Go behind the scenes of The Lion King on Broadway with Faith Musembi, director of NatGeo's 'Lion'

NEW YORK -- For Kenyan-native Faith Musembi, finding inspiration in the natural world around her comes as second nature - it's no surprise then that working as a director and producer on National Geographic's "Lion" felt like the opportunity of a lifetime.

To celebrate the recent premiere of "Lion," Musembi stepped behind the curtain of Disney's The Lion King on Broadway to explore lions in a different light - and learn about how the magic of these majestic creatures is celebrated through stagecraft, dance and theater.

"Lion" is a four-part series telling the story of lion cub Kio and his journey to becoming king and is executive produced by Disney Legend and "The Lion King" director Jon Favreau alongside BBC Studios Natural History Unit executive producer Mike Gunton.

"It's a story of loss, it's a tale of finding your own place in the grand circle of life," Musembi says. "And the similarities to Simba's story [in The Lion King] were not lost on us."

At New York City's Minskoff Theater, Musembi first met Lynda White, Head of Puppets, and was able to get up close with the production's incredible collection of masks and learn about how they were inspired by real-life lions.

Up next, Musembi headed to meet with Ruthlyn Salomons, Resident Dance Supervisor, to learn a dance performed by the show's revered lionesses.

"When it came to making this dance our choreographer, Garth Fagan, he makes the women look regal and dangerous," Salomons explains, to echo the real motives and behaviors of female lions in the wild.

Finally, Musembi sat down with actors Pearl Khwezi and Mduduzi Madela, who play Nala and Simba, respectively.

Discussing the power of performing songs in native South African languages, Khwezi says, "it's really beautiful to know the world can share in our music and our stories."

"It's such a joy to get to work on the real-life equivalent," Musembi adds. "I want to make people that joy that you feel when people watch The Lion King on Broadway and I hope they'll feel [it] when they watch National Geographic's 'Lion.'"

"Lion" is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Watch The Lion King on Broadway and on tour across the U.S.

Explore the "Lion" activity packet here.

Learn more about Disney's "Protect the Pride" conservation efforts here.

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