Did Nala just stage a women’s march?
Both of Disney’s musical movie masterpieces, “The Lion King” and “Frozen,” have the same problem: a second act that is weaker than the first. The latter half of “Frozen” is dark and song-less, while the last 40 minutes of “The Lion King” tumbles toward a predictably action-oriented climax, with the saccharine “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” as its only memorable song.
Still, “The Lion King” remains one of Disney’s greatest films because its opener, the first truly cinematic scene in American animation, is perfect. The stage production of “The Lion King,” now in its 20th year of existence, has an introductory set piece that is just as spellbinding. But here’s why the musical is better: a superior second act.
This show, at the Hobby Center through July 23, makes this case mostly through two songs in act two that weren’t in the film.
“Endless Night” is Simba’s monologue about finding himself and remembering his father’s promise to always be with him. It expresses the raison d’être of “The Lion King,” an adaptation of “Hamlet,” which is that it’s a story about a father and a son, where the son loses the father and must then find his purpose in life.
As Simba, Dashaun Young’s performance reminds people who
prefer musicals to plays why that’s true — musicals reach their emotional apex not through a scene that must be viewed through a narrative context, but rather a creation whose achievement is self-contained. In other words, compare the stand-alone power of “Endless Night” to “Move On” from “Sunday in the Park with George,” “No One is Alone” from “Into the Woods,” or “Wait for It” from “Hamilton.”
Then there’s “Shadowland,” featuring Nala and her pride of lions fighting against a male-dominated regime. It’s an expression of black feminism with the same kind of imagery as Beyoncé’s “Formation” music video — women standing with each other to express both strength and sensitivity, both outrage and communion. Did Nala just stage a Women’s March in the Pride Lands?
Before you accuse me of sullying a tourist- and child-friendly show with identity politics, think back to what led these lions to their “Shadowland”: Scar, with his hyenas who have kept the same Nazi-esque goosestep from the film. Scar, threatening Nala that she, as his property, will bear his children without her consent. And consider the title of the song. Isn’t the word “Shadowland” applicable to any period in history shrouded by injustice?The politics here are plain even if they aren’t overt, nor intended.
And here’s the least political thing about “The Lion King”: It’s a Broadway musical featuring a whole lot of beautiful brown bodies at a time when “The Color Purple” is closed and “Hamilton” is impossible to see. The musical, more cognizant than the movie of African tradition and art, symbolizes a globalized, tolerant world. There’s no argument to be made for why that isn’t just wonderful. It’s our reflection in the water.
wchen@chron.com twitter.com/weihuanchen