Nothing compares with the thrill of seeing Julie Taymor’s life-size elephant and giraffes and cheetahs coming down the aisle and bowing gracefully to each other and the King, and her vivid flowers, plants, and even grass cavorting around the stage, becoming living scenery. It is the work of these two artists that makes The Lion King such a breathtaking theatrical experience. Darian Sanders as Simba and Khalifa White as Nala in the North American Tour of ‘The Lion King.’ Photo by Matthew Murphy. It is telling that after experiencing the opening number, I wasn’t quite sure if they had even sung the famous “Circle of Life,” so enthralled was I by the other music and stagecraft going on. It is Lebo M who enriched the score of the stage show immeasurably with African chants, harmonies, and rhythms, such as “Grasslands Chant,” “The Lioness Hunt,” and the electrifying Act 2 opening, “One by One,” which make the original movie songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, such as “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and “Hakuna Matata” seem almost to pale by comparison. So, too, were the talents of South African performer and composer Lebo M, who wrote and sang the opening Zulu chant at the beginning of the original movie, additional music that earned him a Grammy Award for the soundtrack, and more music for a sequel, Rhythms of the Pride Lands. Her talent for cross-cultural combinations seemed tailor-made for enhancing the important African elements of The Lion King. A live, staged performance must give the audience an experience that is unique to theater or it is not worth doing (however often it is tried).įor this, they turned to Julie Taymor, an innovative costumer/designer/director with extensive experience working with masks and puppets in Indonesia and elsewhere. When the producers originally conceived of Lion King for Broadway in 1997, they had to find a way to translate the magic of its animated format to the stage, while also adding more - because a simple transcription from screen to stage will just be an awkward imitation. Two elements make it stand out from all that came before: Julie Taymor’s Tony-winning direction, puppetry, costumes, and staging, and Lebo M’s African additions to the score. Gugwana Dlamini as Rafiki in the North American Tour of ‘The Lion King.’ Photo by Joan Marcus. There is good reason that the live version of The Lion King is the highest-grossing entertainment title in box office history, having been presented in over 100 cities in over 20 countries to more than 100 million people. It presents an immensely rich combination of music, acting, puppetry, costumes, dance, and lighting that can only be truly appreciated in person. The story of a usurped throne reclaimed by the young, rightful king is probably one of the oldest in the books.īut the truly unmissable version of this well-loved tale is the stage musical, conceived for Broadway and now on tour at the Kennedy Center. It is said to be loosely based on Hamlet and several other Shakespeare dramas, and the Bard himself very likely purloined the plot from earlier writers. The Lion King has been through many incarnations, including a beloved animated film and a photorealistic CGI reboot.
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