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MUSICAL *** = GOOD
Original Cast Recording
THE LION KING
Disney
The live production of Beauty and the
Beast is a remarkably faithful
re-creation of the film, right down to the
dancing plates and
silverware.
Disney's new Broadway spectacle, The Lion
King, is decidedly its own
animal. Its leap from on-screen animation
to living stage spectacle has
included a direct evolutionary turn toward
Africa, which is powerfully
evident in the newly released original
cast recording.
Although composer and lyricist Elton John
and Tim Rice still own top
billing, the musical's aural force is now
dominated by South African
sensation Lebo M, who won a Grammy for his
arrangement of the movie
soundtrack.
Lebo M is responsible for many of the most
compelling additions to the
Broadway score, which includes just five
songs from the film - Circle
of Life, I Just Can't Wait to Be King, Be
Prepared, Hakuna Matata and
Can You Feel the Love Tonight? - and is
now as much about pride in the
land as it is about a cub who will be
king.
John and Rice have added new numbers - the
Gilbert and Sullivan-esque
Morning Report, the rocking Chow Down, and
The Madness of King Scar.
But Lebo's injections of African rhythms
and a South African-style
ensemble singing and chanting in Sesotha
and Swahili consistently soar
to preeminence.
The African and European cultures don't
always mesh, which is the main
complaint about a recording that is
sprinkled with gems. Considering
that this is an invention of American
culture - the Broadway musical -
the juxtapositions are acceptable.
Individual voices that rise to state their
case include Heather Headley
as Nala on Shadowland, Samuel E. Wright as
Mufasa in They Live In You
(by Mark Mancina), Jason Raize as the
adult Simba in Lebo M's Endless
Night and Tsidii Le Loka as Rafiki in
Circle of Life.
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