Ever since I was twelve years old and my mom took me to Toronto to see my first broadway show, Beauty and the Beast, I have been obsessed with theatre. One of the musicals that I have longed to see since that time is The Lion King; perhaps this was because of my (sometimes unhealthy) love for Disney, but nevertheless, I knew that I just had to see this show. I remember my brother's class one year went to see it for a school trip. My mom went along and I suffered a ridiculous wave of jealously, the kind that only siblings can have for one another. Afterwards, they both boasted about how incredible it was, which I was sure was their way of rubbing it in my face. Not fair at all. It wasn't until ten years later that I was finally able to join my mom and brother in the vast audience for one of the most breathtaking musicals of all time.
On Sunday November 7th a bunch of us journeyed to the Lyceum Theatre in London. I knew the show was going to be brilliant - I had no doubt that my very high expectations would be met - however, reviews and photos seen on many types of media could not prepare me for the absolutely, overwhelming awe I felt while sitting in the audience during the opening scene where they sing Circle of Life. I felt like I was going to cry. The singing was completely African; it was so passionate and powerful, I couldn't help becoming emotional.
The set and costumes, too, were unbelievable. I have since done some research on the costume designer, who is amazingly also the director, Julie Taymor. She said that it was very complicated at first, trying to come up with a way to make the animal costumes realistic. It was after much thought that she decided not to hide the humans underneath: "my first hurdle was how to deal with a story that is all animals, but is in essence a human story - am I going to take great actors and hide them in animal suits?
This duality between the human and animal became the philosophy behind the costumes, masks, puppets, even the staging; [I decided] the human and animal would both be seen, and celebrated, at the same time. In all cases, the actor would be the force behind the stage magic, and he or she would be visible to the audience. I thought, what if I create these giant masks that really are clearly Scar and Mufasa, but then the human face is revealed below, so that you’re not losing the human facial expression, you’re not hiding the actor?" Aside from the obvious symbolism here, which I love (come on, I am an English major, remember?) I think she made the right decision, as does pretty much every important person in the industry. Julie Taymor has won several best costume and best director awards for her work, and the musical itself has been equally successful, winning multiple awards for five consecutive years after its debut.
Now, in terms of rating The Lion King in comparison to all the other shows I've seen, it was definitely not the best (I think Wicked and Billy Elliot take my top two places). There were a couple slow parts, I have to say, and I didn't particularly care for the actors who played Simba, Young Simba and Nala (there were several understudies performing the day we went, including those three), but the music and costumes certainly made up for those few faults. Not surprisingly, I was singing Hakuna Matata all the way home.
