Prepare To Be Amazed Like Never Before (Lion King)

Member Name: Vertigo100

Product:	Lion King
Date:	19/08/03 (614 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Everything

Disadvantages: Nothing

I have always loved watching The Lion King film, but it wasn?t until the end of February/the beginning of March that I really became a massive fan, and I mean, massive. I had read reviews about the show on Dooyoo, and ever since I realised how much people like it, I had constantly been nagging my parents if I could go and see it. Finally, after months, they let me see it, and I couldn't wait. By the way, I'm going to go into a lot of detail on what the show is about, and it may spoil your viewing pleasure. So if you've never seen the show before, or if you're planning on seeing it, it might be best if you didn't read this review.

I went to go and see the show with my father. We had both booked to see it with a local coach company for the weekend beginning 16th August 2003, (last weekend). We left our house at 6:00am, and arrived in London at about 12:00, where we did some shopping at Marble Arch in the afternoon. We booked into our hotel at 4:00pm, and arrived at the Lyceum Theatre for the evening performance. There was also a shop there, full of Lion King merchandise. I bought a program, a cast and crew booklet and a T-shirt. My seat was in the Royal Circle, at seat J1. I could see everything from where I was sitting, and all I had to do now was to wait until it began.

We soon heard a voice all over the theatre, reminding us that we weren't allowed to take any photos, and for us to switch off our mobile phones. I knew then that it was about to start any second, and I was feeling very excited. But nothing could prepare me for what I was about to witness.

The lights dimmed, the curtains opened, and Rafiki started chanting the beginning of Circle Of Life. An animal appeared in each of the two boxes. An orange sun started to rise, and a cheetah and two giraffes appeared from the sides of the stage. The cheetah was done by someone as the cheetah's back legs, moving the front legs with long, thin sticks, and the gira

ffes were done by people on stilts dressed in giraffe costumes. This was extremely effective. Some more animals joined them, and there was even a large elephant, which appeared from the back of the stalls, (the ground floor), and walked up some steps leading to the stage, getting the audience involved. The stage then opened up to reveal some steps which symbolised Pride Rock. Mufasa and Sarabi were at the top. Rafiki climbed up to the top, and showed Baby Simba to the animals, who all celebrated. This truly was a spectacular scene to watch, and I was truly gobsmacked. I could feel tears in my eyes, and so could my father.

I found all of the scenes effective, especially the stampede scene too. For this scene, we could see a picture of wildebeest on top of a hill. Then there was a rumbling sound all round the theatre. I could even feel the floor vibrating underneath my feet! The picture then disappeared, and a screen of wildebeest running down the hill took its place. Then some more appeared on two spinning logs, and finally, some of the cast with wildebeest masks appeared, and danced around as if they had just overtaken Simba, who was trying to run away from them. All of these wildebeests gave the impression that they were getting closer and closer to Simba and the audience. There was even dust coming from the wildebeests? hooves! After Mufasa rescued Simba, we could see Mufasa climbing up a cliff, with Scar waiting at the top. When he pushed him off, Mufasa fell to the ground as if in slow motion, which was achieved by the actor attached to some invisible strings. As he fell, I could feel tears in my eyes again, and when Simba found him lifeless on the ground, trying to wake him up. Another time when I felt tears was during the end scene, which was when Simba and Nala's cub was shown to all the animals. This matched the beautiful and incredible impact of the first scene.

The actors weren't just dressed up in animal costumes. They also
had m
asks and used puppets. They showed many different ways to represent the characters. We could either see the actors using the puppets, or them moving sticks about for the animals, but our attention was always based on the animals. Also, a couple of times into the show, we could see little puppet animals under spotlights, being moved along the stage by someone pulling strings from the side of the stage. The way these animals moved was brilliantly realistic. It was very easy to believe that every single animal we saw in front of our eyes were real.

The songs featured in the film were included in the show, but they were slightly updated, which worked really well. There were also some new songs, which all fitted in very well with what was happening. Most of the dialogue used was taken word for word from the film, but occasionally, some new scenes were shown, which as a result, had new dialogue, so even the biggest Lion King fan, (hopefully me!), didn't know what was going to be said next.

Altogether, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. It had my attention from the moment it started to the moment it finished. I was always focused in what was happening on the stage. It never ever wandered. There was always something happening all around us. As well as the first scene, where animals came onto the stage from all directions, in the first scene after the interval, some of the cast waved birds into the air from some more long, thin sticks. They came from on the stage, the stalls, everywhere. This again was very effective, and made the birds look very real - flying all over our heads. Let me say that the show is definitely NOT just for kids. The whole audience was filled with people of all ages, and most of the people on the coach I was travelling on were adults. The tickets were a bit on the expensive side, but they were more than worth it. The time and the effort that must have gone into this show is outstanding. I would like to thank Julie Taymor, w
ho designed the
costumes, masks and puppets. Without her, the show would not be as fantastic and as effective as it is. The show is long, but that is definitely a good thing. The longer, the better in my opinion, as I was never bored watching it. I loved every single second. The whole show could possibly be the best two and a half hours of your life.

Now that I've seen the show, I feel very happy and very satisfied. It was an absolute pleasure to watch the greatest show of the greatest film on the planet. And yes, you've guessed it, I've already started nagging my parents if I can go and see it again!

Summary: