|
Yes. What the neighbors
have been raving about is true: "The Lion
King"
is the most magical stage musical you and
your kids will ever see.
The popular Disney animated feature has
been transformed by
director-designer Julie Taymor into a
stunning stage event. Combining a
graceful horde of actors, singers and
dancers with a stylized world of
fantastic puppets and theatrical
wonderment, "The Lion King" roars with
inspiration.
Unlike "Beauty and the Beast," this
screen-to-stage production rarely
tries to replicate the cartoon visuals of
the original. Instead, the
movie is mostly re-imagined in rich
theater terms that endlessly amaze
and delight.
The rather classically derived fable of
Simba, an impetuous lion cub
born to rule the African Pridelands, has
been expanded just a bit for
the stage, but follows its original
storyline:
As owners of the video are well aware from
their kids' constant playing
of it, young Simba and his royal father
Mufasa are betrayed by the
wicked pretender Scar. When Mufasa dies in
Scar's pre-arranged
wildebeest stampede, a guilt-stricken
Simba flees home to grow up a la
Shakespeare's Prince Hal with his
frick-and-frack friends Timon the
meercat and Pumbaa the warthog.
Just like in the feature, eventually the
grown Simba overcomes
self-doubt to return to his now-ravaged
homeland to battle Scar for his
rightful throne.
The frisky Elton John-Tim Rice screen
numbers have been beautifully
augmented by the new authentic sounds of
Lebo M's call-and-response
Zulu chants and other haunting rhythms of
African music-making,
strikingly colored by native instruments
deployed in the orchestra.
Both Simba and his gal pal Nala also get
handsome new songs based upon
musical themes that background the film.
Taymor then takes this intelligent
adaptation and uses her impressive
creative abilities to forge a triumph of
theatrical imagination.
The astonishing "Circle of Life" opening
number alone is worth the
admission price. As an orange sun dawns
upon designer Richard Hudson's
boldly stylized Pridelands setting,
animals of all kinds converge -
giraffes, gazelles, lions, antelope,
zebras. Birds flutter in the air
while an elephant and a rhinoceros grandly
march down the theater's
aisles along with the soaring anthem.
To make scenes like this happen, hundreds
of real-sized and scaled-down
puppets of every description and the
people who give them life are
melded together to form the creatures
populating the musical. Birds
zoom aloft on elastic poles. Stilt-walkers
lope about as giraffes and
ostriches. The humans are always visible,
breathing living spirit into
the exquisitely crafted creations.
Many of the major characters are depicted
by actors wearing moveable
masks, elaborate body makeup, and
insinuating costume pieces. Mufasa's
lion head is a virtual crown. Scar's
crooked soul is implied by a
twisted construction that snakes up his
spine. Young Simba and Nala are
simply kids in African garb.
Waterfalls with chomping crocodiles,
stampedes of raging beasts, a
starry vision of the Lion King in the
midnight skies, and similar
events are rendered through theatrical
sleight-of-hand that require
viewers to use their own imaginations to
fill out what the designers
cunningly suggest. A simple circle of blue
fabric, for example,
represents a pool of water that slowly
dries up as the material is
drawn down through a gap at its center.
Speaking of gaps, let's mention that there
are several deficiencies
that flaw this otherwise grand family
entertainment.
The amplification system is cranked up to
near-painful levels which
tends to distort most of the lyrics into
meaningless blurs of sound.
The figures of Timon and Pumbaa,
delightful though they are, are visual
replicas of their animated selves - which
clashes against this less
literal world represented on stage - while
the agreeable actors playing
them offer impersonations of Nathan Lane
and Ernie Sabella's original
vocal inflections.
There's also a slight feeling of let-down
at the joyous conclusion,
which may mean that Taymor was unable to
top her earlier marvels or
that the viewer is simply a bit exhausted
from all the wonderments that
have already transpired.
Created by a committee of writers and
composers, "The Lion King" is a
long way removed from the tight classic
construction of Golden Age
musicals. Oscar Hammerstein II would
bemoan the sprawling shape of the
show even as he'd applaud its nice message
and admire the eclectic
traditions of Taymor's staging.
The vitality of the ensemble is marvelous
to witness as performers
assume individually lithe animal motions
through choreographer Garth
Fagan's ministrations. African vocal
arrangements make for unusually
stirring choral moments.
Scott Irby-Ranniar is a spunky Young Simba
while Jason Raize plays his
hunky older self with boyish charm. A
regal Samuel E. Wright makes an
imposing Mustafa, John Vickery's sneering
Scar drips with satisfying
villainy, and Geoff Hoyle energizes the
Zazu puppet on his arm into a
drolly unflappable know-it-all.
Perhaps best of all, the wise witch
doctor-like baboon Rafiki has been
transgendered into a female character
portrayed with winning
authenticity and sly humor by Tsidii Le
Loka.
What else can I tell you? Yes - "The Lion
King" is an absolute must-go
for any kid aged 7 or 8 and up. I can't
think of any better
introduction to live theater than this
show, which harmoniously resides
among the plaster flora and fauna of the
gorgeously restored New
Amsterdam Theatre.
Youngsters will never forget seeing "The
Lion King." And you're always
going to remember the wondrous look on
your kid's face.
|
