A rising star at The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati is going viral for his rendition of “Hakuna Matata” from the beloved classic “The Lion King.”
Ten-year-old Charlie Dougherty, who plays the character Pumbaa in the show, is wowing the internet and earning the praises of Broadway professionals with his high-tenor chops.
The video was posted to the theater’s TikTok, Instagram and Facebook accounts May 9 and features Dougherty alongside the cast of The Children’s Theatre Academy’s upcoming production of Disney’s “The Lion King Jr.”
“From powerful performances to incredible costumes, our young stars are bringing the savanna to life on stage,” the theater wrote alongside the post promoting the show, which runs May 15-23 at its headquarters on 4015 Red Bank Road in Oakley.
The TikTok post had amassed 2 million views and over 217,000 likes as of Monday afternoon.
A ROAR-some Sneak Peek! Take a wild journey to the Pride Lands with this short behind-the-scenes look at TCT Academy’s production of Disney’s The Lion King JR. From powerful performances to incredible costumes, our young stars are bringing the savanna to life on stage! Hakuna Matata never sounded so good! . . . #TCTCincinnati #ChildrensTheatreCincinnati #TCT #ChildrensTheatre #Cincinnati #Theater #TheaterKids #TheaterLife #TheatreForKids #CincinnatiTheatre #CincinnatiTheater #LionKing #LionKingJR #Disney
♬ When I was as a young warthog – tctcincinnati
A ROAR-some Sneak Peek! Take a wild journey to the Pride Lands with this short behind-the-scenes look at TCT Academy’s production of Disney’s The Lion King JR. From powerful performances to incredible costumes, our young stars are bringing the savanna to life on stage! Hakuna Matata never sounded so good! . . . #TCTCincinnati #ChildrensTheatreCincinnati #TCT #ChildrensTheatre #Cincinnati #Theater #TheaterKids #TheaterLife #TheatreForKids #CincinnatiTheatre #CincinnatiTheater #LionKing #LionKingJR #Disney
Social media users under the post were praising the Cincinnati student’s vocal prowess, commenting “Someone get that boy on Broadway ASAP,” “PUT THIS KID ON BROADWAY” and “This kid should be famous.”
The post has attracted engagement on other platforms, with 1.3 million views on Instagram and 1,800 likes on Facebook as of Monday.
Dougherty’s talents even received attention from a handful of musical theater professionals on Instagram, with Broadway radio host Seth Rudetsky and Angelica Hale, “America’s Got Talent” season 12 runner-up and Broadway actor, both singing their praises.
“CRAZY VOICE HOLYYY???” Hale commented under the Instagram post.
The Children’s Theatre Academy offers performing arts instruction for children of Greater Cincinnati with eight classroom spaces at the academy’s headquarters. Its upcoming 60-minute production of Disney’s “The Lion King Jr.” features actors under the age of 18 and is the culmination of the theater’s Spring 2025 AcademyLIVE! season.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati 10-year-old goes TikTok viral for his stellar voice: ‘Put this kid on Broadway’
Reporting by Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
