If you have read my other reviews, you may have noticed I have reviewed this show two other times. So you may be wondering if the Lion King is my favorite Broadway show. Well yes it is! I love this show. And I am such an admirer of the producer Julie Taymor, that I named my newest furry son Taymor!
The first time I saw the show in Charlotte in 2001, I was just so blown away that I had to see it again before it ended it’s 6 week run here. Since that time I went to London with the intent purpose of seeing the show in 2003 and NYC to see it at the mother of all places…Broadway…in 2004. And now Norfolk in 2005. I am I tired of it yet? Heck no! Will I see it again? You bet ya! Now my hubby doesn’t quite get seeing it over and over since it never changes. A true Broadway fan knows that doesn’t matter. After all I have seen CATS 15 times. If it continues to run, it will celebrate its 10th anniversary on November 13, 2007 in NYC. I am planning to be there. So if anyone would like to join me, please let me know. I will start making plans about a year in advanced.
Anyway, on with the show. The Lion King astonished audiences like no other show at the New Amsterdam Theatre in 1997. The following June it walked away with a number of Tony’s including Best New Musical. This was Disney’s second venture into the world of live theater. Beauty and the Beast was the first opening in 1994. It brought the animated hit movie about a young lion club, Simba, to the stage. Julie Taymor directed it, Garth Fagan provided the chorography, and Sir Elton John and his writing partner Tim Rice wrote the score. The collective talents of these individuals alone would dictate this show would be a success.
Unlike its predecessor, Beauty and the Beast, Taymor decided she didn’t want her performers in furry costumes. Instead she designed costumes to show off the performers, not cover them. She used the vivid colors of Africa and combined them with decorative masks. You may have also seen Julie’s work in the Academy Award winning movie Frida in 2002 starring Salma Hayek as painter Frida Kahlo. Garth Fagan combined long-established dance steps and interweaved his work beautifully with traditional African steps. His residence company tours all over the world. I had the honor of seeing his troupe in Charlotte in 2004. Sir Elton John is known the world over for his immeasurable talent and extraordinary voice. He took many of the song from the movie and gave them more of an African beat. The end result is why they walked away very happy on Tony night.
Oh, those pesky 500 words. I am out, so keep reading.