Local stars to perform Disney's 'The Lion King' at Kimmel Cultural Campus in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Next week, a long-running Broadway classic is roaring into Philadelphia for the first time in eight years.

The national touring production of Disney on Broadway's "The Lion King" is coming to the Kimmel Cultural Campus for a nearly one-month run.

The show stars three cast members from the Delaware Valley.

Nick LaMedica was born and raised in Newark, Delaware. He says one night, he'll have about 150 people in the audience.

LaMedica plays "Zazu," the bird, and told 6abc's Alicia Vitarelli this is one of the musicals that inspired his career.

"'The Lion King' was the second or third Broadway show I ever saw, in 1999, when I was just a kid," LaMedica says. "I got to see a lot of the original cast and meet a lot of those folks. The fact that, 25 years later, you still see people with tears in their eyes and leaping to their feet really just speaks to how special this piece of theater continues to be."

LaMedica says this show requires more than the "triple threat" of singing, acting, and dancing. This show involves mask work and puppetry, where animals and humans become one on stage.

He gave Vitarelli a little peek into how he embodies Zazu.

"I have this gorgeous puppet to work with, this very cool hornbill," LaMedica says. "He's hand feathered, and hand maintained. It's this super fun thing that I get to do in parallel to my human performance."

LaMedica's father is "Jungle John," a Newark-based entertainer who does educational shows with animals.

He says it's "full circle" that he's touring with a theatrical production starring animals.

Next week, a long-running Broadway classic is roaring into Philadelphia for the first time in eight years.

The show also stars University of the Arts alumni Eric Bean, Jr.

Bean says his former teachers will cross Broad Street and fill the audience.

"They've all reached out to me and told me they're very excited that the show is coming and they can't wait to see me," Bean says. "I was also a member of Eleone Dance Theater, which is based in Philly. The artistic director is also excited to come and see me."

"This will be my first time actually performing on the Kimmel stage. I'm really excited for it. I really am!" he added.

Bean is a teacher, a choreographer, and an artistic director.

He's been in this touring cast for almost six years and says what they bring on the road is exactly what you see on Broadway, both on stage and behind the scenes.

"We are all backstage singing our faces off," he says. "We are live mic'd. We are also super lucky because we have our contingency of South Africans. They actually help us with the dialect and they help us properly sing in their languages. It's stellar."

Disney on Broadway's 'The Lion King' opens at the Academy of Music on August 16 and runs through September 10.

Disney is the parent company of 6abc.