Everything about The Lion King Musical totally explained
The Lion King is a
Tony and
Olivier Award-winning
Broadway and
West End stage musical based on the
1994 Disney animated film of the same name and is directed by
Julie Taymor, portraying actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow
puppets. The show is produced by
Disney Theatrical.
The stage show debuted
July 8,
1997, in
Minneapolis,
Minnesota at the Orpheum Theatre, and was an instant and tremendous success before moving permanently to the
New Amsterdam Theater on
Broadway in
New York,
New York, that
October. The show debuted in
London's
Lyceum Theatre in 1999 and is still running, and another production opened in
Toronto, playing there until January 2004. On
June 13 2006, the Broadway production moved to the
Minskoff Theatre to make way for the musical version of
Mary Poppins.
U.S. and international productions
After the success of the Broadway show, the show was produced in the
United Kingdom in 1999 by Harrison Lochtenberg, and continues to play at the
Lyceum Theatre in London. Taymor led the British production of the show, with Peter Schneider as the producer. Rumours have been circulating on the Internet recently saying that the London Production would close sometime in 2009 or 2010 to embark on a UK National Tour. This is yet to be confirmed by Disney.
A Canadian production of the show was staged in
Toronto and ran for nearly four years at the
Princess of Wales Theatre. The show ran from 1999 - 2004
The show played at the
Capitol Theatre in
Sydney,
Australia, from
19 October,
2003, until
26 June,
2005. The production then ran at the Regent Theatre in
Melbourne from
28 July 2005 until
4 June 2006.
The musical had a Korean production from 28 October, 2006 to 28 October, 2007 at the Charlotte Theater, southern Seoul.
The Dutch production of 2003 was being made on the Fortis Circustheatre until
August 03, 2006, giving place to
Tarzan.
Beginning in June 2007, The Lion King Musical debuted its first ever performance on the African continent in
Johannesburg. Its tenth year anniversary was celebrated in the new Teatro Theatre at Monte Casino in Fourways. The Lion King is the first production to take place in the new theatre. The opening night in Johannesburg,
South Africa was celebrated with key persons involving the creation of the Lion King Musical, and American talk show host
Oprah Winfrey, who had recently opened an educational academy for girls in Johannesburg, but in
February 17 2008, the show closed its doors.
The Lion King Musical debuted in
Paris on
22 September 2007 in the
Théâtre Mogador.
There are currently two U.S. touring productions. The tour version is very similar to the original Broadway production; however, certain scenic elements which rise out of the stage floor (such as Pride Rock, the stampede, and the grasslands) were converted to less costly configurations for the touring productions. The sun during the opening is reduced in size for the shorter-lasting tours. Stage sizes are also smaller, and the volume of music as well as the amount of instruments, is decreased.
In August 2008, a production will open in
Taipei,
Taiwan.
Taiwanese Production
Synopsis
Act I
As sun rises,
Rafiki calls the animals to Pride Rock to witness the presentation of
Simba. She greets
King Mufasa and
Queen Sarabi before lifting baby Simba high above the gathered animals ("Circle of Life"). Elsewhere,
Scar laments on his lost chance at becoming king, and is about to attack the hornbill majordomo
Zazu. Before he can do so, Mufasa arrives and confronts him. Back at her
baobab tree, Rafiki asks the
spirits to conjure the new
prince's
name: Simba. She paints an image of
cub Simba onto her
tree.
Time passes and Simba grows into a lively young cub ("Grasslands Chant"). His father Mufasa shows him the Pride Lands from the top of Pride Rock. Mufasa explains to Simba that everything exists in a delicate balance known as the Circle of Life. Mufasa warns Simba not to
stray beyond the boundaries of the Pride Lands. Zazu arrives and delivers a report on the goings-on in the Pride Lands, and Simba takes this opportunity to practice his pouncing ("The Morning Report"). After being pounced on, Zazu relays the information that
spotted hyenas have been sighted in the Pride Lands. Mufasa leaves to deal with them and Simba is left to his own devices.
Simba goes to see his
uncle Scar. The scheming lion piques the cub's
curiosity by mentioning the elephant graveyard, a place where Simba is forbidden to go. Scar knows that Simba will be unable to resist the temptation and go there.
The lionesses go out hunting ("The Lioness Hunt"), and Simba arrives and asks his best friend
Nala to come with him to the elephant graveyard, although he doesn't mention their intended location to his mother.
Sarafina (Nala's mother) and Sarabi agree to let the cubs go, but only if Zazu accompanies them. Simba and Nala formulate a plan and manage to lose Zazu ("I Just Can't Wait to Be King").
The cubs journey to the
graveyard and begin to explore until Zazu stops them. They are about to leave when they're confronted by the three hyenas
Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. When they heard that Zazu had called them "slobbering, mangy,
stupid poachers," they shoot the majordomo bird into the air with the "
Birdie Boiler." The hyenas begin to gloat over Simba and Nala ("Chow Down"). As the predator-prey chase pursues, Simba climbs up to safety, but Nala gets surround by the hyenas. Mufasa appears thanks to Zazu warning him, frightens off the hyenas and saves the two cubs. They return to the Pride Lands.
Mufasa is disappointed that Simba disobeyed him. Simba explains that he was only trying to be brave like his father. Mufasa explains that
bravery doesn't mean you go looking for trouble. Simba asks if he and his
father will always be together, causing Mufasa to look up to the
night sky and tell Simba about the great kings of the past and how they guide and watch over everything ("They Live in You"). Mufasa says that he'll always be there for his son.
Back at the elephant graveyard, the three hyenas lick their wounds until Scar arrives. Scar explains that he'll soon be king if the hyenas assist him, and that the hyenas will never be hungry again if they agree ("Be Prepared"). At Pride Rock, Zazu apologizes to Mufasa for Simba's behavior. Mufasa jokes with Zazu but admits that he's worried about Simba. Zazu tells Mufasa that Simba resembles the King when he was a cub.
Later, Scar takes Simba to the gorge and tells him to wait there. Scar leaves and signals the hyenas, who start a wildebeest stampede down into the gorge ("The Stampede"). Scar tells Mufasa that Simba is trapped in the gorge and Mufasa races to his son's aid. Mufasa leaps into the stampede and manages to save his son, but as he climbs a cliff, Scar betrays him and throws him back into the stampede where he's killed. Scar causes Simba to believe that his father's death was his fault, and that he should flee the Pride Lands. Simba does so. As Simba runs, Scar orders Shenzi, Banzai and Ed to chase and kill Simba, but the hyenas decide to leave him and make Scar believe that Simba is dead. Back at Pride Rock the lionesses and Rafiki mourn the death of Mufasa and Simba (Scar tells them that Simba died also) ("Rafiki Mourns"). Scar climbs to the promontory of Pride Rock, claims the throne for himself, and lets the hyenas into the Pride Lands as his executive staff ("Be Prepared (Reprise)"). Rafiki returns to her tree and smears the drawing of Simba, while Sarabi and Nala mourn for the ones they've loved and lost.
Out in the desert Simba collapses from
heat exhaustion. Vultures begin to circle, but are scared away by Timon, the meerkat, and Pumbaa, the warthog. The duo take the cub back to their jungle home and introduce him to their laid-back way of life ("Hakuna Matata"). Simba stays in the jungle with his new friends and grows into an adult lion.
Act 2
The chorus, dressed in colorful clothes with ornate bird puppets and kites, begin the act ("One by One"). But as the song ends, the beautiful birds are replaced by vultures and gazelle skeletons. (In some cities, such as the recently performed in Pittsburgh, some of the Ensemble would come out, and use the birds on flags, to twirl over the audience.) A drought has hit the Pride Lands under Scar's tyrannical rule.
Zazu, now a prisoner of Scar, listens to the king's woes. First, Scar gets delusions of Mufasa's ghost haunting in every shadow. Then, he laments that he isn't loved, and arrives on the idea of finding a queen and having cubs. Nala arrives to to inform Scar that there's no food and no water, just as the hyenas reported the same thing a few minutes ago; Scar attempts to flirt with her. Nala slashes Scar's face and escapes ("The Madness of King Scar"). Utterly frustrated and upset at current events, Nala decides to leave the Pride Lands and find help, vowing that she'll never forget her pride. The lionesses and Rafiki offer a blessing ("Shadowland").
Back in the jungle Simba leads Timon and Pumbaa to find a resting place. Timon and Pumbaa want to sleep, but the restless Simba can't stop moving. Annoyed with Timon and Pumbaa, Simba dissapears into the night. Timon and Pumbaa lose their courage and follow Simba through the dark jungle. Simba leaps across a fast-moving river and challenges Timon to do the same. Timon falls into the water and is swept downstream by the current until he reaches a waterfall, where he grabs onto a branch. Simba wants to save Timon but is sent into a flashback of Mufasa's death. Timon falls from the branch and Simba snaps out of the flashback, rescuing his friend. Simba is ashamed that Timon nearly died because of his recklessness.
That night the three friends look up at the stars, wondering what they are. Simba recalls Mufasa's words regarding the great kings of the past, but Timon and Pumbaa dismiss it and laugh at the notion. Simba leaves, looking up at the sky and bitterly remembering his father's promise that he'd always be there for Simba ("Endless Night"). In the Pride Lands, Rafiki hears Simba's song on the wind and comes to the joyous conclusion that Simba is alive. She draws a mane onto the drawing of Simba on her tree.
In the jungle, Pumbaa is being hunted and chased by a lioness. Simba confronts the lioness and saves his friend. The lioness flips Simba, causing Simba to recognize that the lioness is his childhood friend Nala. Nala is shocked and overjoyed to find Simba alive, knowing that he's the rightful king. Timon and Pumbaa are confused by this and Simba tells the two to leave so that he and Nala can be alone. Timon realizes what is happening and laments that he and Pumbaa's Hakuna Matata lifestyle has come to an end ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight"). Nala tells Simba about the state of the devastated Pride Lands, trying to encourage him to return and take his rightful place as king. Simba is still guilty about his father's death and leaves.
On his own, Simba meets Rafiki. Rafiki explains to Simba that his father is still alive ("He Lives in You (Reprise)"). As Simba looks towards the sky his father appears as a heavenly vision. Mufasa demands that Simba remember who he's - the rightful king - and that Simba must return home. Simba realizes what he must do.
Meanwhile, Nala awakens Timon and Pumbaa asking where Simba is. Rafiki appears and tells them that he's returned to Pride Rock.
Simba returns to Pride Rock with Nala, Timon and Pumbaa, where he witnesses the ruin that his home has fallen into. Timon and Pumbaa lure some hyenas out of their path: Timon dressing in drag and doing the hula, Pumbaa playing as the stuffed pig. Simba tells Nala to go find his mother while he goes look for Scar.
Scar calls for Sarabi and demands to know why the lionesses aren't hunting. Sarabi tells him that there's no food or water and that they need to leave Pride Rock to survive. Scar refuses and when Sarabi snaps at him about not being half the king Mufasa was, Scar strikes his sister-in-law saying that he was
ten times the king Mufasa was. At this, an enraged Simba leaps down, startling Scar who believes his nephew to be dead. Scar forces a confession of murder from Simba and attacks him, forcing him over the edge of Pride Rock. Believing that he's won, Scar whispers to Simba that
he was the one who killed Mufasa. Simba, infuriated, leaps up and grabs Scar by the throat, causing Scar to reveal the truth. A fierce battle rages between the lionesses, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki and the hyenas ("Simba Confronts Scar").
Simba corners Scar on the top of Pride Rock, where Scar begs for his life and blames everything on the hyenas. In a repetition of Scar's words to cub Simba, Simba tells Scar to run away and never return. Scar, with the thought of Simba killing him, appears to follow this request, but turns quickly and attacks Simba again. But luckily, Simba blocks his uncle's attack, making Scar trip and fall over the cliff where the hyenas are waiting below. They surround their former leader and kill him.
The battle finally at an end, Simba's friends come forward and acknowledge Simba as the new and rightful king. Rafiki arrives and places the king's mantle on Simba. Simba climbs to the top of Pride Rock and roars out across the kingdom. The animals gather at the call of their new king and celebrate. ("King of Pride Rock") Rafiki, Nala and Simba ascend Pride Rock where Rafiki lifts Simba and Nala's newborn cub high into the air, thus continuing the Circle of Life and ushering in a new golden age. ("Circle of Life (Reprise)")
Songs
| Song |
Written by |
Performed by |
Sample |
| Circle of Life | Elton John and Tim Rice |
Rafiki and Ensemble |
|
| The Morning Report | Elton John and Tim Rice |
Zazu, Young Simba and Mufasa |
|
| The Lioness Hunt | |
|
|
| I Just Can't Wait to Be King | Elton John and Tim Rice |
Young Simba, Young Nala, Zazu and Ensemble |
|
| Chow Down | Elton John and Tim Rice |
Shenzi, Banzai and Ed |
|
| They Live in You | Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin and Lebo M |
Mufasa and Ensemble |
|
| Be Prepared | Elton John and Tim Rice |
Scar, Shenzi, Banzai, Ed and Ensemble |
|
| Be Prepared (Reprise) | Elton John and Tim Rice |
Scar and Ensemble |
|
| Hakuna Matata | Elton John and Tim Rice |
Timon, Pumbaa, Young Simba, Simba and Ensemble |
|
| Song |
Written by |
Performed by |
Sample |
| One by One | Lebo M |
Ensemble |
|
| The Madness of King Scar | Elton John and Tim Rice |
Scar, Zazu, Banzai, Shenzi, Ed and Nala |
|
| Shadowland | Hans Zimmer, Lebo M, and Mark Mancina |
Nala, Rafiki and Ensemble |
|
| Endless Night | Julie Taymor, Lebo M, Hans Zimmer and Jay Rifkin |
Simba and Ensemble |
|
| Can You Feel the Love Tonight | Elton John and Tim Rice |
Timon, Pumbaa, Simba, Nala and Ensemble |
|
| He Lives in You (Reprise) | Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin and Lebo M |
Rafiki, Simba and Ensemble |
|
| King of Pride Rock | Hans Zimmer and Lebo M |
Ensemble |
|
| Circle of Life (Reprise) | Elton John and Tim Rice |
Ensemble |
|
Musical adaptation
The musical incorporates several changes and additions to the storyline as compared to the film. The
mandrill Rafiki's gender was changed to a female role, as Taymor believed there was generally no leading female character in the film. Rafiki was portrayed by
Tsidii Le Loka in the original Broadway musical, and by
Josette Bushell-Mingo in the original London production.
Several new scenes are present, including a conversation between Mufasa and Zazu about whether Mufasa is raising Simba correctly, and a perilous scene where Timon finds himself nearly drowning in a waterfall while Simba feels powerless to help him. A major narrative addition is the depiction of Nala's departure in the scene "The Madness of King Scar", where the mentally deteriorating villain tries to make Nala his mate. Nala refuses, and later announces her intention to depart the Pride Lands and find help. She receives the blessings of the lionesses and Rafiki during the new song "Shadowland."
Like its predecessor, the
Beauty and the Beast musical, the show adds more songs to its stage production including
Morning Report sung by
Zazu the hornbill (a song which was later added to the film for the Platinum Edition DVD release). "Shadowland", originally featured on the CD
Rhythm of the Pride Lands with Swahili lyrics as "Lea Halelela", was adapted for the musical with new English lyrics. It is sung by Nala, the lionesses and Rafiki. "One By One", also from the
Rhythm of the Pride Lands CD, was adapted as the rousing African-styled Entre Act sung by the chorus at the opening of the second act.
Many of the animals portrayed in the production are actors in costume using extra tools to move their costumes. For example, the giraffes are portrayed by actors carefully walking on stilts. For principal characters such as Mufasa and Scar, the costumes feature mechanical headpieces that can be raised and lowered to foster the illusion of a cat "lunging" at another. Other characters, such as the hyenas, Zazu, Timon and Pumbaa are portrayed by actors in life-sized puppets or costumes. The Timon character is described by Taymor as one of the hardest roles to master, as the movement of the puppet's head and arms puts a strain on the actor's arms, back and neck.
Composer
Lebo M led the original Broadway chorus. The chorus members are usually visible in the production, rather than being hidden in the shadows as with some other musical shows.
A new section of the production, the Lioness Hunt, features a particularly complicated dance sequence for the actresses, and the dance is made even more difficult by the large headpieces worn during the scene.
During the show's run in China, Chinese elements were included in the musical. One of the songs was adapted to a well-known Chinese pop song, "Laoshu ai dami" or "Mice Love Rice". The cast even cracked jokes and attempted conversations with the audience in Chinese.
Original Broadway cast
Original London cast
Recordings
Various international cast recordings are available on CD, including:
1997 Original Broadway Cast
1999 Japanese Cast
2002 Hamburg Cast
2004 Netherlands Cast
2007 French Cast
2007 South African Cast
A cast recording for the original London cast was never made.
Awards
Tony Awards
1998 Drama Desk Awards
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Musical - Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (nominees)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical - Max Casella, Geoff Hoyle (nominees)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical - Tsidii Le Loka (WINNER)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography - Garth Fagan (WINNER)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical - Julie Taymor (WINNER)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations - Robert Elhai, David Metzger, and Bruce Fowler (nominees)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design of a Musical - Scenic Design by Richard Hudson (WINNER)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design - Costume Design by Julie Taymor (WINNER)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design - Lighting Design by Donald Holder (WINNER)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design - Sound Design by Tony Meola (WINNER)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Puppet Design - Puppet Design by Julie Taymor, Michael Curry (WINNER)
Max Casella (WINNER)
Le Roi Lion (WINNER)
Trivia
A modern urban legend assesses that part of a scene was removed from the American version of The Lion King stage musical. When Mufasa dies, the lionesses cry over his dead body: this is enacted using a Japanese bunraku puppet mourning technique in which ribbons flow out of the eyes to symbolize tears. Some further back in the theatre may have mistakenly thought the lionesses were crying toilet paper, and laughed at an inappropriate moment. However, although the scene can provoke laughter and confusion, the scene wasn't actually removed.
In an episode of The Simpsons, Girls Just Want To Have Sums, The Itchy and Scratchy Musical is a parody of The Lion King Stage musical. There is also a banner in this scene that reads "The Lion King Musical".
Tom Alan Robbins is the only member of the original Broadway cast of the musical to continue to play his role as Pumbaa. Danny Rutigliano was also a member of the original cast, but he wasn't the original lead for Timon. He was an understudy for not only Timon, but for also Pumbaa and Zazu.
Samuel E. Wright, who originally played Mufasa, voiced the reggae-singing crab Sebastian in Disney's The Little Mermaid.
Heather Headley, who plays Nala in the original Broadcast musical, sung the song "Love Will Find A Way", together with Kenny Lattimore. The song can be heard in the film The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride, when Kiara and Kovu find each other again after a seperation.Further Information
Get more info on 'The Lion King Musical'.
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