Great first act...... (Lion King)

Member Name: gajonesmcse

Product:	Lion King
Date:	09/07/00 (152 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stunning Opening Sequence, Costumes, Music

Disadvantages: Boring Second Act, Can feel long and drawn out

I'll start by saying that i had a ticket to see this at the end of January but i simply could not wait that long to see it - while down in London i tried to get a £10 ticket for Rent (no luck) and also a ticket to see Miss Saigon before it closed down at the end of the October (no luck) so third time lucky i decided to try and get a ticket for the Lion King - knowing the demand for tickets was high i didn't hold out much hope - however i got a seat two rows from the front of the dress circle (B26) - this was a fantastic seat and really perked me up - trouble was i then had to wait six hours until i finally got to see it - on arriving at the theatre i have never seen so many ticket touts trying to sell tickets - i probably could have sold my ticket for a lot more than i paid for it but i had wanted to see this so badly that i wasn't going to sell it for any price.
This has to be one of my all time favourite disney films - i was really interested to see how the animals would be portrayed on the stage - i'd listened to the OBC recording and heard so much hype about the show in new york (sold out a year in advance and full houses every night).

The time finally arrived and i took my seat - i had a great view of all the action on stage let me say it's worth going to see this just for the opening number "Circle of Life" - we start with a bare stage and Rafiki comes on stage and begins singing - two cast members appear in boxes on either side of the auditorium and join in with Rafiki - what looks like papier mache' sun rises from the stage and two giraffes appear on stage - this is done so cleverly (cast on stilts) that the audience broke out into applause - as more animals appear, a leopard and zebras, you just find yourself clapping as to how simple yet brilliant it is - then as the stage fills up an elephant and a hippo make their way down the stalls aisles and get up onto the stage - amazing.

The story for the
rest of the first act concentrates on how the young Simba grows up and finds out that one day he will be king - this annoys his uncle Scar who was next in line to the throne so his uncle concocts a plan to do away with simba and his father Mufasa so he can take his rightful place as the king of the pridelands - this leads to one of the highlights of the first act (a song called Be Prepared) where Scar tells his hyena henchmen (and woman) to get ready to take control of the pridelands - this scene in turn leads to an absolutely stunning setpiece where the hyenas cause a pack of bison to stampede - young simba is sitting on a ledge at the front of the stage and there are v shapes cut out in the set - as the bison get nearer the theatre really shakes - you really have to see this for yourselves to get the full effect.

The first act ends with the song "Hakuna Matata" where we meet Timon and Pumbaa - it's clever how Timon is played (again you have to see it to really appreciate it) - it's at this point the young Simba grows into the adult Simba.

The second act opens with a song called One By One where puppeteers appear all over the auditorium and you have birds flying everywhere - the second act concentrates on how Simba's betrothed Nala finds him again and tries to persuade him to come back to the pridelands and put right all the wrongs Scar has done - but Simba has a confidence crisis and this leads to a great song called "Endless Night" - as Simba and Nala become ever closer the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is sung - this is a great song but is staged in such a way that it is almost embarrasing to watch - you have cast members on ropes intertwining with each other - i could have done without this as it makes the song longer and for me didn't quite work as it was staged - Rafiki then gives Simba the courage to go back to the pridelands (he lives in you reprise) - this is quite a spectacle to see a
s we see Mufasa's face appear behind a waterfall - The confrontation finally takes place between Scar and Simba - Scar admits to killing Mufasa and Simba can finally stop blaming himself - he then final ly takes his place as the king of the pridelands and the Circle of Life begins again with Simba and Nala having a lion cub of their own.

I guess i have to admit that although i really did enjoy the show the second act did appear to drag on a bit - the first act zooms along at a cracking place and has all the really spectacular set pieces - there are a couple of slow numbers that seem to slow the pace of the second act (Shadowlands and CXan you Feel... being the main culprits.)

Also the stage did appear to be barren for long periods of time but i guess that as the show is set in the barren plains of Africa this really couldn't be helped.

All the cast were in fine form especially the actor playing Scar (Rob Edwards) who played it with just the right amount of menace - the actor playing Mufasa (Cornell John) had a really strong voice and sang "They Live In You" really well - the adult Simba was in fine form as well and he sang "Endless Night" just as i wanted it sung - the two child actors playing the young Simba and Nala were also impressive and sang "I Just Can't Wait to be King" with much energy - all the actors playing the hyenas were also in impressive voice. I suspect this show will run for many years to come and will probably last longer than Beauty and the Beast has. Overall it is really worth going to see just for the sheer spectacle of the staging of the first act - as i said before, my only complaint would be that the second act could do with a bit more speed in it but really i would just be picking hairs.

So go get booked up if you can and see one of the most spectacularly staged shows you will ever see.

See you in the stalls

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