Preview: The Lion King at Broadway at the Hobby Center

When Peter Hargrave signed up for the national tour to play Scar in Disney’s The Lion King, it was the first time in his acting career that he got to play an animal.

But it was far from the first time he got to play a villain. In, fact, beginning with his role as Gaston in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast which he did years ago in community theater, it’s sort of been a specialty of his.

“It’s sort of been my lot in life [to play villains,] he says, laughing. “That’s sort of the type that has recurred in my life whether it’s on TV or on stage. .I think at it’s core I’m a very empathetic person. I try to find connections between similar adversities and pains that the characters I play carry around and then I just play those honestly as though they’re happening to me. That’s kind of the joy in playing villains, they often have these complicated backstories that makes their complicated decisions make just a little bit more sense to me. I try to play it with a lot of heart too.”

Now his bringing all those finely honed skills to Broadway at the Hobby where he and 48 other cast members will tell the Tony® award winning story of Simba and the animals of Pride Rock complete with the famous masks designed by Julie Taymor and Michael Curry. Scar, of course, is Simba’s jealous and scheming uncle who’s responsible for the death of Simba’s father Mufasa.

And in keeping with his desire to find something to either like or understand about why the character he’s playing is the way he is, Hargrave says: ” I don’t agree with what Scar did but I understand his emotional pain.” And he points out: “Scar has a lot of comedic moments.”

Hargrave was born in Oxford, Mississippi, grew up in Amarillo and saw The Lion King with his father when he was 11. Enthralled, at that moment he decided he was more than interested in theater; he wanted to be involved. And now he’s on the North American tour with the show that set him on his career path.

“For a show to last this long and to be so culturally relevant still and to have it mean so much to you personally and to be involved with that so many years later. You say it’s a dream come true but I think it’s just a miracle to take the stage each night. “

Growing up, Hargrave did community theater and when he went to Abilene Christian University his theatrical experiences accelerated. (He also met his wife Kat there who is originally from Sugar Land and now is a talent agent in New York.) After getting his BFA from Abilene Christian, he went on to get his MFA from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. In the years since, he has performed in several regional theater productions as well as television roles.

The Lion King premiered in 1997 and won Best Musical (and other awards) in the 1998 Tony’s. It has been translated into nine different languages and traveled to countries across the globe. Songs from Elton John and Tim Rice in the animated film are part of the music that also won the show the 1999 Grammy ® for Best Musical Show Album.

“The puppetry is what has made this show not only a great musical but a cultural phenomenon. And everyone has such a unique challenge to marry their human movement with their animal movement and that’s very intentional on the part of Julie Taymor and Michael Curry, our original director and puppet designers, Hargrave says.

“They leave a lot of work for both the artist and the audience to do. They want you in on the part of the creation. They leave all the wires very visible. They have something that they refer to the ‘dual event.’ You want to be looking at the animal but you also want to be looking at the human’s face that is doing the puppetry movement. That’s very intentional. It made our job as actors, dancers and singers that much easier. To have such a iconic puppetry and costume design behind our work every night,” Hargrave says.

“I have so many visual images from the show seared into my memory. It plays into this very nostalgic story that everybody loves either from the animated film or seeing the show years ago. It’s one of those incredible stories that means something different to you in your childhood than it does as an adult. It’s such a spiritual story.”

Different ages receive the show’s message in different ways, Hargrave says.

“The adversity that’s created in our show is somewhat scary [for children]. But I do think that what children experience most of all is the potential of what a life can become. To see Simba go from this prince who is sort of immature and just wanting maybe the power of being king to understanding the responsibility of it.

“We say the Circle of Life happens on stage every night and it also happens in the audience. We have the privilege of playing to a lot of people whose first show it is but we also have the privilege of playing to a lot of people who had their first theatrical experience with The Lion King and they’re bringing their child or niece and nephew or their grandchild to give the gift of the community aspect of theater and also the spectacle that is the world’s No. 1 musical. That’s an irreplaceable gift and such a privilege to be a part of every night.

Performances are scheduled for July 11 through August 4 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. at Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For more information, call 713-315-2525 or visit thehobbycenter.org or broadwayatthehobbycenter.com. $35-$140.