Theatre: Cadillac Palace
Details: Lion King
Online Tickets: Ticketmaster
Though November 23, 2003
Well, the wait is over! After many months of anticipation, The Lion King has finally roared into Chicago. This Chicago point-of-origin tour will be here for quite a while before it moves on. My only regret is that it is not a permanent fixture on Randolph Street.
Disney’s track record has always been strong. On screen, the vast canon of animated films has captured the hearts of millions, so it was only fitting that live theatre was the next step. Beauty and the Beast was a brought a whole new generation of children to the theatre. The Lion King followed suit, winning six Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Director of a Musical.
Is there anyone out there who hasn’t seen The Lion King movie, or heard the story from someone? If you’re a parent, you’ve no doubt seen the movie repeatedly. The difficult question was how to stage the story without the benefit of animation. The decision to hire Julie Taymor to helm The Lion King was a stroke of genius. Without Ms. Taymor’s contribution, this production would have been vastly different. If Disney had just decided to do a stage rehash of the animated movie, it wouldn’t have been nearly as successful. The addition of African rhythms, masks that simulate animal faces and African vistas and puppets that seem to come to life was an essential part of the show’s success.
Ms. Taymor, whose work includes the Broadway hit Juan Darien, A Carnival Mask, the Latin death and resurrection tale told with masks and puppets, and the brilliant but disturbing film Titus, is a highly visual director. She seems to envision the whole picture at once, and needs to be given carte blanche to create the world of the play or film.
The Lion King is a visual feast from first to last. Taymor wastes no time in this production. From the first moment, the soaring voice of Thandazile A. Soni, as the baboon Rafiki, welcomes us to the world we are about to visit. And then the animals enter from all corners of the theatre - among them a huge elephant, giraffes, a cheetah, zebras, antelopes, and many others. For nearly three hours, the feast continues.
The masks and puppets are a masterwork. From Scar’s (Chicagoan Larry Yando, in fine malevolent form), moveable Lion Mask, to Timon (beautifully played by Benjamin Clost), a puppet built into a costume, which is so lifelike that you actually forget there’s someone behind it. Then there’s Pumbaa (Bob Amaral), a huge warthog built around a man, and the comically evil (and very hungry) Hyenas (Shaullanda LaCombe, Melvin Abston and Brian Sills). Mufasa (Rufus Bonds, Jr.) and Simba (Brandon Victor Dixon), the king and the heir apparent, wear their lion masks on top of their heads, giving them a regal appearance.
Julie Taymor’s massively inventive production (she designed the costumes, co-designed the mask and puppets, wrote some of the lyrics and directed the show) is astonishing to look at, but it packs a great deal of emotion as well. These are not just actors with puppets we are watching. They are characters in a grand story almost too big to tell on stage. Donald Holder’s lighting design complements the show perfectly, from sunrise to sunset.
The Lion King brings out the best in its performers. Leading the pack (so to speak) is Larry Yando, whose fine work I have seen for years in Chicago. His Scar is simultaneously evil and funny; Thandazile A. Soni gives a joyous performance as Rafiki. You can see how much fun she’s having; Rufus Bonds is grand and regal as Mufasa. Brandon Victor Dixon and Adia Ginneh Dobbins are the perfect pair as Simba and Nala; Derek Hasenstab (another Chicagoan) is delightfully frenetic as Zazu, and Benjamin Clost and Bob Amaral are the perfect comic pairing as Timon and Pumbaa.
The Lion King employs more than 232 puppets, 27 kite birds and 143 people, 53 actors and nearly a hundred others to create its magic, and all of them are fortunate to be a part of this production. I put off seeing The Lion King in New York for years in hopes it would come to Chicago. And finally, it has. Don’t miss it.
For More Information, visit: http://BroadwayinChicago.com
