p>According to the Wall Street Journal, the King really is the King of Broadway.

News came down last month that Disney's The Lion King is now Broadway's all-time highest grossing show. It's a title the regal hit stole from The Phantom of the Opera. The cumulative gross is staggering: $853,846,062 and counting.

Timing of the news couldn't have come at a better time. Lion King's Tony Award-winning director, Julie Taymor, happened to be in town with producer and president of Disney Theatrical Productions President, Thomas Schumacher. They were with a small group at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville to promote the return of The Lion King to San Francisco this November as part of the SHN season at the Orpheum Theatre.