A giant sized picture of Mufasa, Simba's father from The Lion King, hangs outside The New Amsterdam Theater. Mufasa is the leader of the pride in the story and on Broadway where The Lion King is the leader of Broadway musicals. HarlemLive was able to catch cast member Ron Kunene for a brief interview.

Ron Kunene was the first person we interviewed. In addition to his role in The Lion King, he's also a Ph.D. student at U.C.L.A studying history. He says it is a thrilling experience to work with people, because there is so much culture in this musical. Mr. Kunene has been with The Lion King since it began, he plays a hayena and "plant". He says it's a beautiful experience to see the different pieces of the musical come together the way it did. He says it's a nice experience to have the African language, music, art all in one together. There are themes in the show that are African, like the medicine man or "Rafiki" in the show. It's so nice to see people understanding the role of Rafiki. Mr. Kunene, who was also in the big hit, "Sarafina". He says the experience was different from drama and acting, he didn't have to work with puppets. In the Lion King, he has to work with puppets, singing and dancing, so it is a challenge and a thrilling experience.

Mr. Kunene is fluent in Zulu and has also worked as a dialect coach for Danny Glover on the audio book, Long Walk to Freedom by Mandela. Mr. Mandela has a major role in his life because he showed him and his people that there was hope for freedom and to succeed in life despite the color of their skin.

He doesn't know how long the Lion King will go on, but he says that "He will be a part of the Lion King till the until", meaning he will be there until the Lion King is completely over.

Mr. Kunene's advice to kids about acting is that "where there is a will, there is a way."