Reviewed 1/20/05
Many rail against the “Disney-fication of Broadway,” this critic included. Remounting animated films and offering them as fully realized Broadway musicals joined with the 1990s cleansing of Times Square of undesirable elements set the tone of the return of the Broadway musical from London’s West End. Big budget musical producers recognized that originality was secondary to trying to earn back the nut and show some profits, so the Disney corporation came to town, scrubbed the face of the Big Apple, and began performing Disney on Ice features (sans frozen water) on expensively refurbished Broadway stages. Many critics railed against what seemed to be a potential trend of remakes of family fare that destroyed whatever was left of the creativity of the Broadway musical. Money was made, runs extended, and purists grumbled. That was true until The Lion King came along. Director Julie Taymor recognized that animal suits and a religious recreation of the movie would not cut it. She instead used her imagination to come up with a visually splendid show where African rhythms, fantastical masks and shadow and literal puppetry (developed with with Michael Curry) are incorporated into the script, the dances are mature, and new music and lyrics have been added by Elton John and Tim Rice. The result is a surprisingly fresh remounting that takes the best of the movie and embraces the best that a live theatrical presentation can offer. It is this breathtaking creation that has moved into ASU’s Gammage Auditorium and commanded higher-end ticket prices that near Broadway’s now-mid-through-higher-range numbers. I have no doubt that audiences will flock to see this, and they’ll get what they pay for.
The
extravaganza of The Lion King is different from special
effects-driven shows like Phantom or An Inspector Calls.
This is creative spectacle, where those standing behind a puppet, such as Derek
Hasenstab’s Zazu, Adam
Hunter’s Timon and Phil Fiorini’s Pumbaa
meld into their creations, yet are still a recognizable part of the product.
The stylized
masks worn by Rufus Bonds Jr.’s Mufasa and Larry
Yando’s Scar
allow for characterization and facial reactions simultaneously. Thandazile
A. Soni’s Rafiki (left) is a mix of makeup and Taymor’s
costuming, equally stylized and effective. The songs that have been added
to the recognizable
originals are often beautiful and add to the piece. There are even sly references
for the parents to appreciate. The wonder and spectacle support a strong
script, and Garth Fagan’s choreography matches the other
offerings.
This is one of those evenings that people save up their year’s theatre funds to enjoy. Their money is well spent on this feast of an evening.
To purchase a copy of the OBCR from Amazon.com, click the below graphic.
