Lion King opens on the Tahoe Valley stage

Simba, Mufasa, Scar, Nala and Rafiki and their friends have shown up in South Lake Tahoe along with dozens of other characters from the Lion King.

Tahoe Valley Elementary School's elaborate musical stage production of Disney's Lion King Kids opens Wednesday night for a two-night run, but they have already treated classmates and visiting students to early performances.

The 65 students ages 5-11 who are participating in the production are all members of the Tahoe Valley Performing Arts After-School Program under the direction of Marcia Sarosik. Allyssa Little, the LTUSD elementary band and choir director is the musical director for the show.

Several students from South Tahoe High are assisting in the production. Aurora Gooch, a junior at the school, is the assistant director, senior Sara Angelocci if the choreography assistant, and Jaynikka Arrietta did the costuming as part of her senior project. Candy Lincoln's STHS art students created the masks for the characters. Stacy and Aeris Wright helped out as well along with many other community partners through their donations of time, talents, and resources.

"We did Aladdin last year, and this year we had to do something big to bring in the community," said Little.

Shows Wednesday and Thursday night are from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and the community is invited to attend. Tickets are Adults $5.00, Children 3-18 years old $3.00 and Under 3 Free.

Dinner will be available in the cafeteria before the show from 5:00-5:45 p.m., made fresh by Simple Bliss for only $5.00

All proceeds go directly to the Tahoe Valley Performing Arts Program.