Jeremy Noel ’21 has paced the floors of countless hotels across the country, sometimes late into the night. But he’s not an insomniac; he’s just coming down from the high of performing in the national touring cast of The Lion King.
On a lion’s share of nights for the past three years, Noel has been in the male singer ensemble or serving as “deep cover,” singing with Rafiki in “Circle of Life.” But as the understudy for Simba, some nights he also gets the opportunity to play the role he knows he was always meant to play in a musical he has always adored. He is not exactly where he wants to be just yet, but he is close—working hard and happier than ever. The Lion King is literally a childhood dream come true and a family affair. His niece is even named Nala, after a character in the original film.
“It was the first cartoon that really had an impact on me. I remember singing the songs, doing all of the movements, and just walking around the house like a lion,” he said. “My whole life, I’ve loved that movie and story—just everything about it. When I went to Disney, that was the one thing I wanted to go see, the Lion King performance.”
But like Simba in the film, he was going to have to be patient. “I told myself, I am definitely going to be Simba one day,” he recalled.
After spending four years at IC in what is now the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, that day happened when he emerged from his pandemic-altered senior year and landed a role in his dream show. And he got his first glimpse at all it entailed. “Once I started and realized, for example, that I was going to be inside an elephant controlling the trunk, I was like, whoooaaa,” he said. “And now I see the audience be wowed and completely in awe every single night, which is a beautiful thing.”