REVIEW: ENDURING POWER OF LION KING
Cheesier elements of film toned down for stage
When it first appeared in theatres, Disney’s The Lion King was a monumental stylistic departure from the movies that came before. But in the past 20 years, its inventive elements have largely been eclipsed by changing technology and musical tastes.
It’s a particular testament, then, to director Julie Taymor’s vision that the musical adaptation of the film is still a captivating theatrical experience 18 years after it first hit the Broadway stage and won a boatload of Tony awards.
Its opening at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Friday night drew a mixture of pint-sized Disney enthusiasts and older fans seeking a nostalgic experience.
The dramatic opening lines, sung with gusto by Tshidi Manye as Rafiki, drew a few excited gasps from the audience, calling to mind first viewings of the film’s arresting introduction. From there, the story of a young lion’s journey to become king unfolded in a carnival of theatrical spectacle.
The key to the show’s enduring power may be that Taymor’s adaptation pays respect to the Disney film but then builds on it. Where other film-to-stage adaptations might feel like cynical cash grabs done with only cursory thought to the deeper messages of the story or the unique needs of live theatre, Lion King takes very seriously its themes of friendship and universal balance. It also seeks to connect with African culture in a meaningful way, solving some of the issues from the source material in that department.
The old Elton John and Tim Rice soundtrack are there, including Hakuna Matata, Can You Feel the Love Tonight, and of course, Circle of Life, but their cheesier elements have been toned down and threaded together with a rich tapestry of South African-inspired music.
Taymor has roots in avant garde theatre and a great deal of the pleasure of the Lion King continues to be its surreal visual elements. Clumps of grass dance while cheetahs prowl the savannah, all against a dreamlike backdrop of golden light.
Another Taymor trademark is that the show makes beautiful use of its touch of horror. At first it seems the darker moments might prove a bit too much for little ones in the audience, but the show doesn’t revel in them too deeply, instead using comedy to balance out the tone.
In the comedy department it’s easy to draw a comparison with Beauty and the Beast, which came to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre earlier in the season. Where that production felt overburdened with pandering jokes and soulless slapstick drawn too directly from the source material, the Lion King keeps itself from going too deep into cartoonishness. The dastardly hyenas are scary enough in their costumes to offset their goofy antics while the puppets representing Simba’s friends Timon and Pumba are such marvels of engineering that you almost forget they’re meant as comic relief.
For this tour, the staging also seemed better adapted to the size of the QE theatre than Beauty and the Beast, which often felt either crowded or underwhelming in its big numbers.
A great deal of the power of The Lion King also comes from muscular and nuanced performances by everyone from the leads to the ensemble. Manye, who has been with the show for 14 years, has a commanding presence and it was a shame to see her replaced in the second act Friday evening.
Particularly impressive are the young performers — Mikari Tarpley as young Nala and Tre Jones as young Simba — both of whom manage to keep up beautifully with Garth Fagan’s dense, layered choreography.
Above all, what makes the show an engrossing spectacle is the breathtaking invention of the puppets. They interact seamlessly with the human performances, but imbue the story with an extra layer of magic and depth.
After all these years, the Lion King remains the high water mark for film-to-stage adaptations.