The Lion King

.. The Lion King
1998 Antoinette Perry ("Tony") Award - Best Musical
1998 New York Drama Critics Award - Best Musical

    There can have been few more heavily promoted events this year than the London opening of Disney's new stage adaptation of The Lion King. So does the finished product live up to the hype? To a certain extent it does - the show is a ravishing spectacle which defies comparison with almost anything else, including the animated movie which is its source. However, those expecting much more than stunning visuals may find the evening somewhat lacking in substance.
    The story of young Simba, his father, Mufasa, and wicked Uncle Ska, will be well known to virtually anyone with access to children under the age of 10 and does not need repeating here. The show's book, by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, follows fairly closely that of the film. Where this Lion King offers something new is in the extraordinarily beautiful and effective costume and mask designs of director Julie Taymor and in Richard Hudson's simple yet evocative settings. Much has been written about how much these contribute to the work's success and they are, indeed, quite breathtaking. Unfortunately, in London at least, the piece's other elements are not operating at the same level.
    At times the show is almost too spectacular - it is impossible to take in all of Taymor's extraordinary vision in a single visit and without sitting in several parts of the theatre. In some ways it is the simpler moments that work best. The parade of mourning lionesses after the death of Mufasa, the opening of the second act - when the auditorium is suddenly filled with brightly coloured birds - and the later appearance of Mufasa's apparition out of a shimmering night sky are breathtaking and deeply moving. Some set pieces - such as the famous Wildebeest stampede - are impressive but slightly outstay their welcome and a few, in particular the entwined dancers who swing across the set during the unctuous Can You Feel The Love Tonight?, are actually gauche and distracting. The complicated character masks, which seem to move about almost independently of the actors, present difficulties of their own. There are moments when one is unsure whether to look at the mask or the actor's face and, consequently, looks at neither. Much better are the simpler headdresses, worn by the adult Simba and his companion Nala, which allow the audience to concentrate on the emotions the actors are expressing rather than the visual impact of their costumes.
    For all its innovation, Taymor's production has some surprising lapses. She overuses blackouts where the flowing nature of the piece calls for cinematic dissolves. In a lacklustre moment, the actor playing the older Simba is suddenly substituted for the boy prince in the middle of a number which marks the climax of Act l. This works fine in the film - where much is done to suggest the passing of time and the change of seasons - but Taymor has failed to provide a theatrical equivalent and some children (and many an adult still defeated by the flashback structure of Miss Saigon!) may be confused by the switch. Much of the other plotting also lacks clarity and the story may be unclear to youngsters who are not familiar with the movie. The situation is not helped by a poor sound system which swallows many of the lyrics and even some of the spoken dialogue.
    Despite these cavils, The Lion King, looks quite unlike anything else in contemporary musical theatre and, in terms of its physical production, remains innovative, deeply impressive and, in parts, utterly delightful. However, in this version at least, the performances fail to achieve the same level of excellence. Much of the acting is, frankly, poor. There are three notable exceptions. Josette Bushell-Mingo's wonderfully wise Rafiki (reconceived for the stage as a kind of baboon priestess cum soothsayer) is a delight. Quite apart from being rivetingly charismatic in her own right, the actress's solid presence binds the show together and compensates for many of its superficial faults.
    Paulette Ivory's full throated Nala (a part appropriately and judiciously built up from the animated original) is a real pleasure and the vocal contributions of the largely South African ensemble are impressive. Elsewhere, Ska fails to be sufficiently evil, Simba is dull (and bears an alarming vocal resemblance to Cliff Richard) and much of the humour of comic characters Pumbaa and Timon falls flat. This last seems to be less the fault of the actors than that their performances are somehow lost inside the complicated puppets they have to manipulate.
    With the exception of the joyous I Just Can't Wait To Be King, Elton John and Tim Rice's songs are stodgy and often serve to hold up rather than advance the action. The better numbers are generally the additions, largely courtesy of Lebo M. and Mark Mancini. The chants (by Lebo M. and Tsidii Le Loka) are the show's musical high point and almost make one wish that Taymor had chosen to tell the story purely in terms of this evocative music and her superlative mime work. But that would hardly have provided Disney with the money making juggernaut their position and investment require.
    On the strength of the present production, Julie Taymor would appear to be a director almost without peer when it comes to conceiving and executing unique and visually exciting popular theatre. Her ability to tell a story - and quality control at the casting stage - do, however, leave something to be desired. Those anticipating spectacle will not be disappointed. Anyone expecting a show with real heart may be less impressed. Sadly, one is left with the feeling that half a dozen really charismatic performances, and a little more attention to the basic text, might have produced something quite extraordinary.

New York	New Amsterdam Theatre	Now playing
London	Lyceum Theatre	Now playing
Philadelphia	Academy of Music	June 8 - September 10
Tucson	Music Hall	August 17 - September 24
Raleigh	Memorial Auditorium	September 15 - October 22
Denver	Denver PAC	September 28 - November 12
Nashville	Tennessee PAC	October 26 - December 3
Los Angeles	Panatages Theatre	November 16 - January 7
Productions also now running in Hamburg, Scheveningen and Tokyo