David and Hannah Mirvish in association with Disney Theatrical Group / The Lion King, book by Roger Allers & Irene Mecchi, music and lyrics by Elton John & Tim Rice (additional music and lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor & Hans Zimmer), choreographed by Garth Fagan, directed by Julie Taymor, Princess of Wales Theatre, open run. Tickets here.
The Canadian sit-down production of The Lion King has arrived at the Princess of Wales Theatre where it will probably stay for years. After all, the Broadway production has been going strong since its debut in 1997.
In short, the musical, which is based on the beloved 1994 animated film, has been shown on every continent except Antarctica. The public’s appetite for The Lion King seems to be endless, and the opening night audience was ready and waiting. When the Circle of Life number began and the animals paraded through the audience on their way to the stage, the screams and cheers started, and didn’t stop until the curtain came down.
The musical is so much more than a children’s show, with adults being just as enchanted by the imaginative stagecraft as the youngsters.
The Lion King: The Production
Watching The Lion King all these years later, I thought it might be time to go back to where it all started, and that is with director/costume designer/mask and puppet co-designer, Julie Taymor. After all, it is Taymor’s immense creativity with masks and puppets that captured the imagination and has made The Lion King the megawatt hit that it is.
Taymor had never seen the animated movie when Thomas Schumacher, then head of feature animation at the Walt Disney Company, (and now president of Disney Theatrical Productions), called and asked her if she would be interested in staging The Lion King. He knew about Taymor’s acclaimed work with puppets and masks, albeit in serious theatre and opera.
Once she had seen the animated film, Taymor was hooked, and the first exciting idea that drew her in, believe it or not, was how do you stage a stampede, (the all-important scene where the rampaging wildebeest trample Mufasa, Simba’s father). From there, it was the decision to visibly show the art of theatre, and Taymor is on record as saying that more important than the story being told, is how it is being told. No faces would be covered, and no tricks concealed.
Therefore, what makes The Lion King so captivating is that we see the animal and its human conductor at the same time, with each puppet handled differently, as suits its needs. The lions all have masks above their heads. The giraffes are on stilts. Timon, the meercat, is manoeuvred by being on the feet and the hands of the actor. The gazelles are fixed on the body of a dancer to make them look like they are leaping.
And don’t forget the human manipulation of vegetation, such as the platters of grass worn as hats, or a human lying on the stage covered in leaves. Or Taymor’s decision not to use fur, but rather, fashion her colourful costumes out of African fabrics and patterns. There’s a funny story she tells, that she was glad that she didn’t see a real ostrich until after she created her own whimsical ones (ridden by Young Simba and Nala), because they were grey and dull.
Then there is the wonderfully evocative African choral singing that is so much a part of the music in The Lion King. In my research, I discovered that it is mandated that there be six South African singers in every cast, and that is why the music sounds so authentic. And a special word of commendation for South African composer Lebo M who is responsible for some of the original music and the choir harmony.
We also can’t forget the important changes that Taymor made to the cast. She was concerned that there wasn’t really a strong female figure, so after finding out that many African shaman are women, Rafiki the storyteller became a female role, while Nala was transformed into a feisty warrior.
Most of all, The Lion King came about because Disney had deep pockets, which allowed Taymor to experiment if something went wrong, and go back to the drawing board to try again. The creativity in the show is monumental because Taymor rarely had to think about budget or time constraints.
Performances
This Canadian production holds its own among the pantheon of Lion King productions with a uniformly strong cast. However, and here’s my age-old complaint about diction. The worst offenders are the hyenas — Shenzi (Jewelle Blackman), Banzai (Joema Frith), and Ed (Simon Gallant) — who have great energy, but muffle their words.
Far and away, the most imposing figure on stage is Zama Magudulela as Rafiki, with her clarion voice and precise physicality. Apparently, she has been in six other Lion King companies worldwide, so she brings a gift-load of experience to the role.
Scar has to be a dominant figure, and Salvatore Antonio creates a wonderfully malevolent character whose words drip with irony, almost laughing at himself. David D’Lancy Wilson’s Mufasa is stately and noble, Will Jeffs’ Zazu is suitably fussy, while Brian Sills as Timon and Trevor Patt as Pumbaa steal the show with their silliness and great one-liners.
Ira Nabong as Young Simba and Nendia Lewars as Young Nala are very accomplished and impressive child actors, while their elder versions, Erick D. Patrick and Camille Eanga-Selenge are charismatic performers. Eanga-Selenge, in particular, has a very fetching singing voice.
As for Patrick, he’s an import from another company because the Canadian Simba, Aphwe Nyezi, is injured. Nonetheless, Patrick seems to have fit right in and gives a fine performance.
In these 27 years since the show’s debut, the impact of Taymor’s brilliance has never diminished. In fact, I would say that the passage of time has only increased my admiration for her accomplishment in bringing the animated The Lion King to the stage.
To everyone from Grandma on down, you owe yourself a visit to The Lion King, for no other reason than to appreciate Taymor’s spectacle in its own right.
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