Marquis Floyd. (Photo by Jalisa Marie Lens via the Straz Center)
Editor’s Note: Watermark Out News spoke with LGBTQ+ Tampa Bay native Marquis Floyd about touring with “The Lion King” prior to his death on March 23, one of his final interviews.
Disney Theatrical Group confirmed his passing on March 25 and issued the following statement, attributed to “The Lion King” Producer Anne Quart:
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Marquis Floyd, a cherished member of The Lion King North American tour company. In the three years Marquis was with the tour, he brought his extraordinary talent to the stage and shared his warm humanity off stage. On behalf of The Lion King company, we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, loved ones and friends. He will forever be part of our Pride.”
Their March 25 performance was also dedicated to Floyd:
Watermark Out News presents this feature as it was originally written to honor the late entertainer’s words and work.
Now in its 27th year on stage, Disney’s “The Lion King” is one of the most popular musicals of all time. Its global productions have been seen by over 120 million people worldwide and amassed more than any other show or film in box office history.
Based on 1994’s Academy Award-winning animated film of the same name, “The Lion King” follows Simba, a lion prince who leaves his life behind after his uncle Scar murders Mufasa, his father and the king. He shirks his royal responsibilities to grow up with “no worries for the rest of your days” before ultimately taking his rightful place as ruler of the Pridelands.
The film has inspired multiple spin-offs on stage and screen, including the 1997 Tony Award-winning Broadway staple and last year’s prequel “Mufasa: The Lion King.” Now the musical is returning to Tampa’s Straz Center for the Performing Arts April 2-20 before a run at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando April 23-May 18.
With a score from the legendary Elton John and Hans Zimmer, the tour’s cast includes Wiliam John Austin as Scar, Darnell Abraham as Mufasa, Mukelisiwe Goba as Rafiki, Nick Cordileone as Timon, Nick LaMedica as Zazu, Danny Grumich as Pumbaa, Erick D. Patrick as Simba, Thembelihle Cele as Nala and more.
For one ensemble performer, the musical’s Tampa Bay stop is also a special occasion. The show marks a Pridelands debut for Marquis Floyd, a queer Tampa Bay native and Straz alum. The entertainer is a former Next Generation Ballet dancer and Patel Conservatory student.
“I have so many kids that I mentor and teach in the area,” he explains. “They’ll be able to come see me on stage as a professional instead of watching videos or hearing about it and it can become a full circle moment.
“If it’s one of your own up there performing, it can encourage you to believe, ‘I can do that too,’” Floyd adds. “That’s what I want more than anything, to inspire the next generation to keep pushing and not to feel limited due to resources or anything of that nature.”
Floyd says working on such a major production in his hometown feels amazing. He calls it “an honor to be able to represent the city at this magnitude,” noting “I stand on the shoulders of so many that came before me.”
Floyd attributes his success in the dance industry to his Tampa Bay roots. “The culture within itself; the grit and the grind alone, the melting pot that Tampa is has definitely shaped me to be the artist that I am today,” he says.
Floyd adds that he can usually tell an artist is from Florida because “there’s this sense of rawness to them.” He also sees Tampa Bay as his anchor, “a place where I can be my full, authentic self.”
Floyd’s history in dance began at nine years old with the LifeForce Culture Arts Academy in Clearwater. While his focus as a student was West African dance, he says he was “exposed to all forms of art, and it pretty much opened my mind to just the endless possibilities of what I could do.”
The dancer attended John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg and participated in their dance program. As a teenager, he participated in the Pinellas County Center for the Arts Program at Gibbs High School.
“That’s really where I started to hone into my craft for real and get to nurture the gift that I had,” he says. Having focused on West African dance also helped prepare him for “The Lion King.”
“In the West African dance company, there were a lot of artists and company members who studied in many vernaculars, and I had so much inspiration,” Floyd says. It also prepared him for other professional endeavors.
Since graduating from the Boston Conservatory with his BFA in 2017, Floyd has performed at the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show, during the 2021 VMAs and on Apple+’s “Dickinson.” He credits the diversity of his dance education in Tampa for making it all possible.
It helped him “to be precise when it comes to working under those quick and intense environments, such as the Super Bowl, which is a very short rehearsal period,” Floyd explains. “They need people who are able to adapt and morph quickly.”
Working on “The Lion King” has been a very different experience for the dancer. He calls it “a monster of a show in the sense that there are many, many components and parts that make up the beauty of the it. It’s not just about learning the steps.”
His training also included learning about African culture, the region’s language and dialect and of course, the production’s puppeteering. “The Lion King” utilizes over 200 puppets to bring its story to life and trains its actors to sing, dance and manipulate them on stage.
“I work throughout the entire show, I start off as a zebra and I end as a zebra, but I’m also a male dancing hyena which is part of Scar’s camp,” Floyd explains. “I’m also the ground roll and the leaves that hide with Pumba and one of the tricksters when Simba performs ‘I Just Can’t Wait to be King’ … there are many different times that the ensemble changes costumes.”
One of Floyd’s favorite moments from the show is Scar’s memorable and villainous “Be Prepared” number.
“That’s when I get to dance together with all of my other male ensemble members, and it’s just very high intensity,” he says. “We’re fighting, we’re showing off our techniques; it’s athletic and grounded, so I really love that number.”
Floyd also says working with the tour’s cast and crew has been an incredible experience.
“My experience with the company has been phenomenal, honestly,” he notes. “It’s such a harmonious space where it’s like a family that’s rooted in such a deep culture. We’re telling this story that’s coming from the heart every single night.
“It’s just so nice to come together with a like-minded group of individuals and really get this done,” he continues. “It’s not easy to do this eight times a week, so to do it with a unit — in a community of people — is just otherworldly. We’re all in it together, we’re supporting each other and getting through it to just bring light to audiences around the world.”
It’s a sentiment Floyd also experienced as an audience member. “I love all of the movies, but I truly have always had a personal connection to the musical,” he explains. “Growing up, seeing the puppets and how they created them and how they use the human body to become one with the puppet, that has always been so fascinating and cool to me.”
Since bringing that to life on stage is such an intense process, performance nights require preparation. Floyd goes to the gym before performances to warm up his body and his post-show routine consists of meditation to bring down the adrenaline.
He also doesn’t take the experience for granted.
“‘The Lion King’ is one of the highest honors to book as a dancer,” Floyd says. “You’re constantly working. It’s not easy to get into the show, either — so when you do, it’s like getting into the NFL for a football player or getting into the NBA or going to the Olympics.
“This is a major show to book. It’s one of the top musicals in the world and it’s one of the longest-running shows, so for a dancer it is really a huge deal,” he continues. “That’s why it was always something on my list of wanting to achieve. I’m just thankful that the stars aligned and it was meant for me.”
The entertainer also says LGBTQ+ audiences in particular can take something away from “The Lion King.”
“I think people in our community relate to the story simply because it’s a story of perseverance and pushing past what is projected onto you,” he says. “Simba goes through this journey where he has to go find himself all over again. When he steps into that, he thinks that ‘maybe I’m not ready to be those things.’
“In our community, sometimes it takes someone coming into your life and reminding you who you are and of your value,” he continues. “When we do find that, and we do step out and we do become unapologetically ourselves, we are fearless. We are powerful. We are limitless.”
It’s a message Floyd has occasionally needed to hear himself.
“I’ve had issues sometimes where I’m being overly humble or there’s just fear of not wanting to put myself completely out there,” he says. “Sometimes we don’t want to take a leap forward to where our purpose has led us. We don’t want to take that jump forward, which connects to this story.
“Simba knew that he was always going to be the king — and when he left, he didn’t want to go back because he didn’t think he was ready,” he notes. “As soon as he had the strength to do what’s needed he went back and everything came into fruition.”
Outside of that message, “The Lion King” delivers “two and half hours of pure joy and escapism,” he says. It’s something audiences might need more than ever.
“As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, I would love for readers to continue to just pour into themselves, to give themselves grace and continue to use each and every opportunity to be their most authentic selves,” Floyd says. “I feel like coming to the show will continue to inspire people to do that.”
“Disney’s The Lion King” plays at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa April 2-20 and April 23-May 18 at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando.
For more information about the show and to purchase tickets, visit LionKing.com, StrazCenter.org and DrPhillipsCenter.org.
