A statement was issued from the Alexandra and Steven Cohen Children Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY to report her death.

Shannon was a sixth grader in Queens, NY at P.S. 176.  She had acute myelogenous leukemia, a rapidly advancing form of cancer that is rare in children, although common among adults.  The cancer develops inside the bone marrow, inhibiting production of normal, healthy blood cells.

Earlier this year Shannon’s medical problems gained attention when doctors were unable to locate a bone marrow donor that was suitable for her.  Several well known entertainers, including 50 Cent, Rihanna and Alicia Keys asked fans to register for becoming potential donors for her.

In August a blood transplant from an umbilical cord was done.  The procedure involves stem cells being harvested from an umbilical cord that has been donated and then injected into the patient’s body to encourage a healthy, new blood system to form.

Katharina Harf, executive vice president and DKMS Americas co-founder, which is a donor center for bone marrow said, the survival rate is good.  Next to marrow transplants, it’s the best thing.

In bone marrow donor registries, minorities are greatly underrepresented, making if very difficult for minority patients to be matched up with suitable donors.  In addition, Hispanics and blacks have many more tissue types that are different than whites, according to Ms. Harf.  It makes matching donors with patients a much more complex process, particularly for mixed ethnicity or mixed race patients.  Odiney Brown, Shannon’s mother, is black and her father is Hispanic.

Shannon Sky Tavarez played young Nala, Simba’s best friend, in the Broadway show “The Lion King.”  She was born January 20, 1999.  In December 2008, after an audition involving hundreds of children at Harlem’s Apollos Theater, she was chosen for the role of Nala.  In September 2009 she made her debut.

Ron Vodicka, production stage manager of “The Lion King,” in a Tuesday interview said, as a performer as well as young woman she was fearless.  She was always happy and never intimidated.  After being diagnosed, she constantly talked about coming back.

The Lion King, to date on Broadway, has grossed $718 million, played for over 8.5 million people, employed 66 children and 223 adults as actors (including 20 performers from South Africa). On a global scale Lion King has $3.8 billion gross in 17 productions. September 2010 a new production will premiere in Singapore, a Disney Theatrical Productions first. The company in London celebrated their 10th anniversary recently, which made The Lion King just one of five musicals in the history of theatre to play on the West End and Broadway for at least ten years.

Based on Disney’s 1994 animated film, the musical continues its reign as one of Broadway’s most popular shows as well as globally. The Lion King has won over 70 major awards from around the world, including 1988 Best Musical from the NY Drama Critics and Tony Award, 1999 Grammy for the Best Musical Show Album and 1999 Laurence Oliver Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Choreography. Over 50 million have seen the show in 13 countries (Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, China, Australia, Mexico, France, Holland, Germany, Japan, UK, Canada and US) and has also been translated into five languages (Dutch, French, Korean, German and Japanese). In addition to appearing on Broadway as well as tour of North America, The Lion King is also currently playing in Las Vegas, Tokyo, Paris, Hamburg and London.

In September 2009, the show made history when two of the signature Lion King costumes became inducted into the National Museum of American History’s Permanent Collection at the Smithsonian.

Derek Smith plays the deviously cunning and sardonic Scar, Nathaniel Stampley plays Mufasa, the lion king, Tshidi Mayne plays Rafiki, the very wise baboon shaman, Cameron Pow plays Zazu, the horn billed prim and proper bird, Tom Alan Robbins portrays Pumbaa, the warm hearted wart hog, and Danny Rutigliano plays Timon, the hyperactive and wise cracking meerkat. Simba, Mufasa’s son, is portrayed by Dashaun Young, and Nala, the loyal and courageous lioness is played by Ta’Rea Campbell.

Enrique Segura (as Ed), Bonita J. Hamilton (as Shenzi) and James Brown-Orleans (as Banzai portray the three hyenas.

The Young Simba role alternates between Marqui Kofi Rodriguez and Alphonso Romero Jones II. The Young Nala role alternates between Shannon Skye Tavarez and Shereen Pimentel.

Julie Taymor, Director, became the first woman to win a Tony Award for Best Director for a Musical in theatrical history. She also won a Tony Award in 1988 for Best Costume Design.

Michael Curry, designer, and Julie Taymor, created hundreds of puppets and masks for The Lion King. Richard Hudson does scenic design, Julie Taymor does costume design and Donald Holder does lighting design. Garth Fagan does the choreography. Roger Allers adapted the book, and was co-director of the animated feature, along with Irene Mechhi, co-writer on The Lion King screenplay.

The score features Tim Rice and Elton John’s animated film music as well as three new songs from Rice and John. There is also addition musical material from Hans Zimmer, Julie Taymor, Jay Rifkin, Mark Mancina, and Leo M from South Africa. There is also music from “Rhythm of the Pride Lands,” an album that was inspired by The Lion King animated film, written by Hans Zimmer, Mark Mancina and Leo M. The Lion King score’s sound is a fusion of the distinctive rhythms and sounds of Africa combined with Western popular music, as illustrated by “Can You Feel The Love Tonight,” Academy Award winner, and “Shadowlands,” with its haunting sound.

The world premiere for the Lion King in its pre-Broadway engagement occurred in Minneapolis on July 13, 1997 at the Orpheum Theatre. The engagement lasted for eight weeks and closed on August 31, 1997.

BASE entertainment and Disney Theatricals are the engagement’s co-presenters. The show will replicate the Tony award winning Broadway production along with the numerous international counterparts.

Thomas Schumacher, president and producer for Disney Theatricals, said we are very proud bringing The Lion King to Singapore audiences. Marina Bay Sands and BASE Entertainment are making a great commitment to bring the glorious production from Julie Taymor to life as best as they possibly can. When we made the decision to take The Lion King over to Singapore all of us knew it was the right show, right time, right venue.

Official production dates and casting will be announced later.

The Lion King, since it opened on Broadway November 13, 1997, has been viewed by 45 million people around the world. Julie Taymor, director, was the first woman given a Tony Award as Best Director of a Musical. An international hit, The Lion King has productions played all over the world.

The Tim Rice-Elton John musical has been awarded with more than 30 major awards, including three awards from the Los Angeles Drama Critics, Best Theatrical Event Award from the Evening Standard, two Laurence Olivier Awards, six awards from Outer Critics Circle, eight awards from Drama Desk, and six Tony Awards include Best Musical.

Currently the Lion King is playing on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre. There are additional productions running in Las Vegas, Hamburg, Tokyo, Paris and London as well as a national tour in the U.S.

George Asprey, who for the last year and a half has played Scar, said being in a show that is so well loved is a real responsibility.

You have to perform every night like it’s the first time to keep it alive and fresh for the audience. One of the main reasons I think why The Lion King has had enduring success is retaining its vibrancy and energy.

John Stefaniuk, the show’s worldwide associate director, agreed. It has a very timeless appeal. That is one of the main reasons why it has stayed so popular. Every night we still play to sold out crowds here in London. Our tenth year has proven to be our best year ever. That proves how this show, in musical theatre terms, continues to grow in stature.

The musical, which currently is also playing in Tokyo, Hamburg, Paris, Las Vegas and New York, incorporates African dance and Balinese choreography to music that was written by Elton John.

The actors, in addition to their singing, perform wearing heavy costumes and using masks. In the case of Scar, it weights more than two stones.

George said, the performance is very physical. I need to use my mask so it appears to be part of the rest my body. To get it all right we rehearsed for six weeks.

It is very demanding. Once I ripped a calf muscle while on stage. By accident I also threw my staff off of Pride Rock, hitting the orchestra. It will teach them, telling me that I sing flat.

In the ten years following the 1999 premier, over 8 million have seen The Lion King in London in more than 4200 performances. The team that is behind the show sees no reason why it can’t continue to run.

George said, I think that the show could run another ten years definitely. I am not sure, though, that I will still be up to playing Scar.

I am friends with other worldwide Scars. We have a Facebook group calling on Disney to do a rewrite of the ending to make a more interesting character out of Scar. I don’t think it’s ever going to happen.

The show is very well loved and I hope it continues to be.

The costume elements, which include the lion mask and headdress for Simba and the hat, custom shoes and costume designed for Rafiki, are joining with other Broadway iconic objects from musicals like The King and I, Rent and Cats, which are all part of the permanent entertainment collection of the museum.

Currently playing in their twelfth year on Broadway, The Lion King recently exceeded 50 million their worldwide attendance. It became the first musical from America to achieve the milestone. Julie Taymor is the director, Richard Hudson does the scenic design, Donald Holder does the lighting design, and Garth Fagan does the choreography. Robert Allers wrote the book and co-directed on the animated feature, along with Irene Mecchi, who was the co-writer on the movie’s screen play. Music is from Tim Rice and Elton John’s music for the animated film. Rice and John also wrote three new songs, with additional music from Hans Zimmer, Julie Taymor, Jay Rifkin, Mark Mancina and Leo M from South Africa. Music written by Hans Zimmer, Mark Mancina and Lebo M for “Rhythm of the Pride Lands,” an animated film, is also featured.

Executives from Disney have claimed for a long time that their three shows attract audiences that are distinct. According to them The Lion King attracts more foreign tourists while the older crowd is drawn to Mary Poppins, and The Little Mermaid is popular among New Yorkers. The thing that all three of the musicals have in common is struggling to fill seats during week nights, along with competition from more Broadway shows such as West Side Story, Hair and Shrek which all all appeal to segments of core Disney audiences.

Comparing ticket sales from the first fifteen weeks in 2009 with 2008, shows The Little Mermaid gross revenues are down 27 percent. Part of this is due to the fact that it opened in January 2008 to strong audiences. Mary Poppins gross revenues are down 17 percent and The Lion King is down around 5 percent. To compare, Wicked, the Broadway musical that also has a strong family appeal is also down during the same time period by about 5 percent.

In this economy Disney is facing major questions. Will they be able to sustain three shows during a time when going to Broadway is very expensive for families of three to four, and will they be able to differentiate their shows from Wicked, Shrek and other competitors, asked theater producer Stuart Oken, who was with Disney Theatrical for nine years and served as their executive vice president until he left in 2003.

Before families would see three to four shows every year; now they only can afford going to one or two, added Oken. A bad economy is a god time to try to compete against yourself. That is the situation Disney is inevitably facing.

In an April 1 interview to announce their newest discount program, David Schrader, who is Disney Theatrical’s executive vice president, said that the company had positioned themselves to battle the recession. He attributed the poor economy for the shows’ declining grosses.

According to Schrader, Kids Go Free, the winter discount program for Disney covering January 6 to March 13 performances, had scarified on average ticket prices in favor of larger audiences. Schrader equated having full theaters to having a better theater going experience, arguing that positive experiences would have audiences returning to Broadway.

Later this spring Schrader also said Disney was planning to unbundle their three musicals to allow each show to pursue their own target audiences by developing their own marketing and advertising strategies. Schrader said, over the last two years in order to be more efficient they had bundled the shows together for buying newspaper or TV space. Now we will allow each of the shows to do what it needs.

In terms of grosses for the shows, Schrader said that Mary Poppins had been facing stiff competition from other nostalgia Broadway shows from audience members having an affinity for earlier theater or film show versions. South Pacific, the hit musical which opened in April 2008 at Lincoln Center Theater, as well as West Side Story and Hair are examples of this.

However other directors and producers not part of Disney have rejected the idea of the declining grosses of Mary Poppins being due to other nostalgia shows, pointing out that Mary Poppins along with The Little Mermaid have both received mixed reviews, with some that are quite negative. They say the shows might just have a problem with their quality.

Although The Lion King is now a Broadway institution, the other two of Disney’s shows don’t have anything like that appeal, according to Emanuel Azenberg, long time producer bringing two revivals next season to Broadway: Broadway Bound and Brighton Beach Memoirs by Neil Simon.

Diane Paulus, director of Hair, showed skepticism regarding the idea about the nostalgia shows, stating a strong production was always the best draw for theatergoers.

Hair, for example, has songs that were part of late 1960s and 1970s pop culture. They are songs that were heard in the jukeboxes more than in the theater, dealing with serious subject matters, Paulus said. First and foremost audiences are drawn to having a high quality experience.

There are now 35 Broadway musicals and plays for audiences to choose from. Many of the shows, like Disney, are discounting their tickets. However Disney was one of the earliest as well as most aggressive with their discount strategy.

Their Kids Go Free program, marketed during December as a holiday gift, offered one free kid’s ticket for each full price ticket during most week night performances. On Sunday the Disney program $15 for 15, marking their 15 year Broadway anniversary, concluded sales. The program covered selected performances and seat through May 31.

Disney already had been discounting week night shows quite heavily during most of the weeks in 2009 that are not school vacations. Azenberg and Oken, along with others, say this strategy suggests Disney executives are concerned whether adults would come alone to their shows. According to Disney surveys, all three of their shows during January had audiences attending without someone younger than 21, according to data shared by an anonymous theater industry veteran.

There are no indications from Disney that they plan on closing any of the shows. Mary Poppins plays in Disney’s own theater, so it pays rent to itself. The Lion King is still a huge hit, while The Little Mermaid show is still relatively new. However, whether the periodic discounting will be enough to sustain all three of the Disney Broadway shows will, in the end, depend on whether or not Disney finds enough profit and value from the endeavor.

Oken said, discounting is almost always dangerous. Once you start with it, it can be hard to stop it. The heavy discounting that Disney is doing is often the beginning sign of a show’s end. The truth of the matter is, Disney has three different family shows in this market. They need a strategy that will keep people coming, particularly during times when kids are attending school. I would imagine that when summer comes they will stop their discounts for now.