Hakuna Matata
I went to see the Chicago's "Disney presents the Lion King Musical" last week. Having seen the movie many times when it first came out, I thought the musical is nicely adapted for stage. It is visually stunning and the set/costumes are brillant. I was most impressed with how they transformed each character, where most of the characters have both the human quality as well as animal quality. One might say that in the movie, the animals are anthropomorpholized. But on stage, the human aspect of the characters is pronounce. Especially when Mufasa talked to Simba about the kings of the past, it was a scene that really represent a father talking to his son, that Mufasa took down his lion costume and transformed into human.
I loved how costumes are designed. It's almost like a puppeteer show at times, incorporating the human element with the animal physique. the set used many bright colors, and some cartoon colors. The special effects were well done.
Acting was varied among actors. I enjoyed the portrayal of Scar, Rafiki, the hyenas, Zazu, and the grown up Simba. But Mufasa was a bit weak, particularly since I think James Earl Jones' voice was best-suited. A lot of humor is retained from the movie and the stage production added a few more, making it perhaps more relateble the audience.
It's not a musical where music/singing never stops. We get occasional dialogues, and a few new pieces of songs. The Lion King achieved its goal of impressing the audience from the very beginning and even though I have seen the animated rendition, I think I enjoyed the stage production more. It is definitely worth seeing if it is playing in your city.
I went to see the Chicago's "Disney presents the Lion King Musical" last week. Having seen the movie many times when it first came out, I thought the musical is nicely adapted for stage. It is visually stunning and the set/costumes are brillant. I was most impressed with how they transformed each character, where most of the characters have both the human quality as well as animal quality. One might say that in the movie, the animals are anthropomorpholized. But on stage, the human aspect of the characters is pronounce. Especially when Mufasa talked to Simba about the kings of the past, it was a scene that really represent a father talking to his son, that Mufasa took down his lion costume and transformed into human.
I loved how costumes are designed. It's almost like a puppeteer show at times, incorporating the human element with the animal physique. the set used many bright colors, and some cartoon colors. The special effects were well done.
Acting was varied among actors. I enjoyed the portrayal of Scar, Rafiki, the hyenas, Zazu, and the grown up Simba. But Mufasa was a bit weak, particularly since I think James Earl Jones' voice was best-suited. A lot of humor is retained from the movie and the stage production added a few more, making it perhaps more relateble the audience.
It's not a musical where music/singing never stops. We get occasional dialogues, and a few new pieces of songs. The Lion King achieved its goal of impressing the audience from the very beginning and even though I have seen the animated rendition, I think I enjoyed the stage production more. It is definitely worth seeing if it is playing in your city.
