Benjamin Scheuer's The Lion Announces Search for New Leading Player

Writer-performer Benjamin Scheuer will retire from his Drama Desk Award-winning solo musical The Lion, producers have announced, and the show is currently searching for a new leading man.

Scheuer will play his final performance on February 19, 2017, at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. The ongoing national tour will continue from there, and the show is accepting video submissions for the new "Ben." Singer-guitarists can email video clips of themselves playing the song "Cookie-Tin Banjo" to TheLionCasting@gmail.com. Sheet music can be downloaded here. The production encourages people of any gender, age, and race to apply.

Directed by Sean Daniels, The Lion is a story of love, loss, family loyalty, and the power of music. It looks back on Scheuer's youth, his verbally abusive father, and his diagnosis with cancer while in his 20s. Scheuer, the recipient of the 2013 ASCAP Cole Porter Songwriting Award, is the leader of the band Escapist Papers.

The creative team for The Lion includes Neil Patel (scenic design), Jennifer Caprio (costume consultant), Ben Stanton (lighting design), and Leon Rothenberg (sound design).

The show is currently in residence at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., where it closes April 10.

For tickets and more information, click here.