In other major roles, Spencer Plachy (Scar) lacks the menace and venom to create the script’s fearsome villain. Their “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” was lovely.
Their “Hakuna Matata” is a show highlight. Darian Sanders (Adult Simba) and Kayla Cyphers (Adult Nala) have fine singing voices, but develop shallow characterizations. Ben Lipitz (Pumbaa the warthog) and Nick Cordileone (Timon the meerkat) delight. South African actor Gugwana Diamini, who has appeared in both stage and film versions of The Lion King, shines as the storytelling Rafiki. With all the amazing performers available, especially since the COVID epidemic closed all the professional shows, which are only now making a slow comeback, it would be expected that the casting directors could have found a crème-de-la-crème cast. She supervises new productions of the show around the world. The resulting sound is a fusion of Western popular music and the sounds and rhythms of Africa.Īfter a pandemic pause, the touring production, which was rehearsed in Cleveland, was staged by Taymor, the first woman to win a Tony Award for Direction of a Musical.
The score features Elton John and Tim Rice’s songs from The Lion King animated film, along with three new songs and additional musical material.
Julie Taymor was the director, costume and mask co-designer of the show, which has had over 25 global productions and is the only show in history to generate six worldwide productions running 15 or more years. It has been performed in eight different languages in addition to English (Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese), and its worldwide gross exceeds that of any film, Broadway show or other entertainment title in box office history. The original production won six 1998 Tony Awards and has earned more than 70 major arts awards. Only The Phantom of the Opera (12,370) and the revival of Chicago (9,692) have had longer Great White Way runs. It is the third longest running show in Broadway history, clocking a little over 9,300 curtain raisers. The Lion King, whose North American touring company recently opened in Cleveland’s Playhouse Square’s Key Bank State Theatre, has an enviable record.
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