Join the adventure and experience the rich array of artistry behind the great performances on stage at the Kennedy Center.

Gain insight into the magic and artistry of the Tony Award–winning sensation. Produced by Performance Plus™ and moderated by Scot Reese, faculty member of the University of Maryland Theater Department.

Lion King

Timothy Carter
Scar

Timothy is a native of Lexington, Kentucky. His credits include The Three Musketeers and Macbeth with The Acting Company; King Lear, As You Like It, and Julius Caesar at Colorado Shakespeare Festival; Richard III and Merry Wives of Windsor at Nebraska Shakespeare Festival; and Hay Fever at Westport Country Playhouse. MFA, Brandeis University.

Ben Lipitz
Pumbaa

Ben's stage credits include Red, Hot and Blue (Goodspeed Opera, Papermill Playhouse); Just So (Goodspeed Opera); ART; Dirty Blonde; Laughter on the 23rd Floor; Forum; Cleveland Playhouse, the Kennedy Center, Walnut Street Theatre. TV: The Sopranos, Law & Order, 100 Centre St., Homicide. Film: The Giraffe and Find Me Guilty (with Vin Diesel). Member of The Actors' Studio.

Mark Shunock
Timon

Mark's credits include Romance (Mark Taper Forum), Beauty and the Beast (Place Des Arts), Princess Turandot (Westport Country Playhouse), The Skin Of Our Teeth, Howie The Rookie (Williamstown Theatre Festival), and Lovelace: The Musical (Revelation Theatre Co.).

Louis Troisi
Associate Mask & Puppet Designer

Louis has designed puppets for The Golden Circle (Atlantis Hotel, Bahamas), Transference (Mercury Theatre, Chicago), Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey Two plant designer, various productions); World-renowned Paper Bag Players, designer. His set design credits include Little Shop of Horrors, Grease, Psycho Beach Party, and Equus. Costume design includes The Baltimore Waltz and The Diviners. Louis is proud to be a founding member and co-artistic director of The Collaborative Arts Project (CAP), along with being instrumental in founding a grass roots arts movement, which saved one of our nation's most beautiful historic movie palaces: The Loews Theatre (Jersey City), built in 1929. He is the proud recipient of the "Congressional Recognition Award" for his services to the arts and theater community.

Dan'yelle Williamson
Nala

Dan’yelle Williamson is a native of Tampa, FL. She graduated from The Boston Conservatory, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Recently seen in Wicked in Chicago (u/s Elphaba).

Scot Reese
Moderator

Scot is an associate professor at the University of Maryland, College Park whose focus is Black theater, directing, and musical theater. His theater credits include productions from Los Angeles to New York. Television credits include daytime dramas, situation comedies, variety specials, commercials, and an Emmy Award for individual achievement in performance. Most recent productions include Electra at the University of Maryland, Barefoot in the Park at Los Angeles Theatreworks, Crumbs From the Table of Joy at the Round House Theatre, A Raisin in the Sun at Olney Theatre Center, and Bells Are Ringing and Purlie at the Kennedy Center.