Luella Suttle wasn't there to buy tickets for "The Lion King." She was there for the glory.

Nineteen hours before individual tickets went on sale, Suttle sat on a plastic chair outside the Blaisdell box office yesterday holding a little purple umbrella, the first person in line.

"I have never been first in line so I wanted to be here," the 68-year-old Suttle said. "I've never been first in something."

Tickets for 51 performances of the Broadway extravaganza were to go on sale today at 6 a.m. at the box office. Group sales and a few online promotions began in January, but anticipation has run high for the musical, which is based on the animated Disney movie. The number of tickets already sold was not available yesterday, but those who braved the elements overnight were assured tickets.

"The people in line will get great seats," said Mei Jeanne Wagner, senior vice president for StarrPR, which is handling Honolulu publicity for the Tony Award-winning musical.

Between 500 and 1,000 people were expected to be in line when the box office opens this morning.

And everyone will be waiting behind Suttle, a soft-spoken Kane'ohe woman who already has four tickets that she bought online Thursday night.

Getting in line was a spur-of-the-moment decision for Suttle. She was driving her dog to the groomer yesterday morning when she saw that no one was in line.

A yellow sign on the sidewalk practically shouted at her: Line Starts Here. So she ditched the appointment, parked her car and got a relative to take the dog.

Then she formed her own line. It was 11 a.m. Lucky for her, box office staff brought her a chair.

"I think this is worth waiting for," she said yesterday as heat waves rose from the sidewalk on Ward Avenue. "I don't need the tickets. If I can get better seats, great."

Suttle is a line veteran. She once waited outside a computer store for 16 hours for a promotional giveaway.

"I got a free computer," she said.

By 1:30 p.m. yesterday, five people had queued up behind Suttle. They had chairs, coolers, snacks and patience.

Kapiolani Silva and her 8-year-old son Feleti were second in line. They arrived about 12:30 p.m. and were hoping for six good seats. They planned to stay through the night, inspired by the novelty of it all.

"He wanted to come to the show and the only way we could do that is to come and stand in line," said Silva, a 35-year-old 'Aiea homemaker. "Who knows what will be available."

But Silva wasn't thinking about lions and wart hogs as she stood in line. With a gorgeous blue sky overhead, she pondered the possibilities of an afternoon and felt a little guilty.

"I would probably be at home doing laundry," she said. "And today is such a nice laundry day."

At the end of the line, Pam Nakoa, a 55-year-old Mililani grandmother, swayed from side to side beneath a giant golf umbrella as she made new friends.

"I'm not shy," she said. "I don't think anybody who stands in a line like this is shy. The shy people are at home. We're the party people."

Nakoa waved her umbrella at drivers on Ward Avenue and hooted. Her family is counting on her coming home with 26 tickets in roughly the same area of Blaisdell Concert Hall.

"I'm here for the duration," she said. "I have snacks, water, animal crackers and a good attitude because I'm going to need it."

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.