5Q: The Lion King – Darian Sanders

The Disney juggernaut that first made its pre-Broadway world-premiere at the Orpheum Theatre in 1997 returns for a sixth time. Over nearly three decades, The Lion King remains one of the most popular stage musicals of all time, with 21 global productions seen by more than 112 million people around the world.

In his years with the North American touring production, Darian Sanders has worked his way from the ensemble to star as Simba. While he is now a Broadway actor, dancer, and singer, it didn’t always appear that was the direction his life would take. After sixteen years as a pastor and praise worshiper, Sanders was approached about a possible theater career after performing the national anthem at a basketball game.

You’ve said before that you weren’t an actor or dancer, but at some point were approached by your now-manager and now you’re living a dream. What can you tell me about your transition into theater and discovering this side of you?

It’s a dream come true that I didn’t realize was a dream. So many times we put limitations on ourselves or we don’t even fully understand the greatness that is inside of us, and it takes someone else seeing and/or speaking that over us to realize the power and the true greatness that we have lying inside!

For me, it started with my manager, Peggy, who saw a spark of magic inside of me from singing the national anthem and worked with me from the ground floor. And I’ve been encouraged by amazing Broadway veterans, like Jonathan Groff, speaking life into my artistry, and incredible choreographers and directors, like Lyndy Franklin Smith and Jeromy Smith. Lyndy and Jeromy took a chance and worked with me on perfecting my craft and catching me up to ensure that I was prepared to step into Broadway contracts, and to work onstage with Broadway performers who I thought were way out of my league, but in reality were just further along on their journeys!

The Lion King was your first big Broadway production and national tour, coming from a regional theater background. What was that change like for you?

It honestly was a very easy and simple transition! My training in regional theater started at The Lexington Theatre Company in Lexington, Kentucky with Lyndy Franklin Smith and Jeromy Smith. They created this company and trained us to become Broadway stars! When they started the company, the motto was “Today’s Broadway Stars and Tomorrow’s Broadway Hopefuls”. They treated and ran the company with the same respect and qualifications as an equity company, even with the non-equity members. So we had no choice but to correctly learn the process. The standard was set and we had to come in prepared and ready to go. It was three weeks for each show so you had to come in off-book, be able to learn everything very quickly, rehearse, set it and perform it all in that short timeframe. So when I started with The Lion King, I had four weeks to rehearse, but I learned my show in three days and was ready. That was the standard of excellence that I learned and all that I had known!

Now you’ve been part of this story for four years (with a torn meniscus and pandemic interrupting in the middle). After so much time with The Lion King, what have you learned about the show, the role, or yourself?

Consistency, resilience, and staying true to the story is key! This story has been told for over 26 years on Broadway and you don’t need to add anything to it! However, my unique perspective of me living my life gives a different feel for my Simba. So I know and understand that I can take who Darian is as a person and infuse him into the character of Simba. I also understand that my faith is very important to me, so I intertwine my faith with the culture and the history of the story in order to make my own personal and unique Simba.

This show is known for its intricate costuming and craftsmanship unlike most other productions. Having started in the ensemble before stepping into Simba’s mask full time, what is it like performing in these puppeteering-style costumes? How long does it take to get used to creating these movements?

I think the uniqueness of these iconic costumes and puppets make what we do so special. You rehearse the scenes well enough so that it’s in your body, so it becomes second nature when you start using the puppets. We ultimately want to be one with the puppets, so that ideally audiences initially see the humans who are playing these characters, but then they get lost in the storytelling and ultimately the puppet and the performer become one.

This story is one of Disney’s most iconic films. How do you approach a role like Simba, knowing the history and memories or expectations audiences have for this show?

With humility and honesty! I think there’s something to be said for a show that has been running for this long, and still sells out around the world! There’s a responsibility that I don’t take for granted, and also a beautiful weight that I get to carry to bring this character to life! We know that the theater is often an expensive excursion and a sometimes once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we don’t know whether or not it is someone’s first show that they will ever see. Each performance is special and we must strive to get better every night. We work on perfecting our craft as artists and upholding the integrity and the vision of the show, which started so many years ago and has been carried out by so many casts that came before me, and will come after me!

BONUS: Read the 5Q with Khalifa White, playing Nala in the North American tour of The Lion King, here.

The Lion King runs at the Orpheum Theatre from March 27–April 28. For more information and to purchase tickets, head to www.hennepintheatretrust.org.