Five reasons ‘The Lion King’ is must-watch musical
From the plains of Africa all the way to Manila, “The Lion King” roars so loud it is considered the yardstick by which other Disney movies that came after it are measured.
The coming-of-age tale of lion cub Simba debuted on Broadway in 1997 to staggering success. That means it’s been two decades since we were transformed in watching “The Circle Of Life” opening sequence, while attempting to sing along to the Zulu lyrics, “Nants ingonyama bagithi baba.”
Amid changing times, “The Lion King” remains popular, a global cultural phenomenon that's been seen by over 90 million people worldwide, becoming only the second show in history to claim so.
It’s not often that big-name musicals like “The Lion King” come to the Philippines, and Concertus Manila, the promoter behind the show, said in a statement that it was able to sell “over 14,000 tickets on day one of the priority booking period, eclipsing the previous record of a single day of sales for a theatrical production.”
“The Lion King” runs until May 6 at The Theatre at Solaire. Bulletin Entertainments lists five reasons why you shouldn’t miss this Tony award-winning musical:
Universal theme
“The Lion King” is one of those rare productions that has something for everyone without catering to a particular audience.
Associate Director Anthony Lyn said the musical highlights the importance of humanity despite its animal characters.
“It’s a show that everyone can connect with. It has a love story in so many different levels. It gives you that sense of understanding on what you need to contribute in the process of being linked across generations,” he said.
Among others, Anthony pointed out “The Lion King” emphasizes the significance of a parent-child bonding, as well as teaching everyone that friendships come in all shapes and sizes.
“It tells about the story of getting lost and eventually finding your way back home. The connection between a father and a son is very important in a way that you will still find forgiveness regardless of all the pain, the grief you’ve caused each other.”
Modern classic
Felipe Gamba, Director of International Strategy for Disney Theatrical Group (DTG), shared the Manila staging of “The Lion King” took many years of intensive planning.
“Actually, every production of ‘The Lion King’ takes many years in the making. A lot of stars are needed to be aligned for it to happen,” he quipped. “Here in Manila, first of all, we needed to identify partners and build relationship in the market in able to deliver the show.”
“We also have to see the level of maturity in terms of the infrastructure, talent pools and everything that happened in the past years. So we’re lucky we will be able to settle it and the lions are now here!”
Since the musical is already 20 years old, Anthony said adjustments in technicalities and choreographies are inevitable. But they make sure to maintain the authenticity and uniqueness of the story.
“The story itself is already a tried formula so we had no problem with that. However, we had some adjustments in terms of the choreography, with the dances, the production numbers. But it’s nothing terrible,” he shared.
According to him, they want to deliver a more “fresh” take on the musical by giving the actors leeway to “play the art of the story.”
“When we direct it, we tell them (the actors) to not exactly copy the original (version). We want them to offer something that is more refreshing to the eye of the viewers, maybe in terms of their actions, their facial expressions or in the way they move their hands.”
LSS (Last Song Syndrome)
The resulting sound of “The Lion King” is a fusion of Western popular music and the distinctive sounds and rhythms of Africa ranging from the Academy Award-winning song “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” to the haunting ballad “Shadowland.”
The Broadway score also features Elton John and and Tim Rice’s music from “The Lion King” animated film along with three new songs.
Other songs in the show are “They Live In You,” “Hakuna Matata,” “Endless Night,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “Grassland Chants,” “The Morning Report,” “The Lioness Hunt,” and “Be Prepared.”
Diverse populace
“The Lion King” has a total of 18 nationalities in the company.
Anthony believes the musical is a “great social experiment” about culture. The actors treat each other as a family, he noted.
“We have a diverse onstage company and throughout the run of the show, they learn things about each other both in theater and in life,” he said.
Anthony credits American director Julie Taymor for the idea, saying she aims to represent the “beauty and heart of togetherness” in this production. Note, Julie became the first woman to win the Tony Award for directing “The Lion King.”
“The Lion King” features South African performers Calvyn Grandling as Simba, Noxolo Dlamini as Nala, Candida Mosoma who returns to the role of Shenzi, Bjorn Blignaut as Banzai, Mark Tatham as Ed, Ntsepa Pitjeng as Rafiki, Mthokozisi Emkay Khanyile as Mufasa, and British actor Anthony Lawrence as Scar, among others.
Six Pinoys
Alternating in the role of Young Simba are Julien Joshua Dolor, Pablo Palacpac and Juan Tiongson; while sharing the role of Young Nala are Sheena Bentoy, Uma Martin and Felicity Napuli.
In a previous interview, Anthony said the kids did extensive auditions to snag their parts.
“The Philippines have incredible talented kids. I was very fortunate to come here to work for ‘Miss Saigon’ before, and I see a wonderful culture of singing here,” he said. “So when we decided to stage the show here in the Philippines, I think it’s automatically a no-brainer on why we got Filipino children. After all, they are really incredible and their fellow Filipinos should watch out for them.”
The associate director describes the Pinoys are “the nicest, most welcoming, genuine people” he had met.
“The Filipino audiences are really wonderful people. It’s uplifting for the soul to see how they support the local talents we have here in the show. Another good thing about them is that they possess wonderful sense of excitement right after we announced that we are coming to Manila,” he said. “You know, working with these six children is so amazing – plus the food here is really superb! So we really had a great time in here in the Philippines.”
The international tour of “The Lion King” will next go to Singapore, Malaysia, Korea and Taiwan with more engagements to be announced soon.