>From a.f.l-k and posted here. It's in three parts.

Dave
Saint, FCOS

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: darkjackal@aol.com (DarkJackal)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.lion-king
Subject: TLKoB Review part 1
Date: 17 Nov 1997 22:01:27 GMT
Lines: 66


The Lion King on Broadway
A Review by DarkJackal

I'm posting this in the theater newsgroup too, so if you read it here, you
 don't have to read it twice if you don't want to. :-)

[Just an extra note for LK fans:  The Bway version obviously doesn't take the
 place of the movie.  But neither is it worse than the movie.  They each have
 their own strengths, and anyone who thinks they can't coexist is being overly
 critical.]

(another note to myself:  Man, I'm glad I got tickets to this thing before
 everyone freaked out and had to go see it!)

Part 1

I saw the show while still in previews on Nov. 8.  After stopping in the Disney
 store next door (and buying an LK sweatshirt) I headed to the New Amsterdam
 Theater.  As I walked through the marbled hall, and glanced at the sculpted
 scenes on the walls, I understood why everyone makes a big deal out of this
 theater.  Since I had a half hour to wait before they started seating, I
 stayed in the foyer and admired the soft, natural looking colors, and Garden
 of Eden style ceiling.  The place seems small compared to the theaters I've
 been to in Houston.  But unlike them, this has a sense of history and
 elegance.  

After a while they opened a set of doors on one side of the foyer, and I was
 amused to find they opened directly into the Lion King section of the Disney
 Store.  So it seems that you can't shake the merchandising madness of Disney,
 but I didn't mind.  

Finally they began seating and an usher kindly escorted me to my orchestra
 seat.  I had seat F 14, which is certainly close enough to the stage to see
 all the detail, but a little far over on the right to see everything happening
 on that side.  But it wasn't bad.  The seats, on the other hand, are very
 narrow.  That's the only complaint I have with the whole place.  When they
 rebuilt the New Amsterdam they could have done it with wider seats.  

But that all fades away as you look around and marvel at the intricate designs
 surrounding the stage, the beautiful high ceiling, and the murals, which make
 you feel a little like you're in the Paris Opera house.  It's amazing since
 the outside of the place gives no clue as to the grandeur inside.

Soon enough the lights dimmed and the performance began.  The chilling opening
 chant of Rafiki is heard as the dawn breaks and is answered by performers from
 the boxes to the left and right of the stage.  From the very beginning the
 audience feels included in the music and the feeling of the singers.  

Then the animals begin to come in from the sides of the stage and the back of
 the orchestra.  From where I was sitting you could look all around you and see
 something going on.  There was really too much to look at all at once.  While
 Mufasa and Sarabi's presentation of Simba should have been the main focus, you
 can't keep from staring at the mesmerizing cheetah, or the life-size elephant.
  

So I can hear people asking, "Is it all flash and no soul?"  Not in the least. 
 While some of the effects may be a little distracting from the story at times,
 it is all done in a very basic way.  Most of it is more artistic than flashy. 
 And the music is filled with a real sense of spirit.  A fundamental force of
 the play is the genuine feel of African culture, which composer Lebo M is
 responsible for.  There are many added chants and songs in native languages
 that have been left untranslated.  


After the audience has been uplifted in the first scene, we are reminded that
 not all of life is a joyous event, as we watch Scar impale a mouse with his
 cane.  The scene is done with a shadow puppet mouse that scampers across the
 stage, oblivious to the motionless lion waiting for it, until it is skewered
 and somehow materializes at the end of the cane, in a simple yet delightful
 trick.  

Director Julie Taymor has chosen not to limit herself to one style of
 theatrical storytelling, instead using different techniques to show events.  I
 tend to think that some work better than others, but like everything in this
 play, the effectiveness will be different for everyone.  I have read enough
 reviews to realize that art can be interpreted in many ways, and this show is
 no different.  What floats my boat may sink yours, so you'll just have to see
 it for yourself and decide.  Keeping that in mind, I didn't find the
 wildebeest scene to be as effective as the movie.  That may be due to the fact
 that I was sitting far to the right, and didn't see it from the best angle.  

What did make me open my mouth in awe was the "ghost of Mufasa" scene.  Half
 the effect is in the surprise, so I won't describe it, but simply say I was
 impressed.  

One should see the production with as open a mind as possible.  Everything is
 symbolic in the show.  Don't come looking for a literal recreation of the
 movie, or realistic looking animals.  Seeing the way things have been
 interpreted is part of the enjoyment.  It's not always blindingly apparent at
 first, but understanding it is half the fun, like realizing the braids on
 young Nala's head form ears.  

There are some wonderful additions not found in the movie, such as the
 ritualistic portrayal of lionesses hunting a gazelle.  In my opinion the best
 additions are the song Shadowland and the strengthening of Nala's character. 
 For those of you who were wondering, the "Scar goes after Nala part" is still
 in there.  I think it's rather appropriate considering that the goal of any
 self-respecting male lion would be to have cubs of his own.  Which they do
 explain in the dialogue.  

Although most characters are like their movie counterparts, each is unique with
 a different design strategy.  Rafiki (Tsidii Le Loka) is a female
 baboon/shaman.  She doesn't need to be altered much from a human form in order
 to bring across the character's meaning.  The actress' face is painted with
 mandrill-like colors and African patterns.  Her extra long fingers, and
 sculpted feet, don't detract from her projection of wisdom.  She is at once
 both comical and powerful.  At one point she is busily chattering on in a
 language most of the audience is completely unfamiliar with, and then asks "Do
 you understand?"

As the only lion with claws, Scar (John Vickery) is portrayed as a warped
 aristocrat of the Serengeti.  With a green-eyed, sharply chiseled mask, and
 spiky mane, he radiates an arrogant evil.  Both he and Mufasa have full
 mask/headdresses, which for the most part reside above the actors faces, but
 lower smoothly into place in times of conflict.  When Scar is advancing upon
 Zazu it lowers sneakily, then rears up haughtily when Mufasa stops him.  When
 they are about to fight both their heads lower in obvious aggression.  It's a
 surprisingly effective touch.  

Mufasa (Samuel E. Wright) wears an African version of regal garb and a
 stern-faced mask.  He is both a gruff lion-king and a loving father to Simba. 
 When faced with danger he responds in kind, threatening the hyenas with a
 scimitar-like blade.  When speaking kindly to his son he removes the grim
 headdress and becomes a normal parent.  

Zazu (Geoff Hoyle) is possibly the strangest character simply because he exists
 in two separate forms.  One is the actor, attired in a blue "tail" coat,
 bowler hat, and orange feet.  The other is a puppet, looking almost exactly
 like the movie Zazu, but white in color.  The bird has the most expressive
 eyes of any puppet I've ever seen.  The symbiotic relationship between puppet
 and actor is tested when the long necked bird is hijacked by a teasing Simba
 during the surreal number "I Just Can't Wait to Be King".  The remaining half
 must make do with some stray ostrich feathers.

Young Simba (Scott Irby-Ranniar), and Nala (Kajuana Shuford), are basically
 children who lack the headdresses of the adults.  Simba's short dreadlocks are
 reminiscent of a very young lion's mane.  They both wear beaded African style
 corsets and baggy pants with cloth tails.  Simba is a bouncy kid/cub who
 doesn't find Zazu's stuffy vision of his future very appealing.  Young Nala is
 his partner in mischief who shows him more than once that she is the stronger
 one.  

Adult Simba and Nala are still wearing similar clothes but have now acquired
 partial lion headdresses.  Each has a tail that they keep tucked around them. 
 Simba (Jason Raize) has grown into an exuberant but thoughtful lion who knows
 how to have fun, but is emotionally distraught over his past.  He shows that
 hakuna matata may be a great song, but it can be difficult to actually live
 by.

Adult Nala (Heather Headley) has grown into a serious lioness who has had to
 cope with the troubles of her homeland.  When events make it clear that she
 can't stay home anymore, she goes out with the blessings of the lionesses and
 Rafiki to find help.  Although why she really needed help from Simba, when she
 was the one who always beat him, is beyond me.