Zamavus “Zama” Magudulela is a South African actor and singer who performed the role of Rafiki in the Paris, Madrid, São Paulo and Toronto productions of The Lion King musical.[1][2][3]
Zama Magudulela | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | South African |
| Occupation(s) | actor and singer |
Early life and education
editMagudulela grew up in Durban and started singing at the age of nine.[4] She was a member of the local gospel choir Umlazi before joining the choir at her college, aged 12.[4]
She has a degree in management and marketing.[4]
Career
editMagudulela's first acting job was in Mbongeni Ngema's production of The Zulu Show and then as a backing singer in for Ngema's albums Isimukanandwendwe and Baba kaMdudu.[4]
She worked as a backing singer for Busi Mhlongo before auditioning for The Lion King musical in Melbourne in 2003 and becoming the understudy for the Rafiki shaman character.[4] In 2006, she joined The Lion King cast in Hamburg, still as the Rafiki understudy, and later joined the Paris cast as the Rafiki main character.[4] She features in the 2007 recording of the Paris production.[5] She later performed as Rafiki in the Madrid production of the musical.[1]
From 2019-2020 Magudulela worked as a vocalist at Cirque du Soleil on their production of Totem.
As of November 2024, she portrays Rafiki in the Toronto production of The Lion King.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b Schonter, Allison (26 June 2020). "Everything Coming to Disney+ in July 2020". Pop Culture. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ Milligan, Kaitlin. "VIDEO: FROZEN and THE LION KING on Broadway Included in New ONE DAY AT DISNEY Documentary". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "Elenco e Equipe criativa | O Rei leão - O Musical". www.reileaoomusical.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Zama Magudulela – Rafiki | Le Rapport du Matin" (in French). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ Le roi lion - 2007 Original Paris Cast, retrieved 20 February 2022
- ^ Disney's The Lion King - About the Show, retrieved 11 November 2024