Disney’s The Lion King roars into Washington DC’s Kennedy Center

Matthew Murphy

After The Little Mermaid rejuvenated Disney’s animation division, the company followed that success with Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992) and The Lion King (1994). With songs by Elton John and Tim Rice and impressive animation, the film was a massive hit (and though some at Disney originally felt no one would want to see it) winning two Oscars (Best Original Song and Best Original Score) and three Golden Globes (Song, Score and Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy). After Disney’s first foray into Broadway musical territory in 1994 with a stage adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King roared to life in 1997 and has played more than 10,000 performances, making it the third longest running Broadway show in history. It collected 11 Tony Award nominations in 1998, winning six including Best Musical. The show launched its first national tour in 2002, and now the third edition of the tour has taken up residence at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center for the next month.

If, like me, you’re not all that familiar with The Lion King, the plot is a bit Biblical in natures, a bit Shakespearean as King Mufasa presents his newborn cub to the animals of the savannah, ostensibly the cub who one day will become the new king. Mufasa’s brother Scar is none-too-pleased with this development, knowing now that he will never be king … unless. As cub Simba grows he befriends Nala, a young lioness, and they become fast friends, quickly getting into trouble at the hands of Scar who is hatching a plan to do away with both Mufasa and Simba. With the help of the hyenas at the Elephant Graveyard, Scar sets his plan into motion, killing Mufasa, and convincing Simba it was his fault so he should run away and never return. This gives Scar the title of King as he confirms that Simba is dead as well. Simba makes new friends with Timon and Pumbaa, and as years pass he finds himself happy where he is. Until a chance encounter with the now grown Nala forces him to make a life-changing decision: stay happily where he is, or confront his murderous uncle and take his rightful place a king.

I really had no idea what to expect from The Lion King except what I had seen in little snippets on TV. I knew actors would be dressed in stylized animal costumes and that there would be a lot of puppetry and choreography. I was not prepared for the sheer spectacle of the show, particularly the opening number (‘Circle of Life’) which featured characters making their way to the stage down the theatre aisles. It was so breathtaking — a full-sized elephant walked past my seat — that it was difficult to contain my emotions. On stage were all manner of creatures from giraffes to gazelles, cheetahs to zebras, all actors in costumes or massive puppets or actors in costumes that were also puppets. It was stunning. Julie Taymor’s Tony Award-winning costumes are just on another level, the amount of creativity and technical prowess to make it all work just leaves on speechless. The way Mufasa’s and Scar’s lion heads move down over their faces when they want to make a point is pretty cool, and the Timon and Pumbaa puppet costumes are technical marvels. I mean, you can see the actors but you only really focus on the characters, who are both pretty accurate adaptations of their animated counterpoints. The hyenas are also pretty creepy too (if just a tad annoying) … and they might be just a bit too scary in some of their actions for the younger ones you may want to bring to the show so be warned.

Matthew Murphy

Richard Hudson’s Tony Award-winning scenic design is breathtaking, from the rising sun at the start of the show to the starlit night sky where a giant image of Mufasa’s face appears out of the darkness to the amazing wildebeest stampede and everything in between (did I mention the birds that ‘fly around’ the theatre at the top of Act II?). All of this is augmented with Donald Holder’s Tony Award-winning lighting design, making The Lion King a feast for the eyes. The orchestra is on point (perhaps a bit too loud at times, drowning out some of the singers) and the two percussionists on either side of the stage is a nice touch. And none of that would work without the insanely talented ensemble who not only operate the puppets and do some amazing choreography (by Tony Award winner Garth Fagan), but they also become part of the scenic design at times as their costumes also function as pieces of the set. Tony Award-winning director Julie Taymor really pulled out all the stops with The Lion King, and everyone’s had work from the actors to the crew and technicians is all up on that stage.

But we can’t forget the actors. Gerald Ramsey is a great father-figure as Mufasa, going to any lengths to protect Simba, showing his anger and disappointment when the child ventures off to places he should not be, but also showing some leniency and fatherly love in place of a harsh punishment. Peter Hargrave is appropriately sinister as Scar, and Gugwana Dlamini is a hoot as Rafiki. The young actors playing Simba and Nala in Act I (Mason Lawson and Aniya Simone at our performance) are terrific, and their performances are matched perfectly with those of Darian Sanders and Khalifa White as the grown up Simba and Nala in Act II (and their curtain calls show how in sync they are). White in particular has a real showstopping number, ‘Shadowland’, that showcases her beautiful, powerful voice. Nick LaMedica gets some laughs as Zazu, the hornbill, but the real comic relief are Nick Cordileone and John E. Brady as Timon and Pumbaa. Cordileone’s Timon had a bit of a Joe Pesci flavor to it, and there might have been a few too many fart jokes for Brady’s Pumbaa, but they were a great comedy team earning their laughs, particularly in one brief, ‘how did they do that’ moment where Timon has to act as a distraction to the hyenas. And while the hyenas were threatening when they needed to be, the characters were a bit grating and the one slight misstep (no shade to the actors who were just playing the characters as they were directed).

That minor quibble aside, the costumes, puppets, lighting design, scenic design, choreography, the cast and the amazing work of the ensembles, all of their voices raised in song makes The Lion King a truly epic theatrical experience that you won’t want to miss. One note — please be on time to the show. Late arrivals will have to wait in the lobby until the end of the opening number, and a flood of people getting into their seats after the show has started is very disruptive to the audience members already seated.

The Lion King runs about 2 hours and 20 minutes with one 15 minute intermission. Recommended for ages 6 and up.

The Lion King runs through July 29 at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center. Other cities on the schedule include Philadelphia, Albuquerque, San Francisco, Portland Oregon, Minneapolis, Dayton, Durham, Columbus, Charlotte and more. Visit the official website for more information. Use our Ticketmaster link to purchase tickets.

“The Lion King” Trailer

Disney Theatrical Productions
The Kennedy Center

 
Check our Ticketmaster link for ticket availability.