Upcoming The Lion King dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
Aisle first, center second: the Lion King seat rule
The best seat for The Lion King at the Minskoff Theatre is an orchestra aisle seat, and that choice beats a center seat a few rows closer. During the opening number, "Circle of Life," performers and life-size animal puppets walk down the orchestra aisles toward the stage. From an aisle you are within arm's length of them. From the middle of a long row, you watch the parade go by somewhere to your left or right.
If an orchestra aisle is not available, take the front center mezzanine. It gives the whole stage picture, and the slope lets children see over the row ahead.
- Top pick: orchestra aisle seats, any reasonable row.
- Best full-stage view: front center mezzanine.
- Smart savings: middle and rear center orchestra.
- Avoid if possible: extreme sides and the last mezzanine rows.
How the Minskoff is laid out
The Minskoff is not at street level. It occupies the third floor of One Astor Plaza at 1515 Broadway, between 44th and 45th Streets, and you ride escalators up from the arcade to reach the lobby. It opened in 1973, and it was the first Broadway theater built to be fully wheelchair accessible.
Inside are about 1,710 seats on two levels.
The orchestra
The orchestra is large and steeply raked (sloped upward from the stage), so rows well back still see clearly. It uses continental seating, meaning long rows with no center aisle. Some rows run as many as 52 seats between exits. That matters for families: a seat deep in the middle of a row is slow to reach, and slipping out with a restless child mid-act is awkward.
The mezzanine
The mezzanine above is smaller. Its first rows look straight at the stage and take in the big ensemble scenes, the bird kites and the stampede as complete pictures. The view narrows and the stage recedes as you climb toward the back and out to the sides.
Matching seats to your group
Young children
An orchestra aisle gives the close-up puppet moment and an easy exit. If you want a guaranteed clear view over adult heads, the front center mezzanine is the safer choice.
First-time adult visitors
Center orchestra from the middle rows back gives a balanced view, thanks to the steep rake, and usually costs less than the front section.
Repeat visitors
The front mezzanine shows Julie Taymor's staging as a full design, with patterns you miss from down front.
Budget-minded groups
Middle rows of the center mezzanine keep a good angle at a lower price than the orchestra. Save the far sides and the last mezzanine rows for when nothing else fits.
Length, age guidance and the scary parts
Plan on about 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one intermission. The show is suggested for ages 6 and up. As of 2026, published guidance says children under 4 are not admitted on Broadway, and every guest needs a ticket regardless of age. Confirm the current policy on the show's own site before you book for a preschooler.
The stage story tracks the 1994 film closely, so the intense moments are the familiar ones: the wildebeest stampede, Mufasa's death and the menacing hyenas. Children who already know the movie handle them well. Some passages are loud, which can bother toddlers more than older kids. Arrive with time to spare for the escalators, because the opening is the moment everyone came for.
Family calendar and when seats go first
School breaks drive demand for this show more than anything else, because so much of the audience is families and visitors.
- Heaviest weeks: Thanksgiving, Christmas through New Year's, Presidents' Day week, spring break and summer weekends.
- Consistently busy: weekend matinees throughout the year.
- Most choice: weekday evenings in late January, February, September and October.
Orchestra aisle seats are the first to disappear, for the procession reason above. If the close-up matters to your group, lock in those seats before you worry about anything else. Reserved Seat orders ship free.
If you are seeing the touring company
The North American touring production carries the same masks, puppets and costumes. Each hall is shaped differently, though, so the opening procession may use different aisles or none in a given house. Do not pay extra for a specific aisle on tour unless you know how that venue stages it.
Touring halls are usually bigger than the Minskoff, often with two or three balconies. In a deep hall, the first balcony frequently beats the back of the orchestra, while the top balcony can feel far away for small children. Opening and closing weekends of a tour stop tend to be the busiest.
From Minneapolis to the longest-grossing run
Disney's stage version premiered at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis in July 1997, then opened on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theater on November 13, 1997. It moved to the Minskoff in 2006. Taymor directed and designed the costumes, and her approach shows both the animal and the performer at once: masks worn above the face, giant hollow puppets and giraffes on stilts.
Elton John and Tim Rice wrote the film songs, with added music by Lebo M, Hans Zimmer, Mark Mancina and Jay Rifkin. Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi wrote the book.
- Tony Awards: six, including Best Musical. Taymor became the first woman to win the Tony for directing a musical.
- Records: Broadway's third-longest-running show, with more than 11,000 performances, and its highest-grossing production. Productions worldwide have grossed more than eleven billion dollars.
- Tours: the Gazelle tour ran 2002 to 2017, the Cheetah tour 2003 to 2008, and the Rafiki tour launched in October 2017.
- London: the West End production has also passed 10,000 performances.
For families planning a New York trip, it pairs naturally with Wicked, Hamilton, MJ the Musical, Disney on Ice or the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
Frequently asked questions
Which seats see the animals up close in The Lion King?
Orchestra aisle seats. Performers and puppets enter through the orchestra aisles during Circle of Life, so an aisle puts you a few feet from them.
Is the front mezzanine good for kids at The Lion King?
Yes. The front center mezzanine shows the whole stage, and the slope lets children see over the row in front, though you miss the procession up close.
Why are center orchestra seats awkward at the Minskoff Theatre?
The orchestra uses continental seating with no center aisle, and some rows run up to 52 seats between exits, so center seats are slow to reach and hard to leave mid-show.
How old should a child be to see The Lion King?
The show is suggested for ages 6 and up. Very young children are not admitted on Broadway, and every guest needs a ticket, so check the current age policy before you buy.
Where is the Minskoff Theatre?
On the third floor of One Astor Plaza at 1515 Broadway, between 44th and 45th Streets, reached by escalators from the street.