Purrs and roars of ‘Lion King’ come from talented flutist
One of the most peculiar and challenging jobs for “The Lion King,” Disney’s best-selling musical that’s at the Hobby Center through July 23, isn’t on the stage. It’s in the orchestra pit, right up front next to the drum set, where a multitalented instrumentalist named Darlene Drew sits.
Drew, a longtime “Lion King” orchestra member, is technically a flutist for the musical. But her job is far from simple. She plays flutes of varying sizes and origins, from a small piccolo-size instrument to a large bamboo flute that gives songs such as “The Circle of Life” their signature sound.
These aren’t your everyday band-class instruments. Drew plays 15 flutes in total, with origins ranging from Romania, China and Peru. Each flute requires a different skill set.
“These instruments can be unforgiving,” says Drew, demonstrating a Peruvian pan flute just hours before a show this week.
It’s one of those easyto-ignore aspects of a musical that dazzles so much onstage: Great songs and bright colors aside, there are likely only a handful of flutists in the world who can properly play Drew’s part in “The Lion King.”
That’s because the flute part demands the player to switch from instrument to instrument, which means she must learn a variety of techniques. It took Drew, a professional flutist, about a year to learn “The Lion King.”
And these rare instruments aren’t readily available.
“You can’t just order one of these flutes and make it work. I have to have it custom-made,” she says.
Drew looks at one flute, which isn’t the long metal woodwind instrument you might picture but a series of long tubes made of bamboo. She says that means it requires not a breathy technique but quick, percussive bursts of air.
“I play this South American instrument, made by a European from Asian bamboo,” Drew says, admiring not just the design but the intensity that the instrument demands.
Because after 14 years playing this part in “The Lion King,” Drew has formed a relationship with these instruments. And even after all these years, playing them remains an impressive physical feat.
“They stretch me,” she says. “If I get cocky with them, they’ll slap me down and humble me.”