Young ‘Lion King’ Actress Getting Crucial Transplant

First Published: August 13, 2010 2:11 PM EDT Credit: Getty Images

Caption lion king cast

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- An 11-year-old girl who played young Nala in “The Lion King” on Broadway is getting a potentially lifesaving procedure.

Shannon Tavarez has leukemia and will get an umbilical-cord blood transplant Tuesday. The blood-producing stem cells used in transplants can come from cord blood, bone marrow or blood.

Her mother, Odiney Brown, says she’s praying it will work.

The actress was forced to quit the show in April. Shannon beat out hundreds of other hopefuls last year to earn her spot playing Young Nala, the girlfriend of the main “Lion King” character, Simba. For six months, she performed four shows a week, rushing to the theater after school each day.

Cast members from “The Lion King” held a bone marrow donor registration drive for her last month. More than 700 people showed up for the drive. Shannon’s Broadway friends from “Wicked” and other shows also attended

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.