When tour of record-breaking 'Lion King' hits OKC, it'll have an OCU alum in the cast

Isaiah Bailey is finding his place in one of the most successful and storied circles in music theater history.

"During 'Circle of Life,' you literally feel the excitement as we're starting it in the audience. Their emotion, you can just feel it. ... That just brings me so much joy every day," he said.

"That feeling of walking down that aisle every night is just so spectacular. ... It moves me every time."

The Oklahoma City University alumnus in January joined the national touring company of Disney's "The Lion King," and to his even greater joy, the most successful musical of all time is returning by popular demand to OKC for a May 12-29 run at Civic Center Music Hall.

"You have no idea how excited I am to be back. Oklahoma City is truly my second home," he told The Oklahoman in a recent phone interview from the road. "So, I am already trying to get rest because I know that I'm going to be trying to do all of the things while I'm there."

OKC Broadway continues COVID comeback season with Disney smash

As OKC Broadway — the local presenter of nationally touring Broadway shows — winds down its 2021-2022 COVID-19 comeback season, it's bringing Disney's "The Lion King" back to OKC for its third reign at the Civic Center.

Seen by more than 100 million people around the world, the long-running adaptation of the beloved 1994 animated film previously made wildly popular stops in Oklahoma City in 2017 and 2009.

The winner of six Tony Awards, including best musical, "The Lion King" has been a blockbuster since it debuted on Broadway on Nov. 13, 1997, eventually seizing and holding the crown as the biggest box-office hit of all time in any medium.

'Lion King' roams back to OKC on 20th anniversary tour

The reigning song-and-dance extravaganza not only will celebrate its 25th anniversary on Broadway this fall, but it also marked the 20th anniversary of its North American tour in April in Wichita, Kansas.

"The allegory of The Lion King is more relevant today than ever, a testament to the extraordinary creative power of Julie Taymor and her remarkable team of collaborators," said Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, in a statement.

"The heart of this show is and always has been human — from stage managers to musicians to technical crew and actors. What I cherish most is that this simple but poignant tale, which touches thousands every day across North America, is brought to life by a small group of dedicated and inspiring people. We salute them."

Since launching in April 2002 in Denver, Colorado, "The Lion King's" North American touring productions have played more than 9,000 performances in nearly 100 cities for an audience of 21 million-plus theatergoers.

"The legacy of the show comes with so much blood, sweat and tears — and detail and care. ... We have some costume pieces that are made overseas that we have to wait sometimes for them to be shipped because they're hand-stitched," Bailey said.

"From the moment that you walk into the theater to the end, they want you to feel that you are in the Pride Lands. They want nothing to be distracting to make you come out of the story. So, the attention to detail — from the costumes to the set, to the actors, to the makeup to everything — is so strategic and planned out to keep everybody within the story at all times."

Performer returning to life-changing Oklahoma stage

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Bailey started at OCU in 2010 and made his debut on the Civic Center stage in Lyric Theatre's 2011 production of "Ragtime." Over the next few years, he performed in several Lyric shows, including "Dreamgirls," "Big Fish," "Les Miserables," "Big River" and "Tarzan."

"That's where it really got started for me. I was not planning to go into musical theater. I was going the opera route when I first came to Oklahoma City, but through Lyric, musical theater was open to me. And that's what I've been doing professionally for the last seven, eight years," said Bailey, who was part of the cast of the national tour of "Beautiful — The Carole King Musical" before joining "The Lion King."

While he was at OCU, Bailey got the chance to sing at the opening of the Devon Tower, perform for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor and back up Broadway legend Patti LuPone when she performed an Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre concert. He often sang at St. Luke's United Methodist Church when he lived in OKC, and when he comes back to the Sooner State, he typically visits there.

Pie Junkie, Big Truck Tacos and the burgeoning Uptown 23rd District near his alma mater also are on his to-do list when "The Lion King" tour roars into OKC.

"The relationships that I created in Oklahoma City have really opened many doors for me," Bailey said, adding that fellow OCU alumnus Christin Byrdsong is a swing on "The Lion King" national tour.

"I'm really excited to share Oklahoma City with my friends from the tour."

Costumes help cast get into 'Lion King's' animal roles

As a member of the tour's ensemble, Bailey portrays a wildebeest, a hyena and even a patch of grass. He's also the understudy for the original "Lion King," the noble Mufasa.

He credited Taymor's visionary direction and costume design — she won Tonys for both —with helping the actors get into their creature characters.

"You have your research — you can go to YouTube ... to watch how animals move — but because all the lions have a some form of head on top of their costume, it's so regal. ... Wearing that just causes your posture to rise up a little bit in a royal way," he said.

"The hyena costume is also one of those that because of how it is built, you just automatically have to be a hyena. We wear a harness underneath the costume and the harness has the head on it. So, we have to bend over for the head to look like a hyena. ... We also have these legs attached to the costume that we have to hold. So, holding those makes us crouch over, which makes us look like a hyena. So, a lot of these costumes were brilliantly thought out."

The show uses elaborate puppets, masks, stilts, kites, headpieces and costumes to bring to life a menagerie of African animals, especially during the iconic opening number.

"When you are experiencing the call at the beginning of 'Circle of Life,' it hits you in your soul. It's like, 'Oh, my gosh, we're actually here; this is actually happening.' So, it really inspires people," Bailey said.

"We are part of a legacy — this show is a legacy."

DISNEY's 'THE LION KING'

When: May 12-29.

Where: Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N Walker.

Tickets and information: https://www.okcbroadway.com.

NEXT UP FOR OKC BROADWAY

OKC Broadway will close its 2021-2022 COVID-19 comeback season with the screen-to-stage adaptation "Pretty Woman: The Musical" Aug. 16-21 at the Civic Center. Its 2022-2023 season will open with "Hairspray" Sept. 6-11. For tickets and information, go to https://www.okcbroadway.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OCU alum returns to life-changing OKC stage with Disney's 'Lion King'