Billy Eichner is finally getting to live out his childhood dream of a being in a major stage musical.
The “Bros” star is making his Hollywood Bowl singing debut this weekend during “The Lion King‘s” 30th anniversary live-to-film concert.
“We just had our first official rehearsal all together this morning,” Eichner told me Wednesday afternoon. “The scope and size of it really knocked me out. If I can get through it, I think it’s going to be really fun.”
Eichner, who played Timon in the 2019 “Lion King” remake and reprises the role in the upcoming prequel film “Mufasa: The Lion King,” isn’t allowed to say what he’ll be performing. But it has already been announced that the two-night run — May 24 and 25 — will also feature “Lion King” veterans Nathan Lane, Jeremy Irons, Ernie Sabella, Heather Headley, Lebo M and Jason Weaver, as well as EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson, and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s daughter North West.
Eichner says he first dreamed of being in a Broadway musical when he was barely a teen after seeing Lane in “Guys and Dolls.” “My parents took me to see it for my 13th birthday,” the “Billy On the Street” host recalled. “Nathan Lane was in it with Faith Prince, Walter Bobby and Peter Gallagher. But when we went, Faith Prince was out that night so I had a temper tantrum in the lobby of the Martin Beck Theatre. I just lost my mind when I saw the sign that she’d be out.”
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Young Eichner calmed down in time for the show: “I was blown away. I could not stop watching Nathan. He just blew my mind, just the ultimate musical comedy star.”
Eicher became friends with Lane, who played Timon in the original “Lion King” movie, after they were introduced at a birthday party for Bridget Everett. “When I got the role of Timon and he saw the movie, he was always sending me emails of support,” Eichner said of the Tony winner. “When I had gotten some good reviews, he was congratulating me. He’s my hero, so to be on stage with him is truly wild.”
While most fans know Eichner as the host of “Billy on the Street” and the star of “Bros,” he actually majored in musical theater at Northwestern University. “I am dying to do Broadway or off-Broadway,” Eichner said. “I don’t really care the size of the stage. I’m a Broadway fanatic, growing up in New York and seeing all those shows. It’s really what I’ve wanted to do. I talk to my theater agents constantly. We’re always looking for the right thing. Broadway is tough for many reasons. You want it to be right, but I am champing at the bit. So if anyone has any ideas, I’m open to them.”
With Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter making her feature film debut in “Mufasa” as Kiara, the daughter of Nala (Beyoncé) and Simba (Donald Glover), I asked Eichner if he got to work with the music superstars’ offspring. “I’m not sure what I’m allowed to say, so I’m not going to say it,” he said. “But I’m excited about ‘Mufasa.’ We just had what I think was maybe our final recording sessions with [director] Barry Jenkins. It was the first time I’ve seen any of the movie.”
But for now, all his attention is on the Hollywood Bowl. He’ll take part in a full dress rehearsal later today. “All of the producers have flown over from London,” Eichner said. “We’re all finally in person together with the orchestra and the conductor and choreographer Jamal Sims and so many dancers — so many dancers! I feel like I’m on Madonna’s Blond Ambition tour.”
