‘The Lion King’ hits a key milestone in its circle of life
In the summer of 1997, audiences in Minneapolis at the Orpheum Theatre saw something no one had ever seen before: leaping antelopes, fluttering birds and elephants lumbering through the orchestra seats.
“The audience started screaming so early. When the animals came down the aisle everybody shot up,” recalls directorwriter Julie Taymor. “I burst into tears. We were just overwhelmed and we knew we had something.”
They did, indeed. That show in a trial run in Minneapolis would soon transfer to Broadway and start a stunning streak that regularly lands it among the weekly top earners and becomes young people's introduction to theater. It is “The Lion King,” and it turns 25 years old on Broadway this month.
“The Lion King” has been a model of consistency in its march through records. In April 2012, it swiped the title of Broadway's all-time highest-grossing show from “The Phantom of the Opera,” despite “Phantom” having almost a full 10 years' head start. With plans for “Phantom,” to close next year, “The Lion King” jostles with “Chicago” for its crown of longest-running show on Broadway.
So established is “The Lion King” that it's easy to forget its revolutionary origins. Audiences were seeing Asian-inspired puppets and masks telling an African tale with several African languages, using South African performers and a Black king.
Taymor, who works on theater, operas and films, recently took time to look back at the blockbuster show she directed, designed costumes for, crafted masks and puppets with Michael Curry, and even added lyrics for the song “Endless Night.”
Her task some 25 years ago was enormous: reimagining Disney's animated blockbuster with its iconic Elton John songs — including the Academy Awardwinning “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” — into a live spectacle set on the African savannah. She filled the stage with warthogs and meerkats, with birds circling high on sticks and antelopes in the mezzanine.
There have been 28 “The Lion King” productions since the first, it has been performed in nine different languages and seen by a staggering 110 million people. It has played over 100 cities in 21 countries on every continent except Antarctica.