The Lion King

Last night was an evening I will never forget.  My wonderful husband took me to see the Lion King.  He had purchased the tickets for me as a surprise birthday present (my birthday is October 3) back in March.  However, I spotted the confirmation e-mail Ticketmaster sends before they snail-mail the tickets.  Even though the surprise was ruined, the anticipation of waiting for October 6 was worth it.  I sang "Hakuna Matata" in my head a a hundred times over the past five months.

Given all of the build-up, I honestly thought there was no way seeing the musical would ever live up to my expectations.  Boy, was I wrong!  Even though I had seen the commercials, heard about my siblings experience at the musical several years ago, and even watched live performances by cast members on morning shows, the real thing was far beyond my wildest dreams.  From the moment Rafiki began the experience with the familiar, yet unforgettable, bellow into the theater, I was whisked away to Africa for two hours.  My trip was made complete by strutting cheetahs, bounding gazelles, and, of course, lots and lots of lions!

The acting was almost impeccable.  The young man who played Simba must have spent hours at the zoo studying lions.  His cub-like antics were well researched, and perfectly executed.  The continual comic relief provided by Zazu and the Hyenas, however, were probably my favorite parts.  The man manipulating the Zazu puppet made me a believer in the use of visible puppet-masters on stage with their instruments.  Pumbaa and Timon also had me laughing hysterically on a couple occasions, though I do wish they would have given the Timon actor a brown base color, instead of green.  Perhaps I am missing the point of the green, but I found it distracting.  My only other real criticism is in regards to Nala.  I feel that both the young and old "Nala" were far overshadowed by the associated "Simba," but the director may have intended this.  I would only argue that the gap is very wide, as it stands.  The "Nala" character can definitely be kicked up a notch (or two or three) without risking overstepping the role of the true Lion King.

Though my criticism of the performance is limited, the venue, and its staff, left a little more to be desired.  I was surprised that the Cadillac Palace theater was only about half full.  We were attending the first week of performances on a Wednesday night, so maybe that is why.  Our seats were on the "Dress" balcony, a small outcropping of three rows that makes a C around the stage.  Only half of the seats in this area (that desperately needed a new paint job) were full.   The ushers were terrible, and honestly more like roadblocks then traffic signs.  And the lady who sold me my tee-shirt replaced the "medium" I looked at, but then requested "large", with another "medium."  That is just motivation to keep exercising, I guess.

I would rather experience a shoddy theater, with an awesome Broadway musical, so I will stop complaining and start relishing the great memories I have of the Lion King.  As I sit looking at my program this morning, I can't help but smile as rhythmic African drums rumble through my head.