-call” for both roles. But honestly, it’s not that often I get the call. While it’s in my job […]

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Singing “Hakuna Matata” and teaching cubs to roar

March 9, 2012
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Tweet Kids love animals! Thus, they must love me. Right? I was a guest storyteller at Cartwheels & Coffee, a wonderful little place on Cary Street in Richmond, Virginia. I had a blast and I might even venture that a “wild” time was had by all! Evidently, according to the manager Mat, this was the largest […]

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The Richmond Dress Rehearsal

February 16, 2012
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Tweet 2367260377_9382af3674_o It is always a challenge to open an elaborate show like The Lion King in a new city every month.  For instance, after the show wrapped in Minneapolis on Sunday, the cast, crew and costumes had just 2-3 days to reach the next city — and some drove the long 1,200 miles to […]

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