Disney The Lion King. Courtesy of Broadway in Indianapolis. Used with permission.
Disney The Lion King – Courtesy of Broadway in Indianapolis. Used with permission.
I saw a production of Disney The Lion King North American Tour Thursday at the Murat Theatre at Old National Centre in Indianapolis, presented by Broadway in Indianapolis.
Even after all these years, The Lion King can still make me wonder how anyone came up with what I’m seeing onstage.
A lot of that comes down to director Julie Taymor.
Disney could have tried to copy the animated movie scene for scene. Taymor took a better route. The actors are visible under the masks, and the puppeteers do not hide how the animals move. People become grass, birds, giraffes, lions and other parts of the savanna. The show lets us see the stagecraft instead of covering it up.
Disney The Lion King – Courtesy of Broadway in Indianapolis. Used with permission.
That is what impressed me most: I can see exactly how the illusion works, but I still buy into it.
The plot is straightforward. Simba is supposed to take over the kingdom from his father, Mufasa, but Scar causes Mufasa’s death and pushes Simba into exile. Simba grows up trying to avoid his guilt with Timon and Pumbaa. Nala and Rafiki eventually make him face his past, go home and take responsibility.
It is a coming-of-age story, but beneath that familiar structure lie larger themes of family, identity, responsibility, death and renewal. The “circle of life” is more than the title of a famous song; it is the organizing idea of the entire work.
And then there is that extraordinary opening.
“Circle of Life” has become so familiar that one might expect it to have lost its power to surprise. In the theatre, it hasn’t. As animals emerge and the theatre itself seems to become part of the African landscape, the number announces that this will not simply reproduce an animated movie onstage. It will use live theatre’s vocabulary—movement, music, masks, puppetry, light and the audience’s imagination—to create its own world.
Disney The Lion King – Courtesy of Broadway in Indianapolis. Used with permission.
The score expands the familiar Elton John and Tim Rice songs with additional music and African influences, particularly through the contributions of South African composer Lebo M. Garth Fagan’s choreography provides another essential ingredient, combining movement, character and ritual into the production’s visual language.
The acting, dancing and vocals were exceptional, and the cast made the familiar material feel fresh.
Taymor’s achievement was recognized historically when she became the first woman to win the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. The Lion King won six Tonys in 1998, including Best Musical, choreography, scenic design, costume design and lighting.
But awards alone do not explain the show’s endurance.
What keeps The Lion King remarkable is how it combines a huge production with simple theatrical ideas. Its scale are extraordinary, but the show still depends on actors, masks, puppets and an audience willing to imagine.
A production this ambitious does not come along often, especially on tour.
For many people, this tour may be their only chance to see a production this ambitious. By the end, it feels less like another night at the theater than an event they will remember.
Tickets: The Lion King runs through Oct. 18 at the Murat Theatre at Old National Centre, 502 N. New Jersey St., Indianapolis. Tickets and performance times are available from Broadway in Indianapolis or by calling 317-231-0000.
