For three years in Paris, production has had a 90% occupancy rate. Deciphering a success with Laurent Bentata, the general director of Stage Entertainment.
It has become a tourist attraction almost like any other. When Stage Entertainment decides to resume “The Lion King” at the Mogador theater in 2021 – after a first showing between 2007 and 2010 – the objective is to impose the show in Paris in a unique place, remade for it, without the need for go on tour. Because the show is an expensive production. Too expensive to settle in for three evenings at the Zénith in Dijon, then four days at the Halle Tony-Garnier in Lyon. “It was never our project,” confirms Laurent Bentata, the general director of Stage Entertainment France. We knew that 'The Lion King' had been performed for twenty years in Hamburg, for ten years in Madrid. So the show could be established over time in Paris. »
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If the first results are good – 80% occupancy between 2007 and 2010 – they increase each year, to the point of displaying an insolent 90% of seats sold in the 2024 season. “There are 200 people working on the show , we do 350 shows a year, and we are currently selling 2,500 tickets a day. 'The Lion King' in Paris has 2.6 million spectators, it's pretty crazy,” says Laurent Bentata. The reasons for this success? Word of mouth first, and the power of Disney, which regularly revives its feline – the proof with Barry Jenkins' “Mufasa” at the cinema, yet another avatar of the big-eared firm. “There is also a maturity of the musical comedy market in Paris and more generally in France,” says Bentata. Now, people come from the provinces to see the show. Nearly 60% of our spectators are not Parisians. »
“We have developed a musical comedy specialty with the Florent course”
Direct consequence of this dashing success: “The Lion King” is not about to leave Mogador. “I even believe that it is time to invest in a second theater, in Paris,” smiles Laurent Bentata, “so that we can create other shows. For this, we need a venue with 1200 to 1500 seats, which does not currently exist in the capital. So we'll have to make it. » The boss of Stage Entertainment estimates that it will take him five years to achieve his dream. For now, he will program “Chicago” next year at the Casino de Paris for six months. But her ultimate dream is to finally bring “Mary Poppins” to life in Paris. “There were two attempts that were unsuccessful. The first time, the casting was not validated by Cameron Mackintosh, who owns the rights to the show with Disney. We didn't make it to the end of the second try. But I hope the third one will be good. »
Laurent Bentata is also delighted to have trained most of the actors and singers who shine on Parisian stages. “Many of the artists currently performing in Les Misérables learned their trade with us. We have developed a musical comedy specialty with the Florent course which is now a bit of a school. » Nothing seems to be able to dethrone “The Lion King”, despite active competition from “Hatred”, “Les Misérables” or “Hello, Dolly!” ” Right now. “I have always thought that the profusion of shows was not counterproductive, but, on the contrary, stimulating for all of us.” The attendance figures for both – “Les Misérables” are complete – prove it. “But ‘The Lion King’ is about to become an institution,” concludes Laurent Bentata, ready to roar…
“The Lion King”, at the Mogador theater.
© DR
“Chicago”, at the Casino de Paris, from November 13, 2025.
© DR
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