Aaron Nelson is happiest when his wife and two children, ages ten and five, accompany him on the road, something they did for many years. With his most recent tour of Disney’s The Lion King, Nelson is traveling alone.
“The kids begged me to go to school at home. They wanted to have friends,” he says. “This is the first time in seven years they are at home, trying school. It’s really hard to be without them, but I have to honor them. We are giving it a try. I try to go home every other week. If I can, I go home between cities.”
Nelson, who played Simba in the show on Broadway, joined the touring production in 2015. Nelson also played Simba in 2016 when the show had a three-week stint in Richmond. This time around, when the show opens at Altria Theater on March 9, he is part of the ensemble and understudy for the roles of Simba and Mufasa.
“When I am doing Simba, I get to live out so many different aspects of myself and go through joy and sorrow. In the second act, I get to tell a complex and honest story. It’s therapeutic. It’s a way to bring truth to the stage,” he says.
He also enjoys being part of the ensemble and understudying the roles of Simba and Mufasa. “It gives me another layer of stage experience,” he says. “When I do Mufasa, I am coming from a place of honesty because I’ve taken that road as a father. It’s a circle of life moment for me. When I played Simba, I never got the pleasure of going through the audience with The Circle of Life. I like the energy of walking through the audience. It’s an amazing experience.”
From the Audience to the Stage
Coincidentally, it was seeing The Lion King that sparked Nelson’s interest in acting. “I saw the show in Chicago, my hometown, when I was fifteen. I just wanted to be Simba. I thought the role would be extremely cool. That set my path to where I am now,” he says.
Married nine years this July, Nelson likes touring, especially when his family travels with him.
“I started the tour by myself. For me personally, I am a family guy at heart. My family is a grounding tool for me. It hurt my heart. I asked my wife if she would go on tour, and she said yes,” he says. “She and my son started the tour before my daughter was born. I needed my family around at that time.”
When they are touring, Nelson and his family drive to each city. “We pack up and go,” he says.
Touring offers the family the chance to see different cities and different sites. “We are big food people. We always find the best restaurants to visit. We also visit a lot of museums and aquarium. We immerse ourselves in the city.”
Because The Lion King has long runs in most cities, the family is able to “live like a local for about a month,” Nelson says. “We get to see the connective tissue of our country. We like to see the historical aspects of a city.”
He also recognizes the importance of having roots and a hometown. “You can make a home on the road, but there is nothing like being in the same place. There’s something very anchoring about that,” he says.
One thing that’s obvious is the impression his career has made on his children. “My daughter loves seeing the makeup and she loves to watch Disney+. My son wants to be an animator or an artist. That’s more of his lane right now.”
And, while he’s happy to see them test the waters, so to speak, he makes it clear that he never wants to “force the business on them,” he says. “I will always nurture what they choose to do.”
Disney’s The Lion King plays Altria Theater March 9 through March 20. Visit Broadway in Richmond or Altria Theater for tickets and information.
