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Me in front of the lion king wall!
Me in front of the lion king wall!
Original photo by Ashley Bejar
Culture > Entertainment

‘The Lion King’: My First Time Seeing A Broadway Musical

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Conn chapter.

As I write this, we are one day away from the anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdown, a crazy time in our lives that really affected us in many ways. I would say for most of us, we were in school, and what we thought would be two weeks off turned into schools shutting down for months. And so, we had a lot of time to discover things about ourselves…

For me, I discovered my love for musicals! My first musical, and my current favorite, was Hamilton, and I became so obsessed with it! I have a canvas poster board of it, and it has followed me throughout the years and in college. Since then, I have discovered many more musicals, and it inspired me to join a drama/theater club at my school! I have been in plays and musicals, my favorite being Heathers.

My dream was to always see a Broadway musical in New York City, and thanks to UConn SUBOG, a group of UConn students got to see a show of The Lion King musical!

lion king musical ad on times square
Original photo by Ashley Bejar

After a long, two-and-a-half-hour bus ride from Storrs, CT to New York City, we had a few minutes to explore. Right in the heart of the city, Times Square was bustling with people, and where the Minskoff Theatre was located for the show.

I absolutely adore New York City, and the fact that I was seeing a Broadway show in the city I love, I couldn’t be happier.

lion king musical tickets
Original photo by Ashley Bejar

I went with some friends, and we all had a great time! It was so chaotic getting to the theatre, but it was an experience I’ll never forget. Of course, I’ll be keeping my ticket and cherishing it forever!

3 lion king musical playbills
Original photo by Ashley Bejar

We sat in the middle of the mezzanine, and it was such a good view! I always wanted to have a Broadway playbill, and now that I finally have one, I’m totally putting it on display in my room.

Unsurprisingly, I cried within the first five minutes of the show starting. Hearing “The Circle of Life” with live singers, dancers, and music as a theater kid made me so emotional. It was truly an unforgettable experience. It only got better from there: the old songs from the movies made me nostalgic whereas the new songs added made me ecstatic.

Since birth, I have grown up with the Lion King movies (yes, the one and a half movie too). It’s my dad’s favorite Disney movie, and even to this day, he still rewatches the movies. Trust me when I say, seeing The Lion King musical was a dream come true, and I’m glad it was my first Broadway musical.

Ashley Bejar writes fun and informative articles for the Her Campus chapter at UConn! She is from Bridgeport, CT and comes from an all-Peruvian family. Ashley is currently a junior, first-gen, psychology and human development & family sciences double major at the University of Connecticut in the honors program! Aside from writing articles, Ashley is involved in numerous clubs and organizations. She is an avid KPOP listener, loves to learn the choreographies, and is a member of the UConn KPOP group Seoular. She loves to work a lot with children as well. In the future, she hopes to be a child psychologist/therapist! On campus activities include community outreach (specifically with children), acting in plays & musicals for UConn Dramatic Paws, and working as research assistant for two psychology programs!