Red Bucket Follies 2024 - The Lion King

The Lion King earned the runner-up presentation title at the 2024 edition of Red Bucket Follies for “Mental,” a powerful piece that delved into the overwhelming anxiety and pain that often accompany mental illness, posing the question, “Who would prioritize me?” The resonant number was written by the show’s Mufasa, L. Steven Taylor, and directed and choreographed by cast member Ray Mercer.
Powerhouse vocal performances, stirring dances and community joy swelled inside Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre at this year’s Red Bucket Follies. The heartwarming annual variety show, performed December 9 and 10, 2024, honored 53 Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring companies that participated in the fall #RedBuckets fundraising for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
The Lion King
Fundraising coordinators: Theron Alexander, Beth Bornstein, Larry Cook, Lindiwe Dlamini,
Bongi Duma, Rose James, Christopher L. McKenzie Jr., S’bu Ngema
Mental
Directed and Choreographed by Ray Mercer
Written by L. Steven Taylor
Music: "The Search" by NF
Performed by Marquise Hitchcock, Jamaris Mitchell, Tatiana Nunez, Antonia Raye, Derrick Spear, James Vessell
Special thanks to the entire Lion King company onstage and off, the management team,
Minskoff Theatre house staff and crew, and especially those who were integral to the appeal by
giving backstage tours, holding Red Buckets and running the table
In memory of Sharron Lynn