The Lion King

Crowd roars its approval for Disney's
The Lion King Reviewed by Joe Blenkle/Sacramento Stage & Theatre

Larry Yando as "Scar" and Rufus Bonds, Jr. as "Mufasa" square off during Disney's THE LION KING at Sacramento's Community Center Theatre. Photo by: Joan Marcus.

    It's hard to go wrong with anything Disney and THE LION KING, a musical based on the Disney animated feature film of the same name is a prime example.
    THE LION KING has been on Broadway for eight years and picked up six Tony Awards (including Best Musical), as well as numerous other awards. The production continues to play to sold out audiences, both on Broadway and as it tours around the country.
    It's six-week stop in Sacramento is a real treat and a fitting way to end up the 2004-05 Broadway Series season.
    The plot of the stage production pretty well mirrors the film, with some liberties taken for the stage, of course. And the opening sequence literally puts the audience into the show as the cast of animals parades down through the crowd from the back of the theatre in a slow procession before taking the stage.
    Adults and kids alike took delight in seeing the "animals" up close - including a full-sized elephant (actors in all four legs controlling the giant puppet); giraffes, antelope and numerous other creatures.
    THE LION KING, in fact, is a very puppet-driven production, with the actors on stage controlling their various masks and costumes, with no attempt to hide the fact that there is a human controlling them.
    "THE LION KING is unique in that we see how the magic works on stage," said costume designer Julie Taymor. "There's no attempt to cover up the wheels and cogs that make it all happen. The human beings that control the puppets and wear the animal masks are fully seen. As an audience member at THE LION KING, you have an important job: with your imagination, you are invited to mix the 'animal' with the human into a magical whole. When the human spirit visibly animates an object, we experience a special, almost life-giving connection. We become engaged by both the method of storytelling as well as the story itself."
    While the story basically revolves around Mufasa (Rufus Bonds Jr.), his son Simba (played as a youth by either Khaleel Mandel Carter or Michael Nino Locke Jr. - it wasn't announced which - and as an adult by Wallace Smith), and Mufasa's evil brother Scar (Larry Yando), several other characters often stole the show - including Rafiki the baboon (Gugwana Dlamini) and Zazu (Derek Hasenstab), a hornbill bird, who is Mufasa's most trusted advisor. Zazu had some of the funniest lines in the show and turned into a crowd favorite from the beginning.
    And of course we can't forget Pumbaa (Phil Fiorini), the dim-witted warthog and his pal Timon (Damian Baldet), the meerkat, who sings the praises of the care-free lifestyle of "Hakuna Matada." The trio of hyenas Shenzi (Shaullanda LaCombe), Banzai (Melvin Abston) and Ed (Robbie Swift), who played Scar's bumbling henchmen, also did a great job - although the hyena masks - at least I thought - more resembled Gremlins than hyenas!

FUN FACTS
There are more than 200 puppets in the production of THE LION KING.
It took 17,000 hours to build
the puppets and masks.
Mufasa's mask weighs only 11 ounces / Scar's mask weighs 9 ounces.
The tallest animals are the 18-foot
exotic giraffes.
The elephant is 13-feet long, 11-feet, 3-inches high and 9-feet wide.
The cast and crew includes 143 people.

    The music, which won a Grammy for the Best Musical Show Album, featured the key songs from Elton John and Tim Rice - "The Circle of Life," Can You Feel the Love Tonight," and "Hakuna Matata," as well as added African-themed music from South African songwriter Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin and Hans Zimmer. Percussionists were located left and right of the stage, adding to feel of the show. THE LION KING was a true feast, both visually and musically.
    THE LION KING will be performing at Sacramento's Community Center Theatre, located at 1301 L Street, through June 5.
    Evening performances will take place Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays, May 1, 22 and June 5 at 6:30 p.m. Matinee performances are Thursdays, May 5, 12 and 26 at 2 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. Sunday matinees run May 1, 22, 29 and June 5 at 1 p.m. and May 8 and 15 at 2 p.m.
    Show tickets are priced from $20 to $75 and are on sale at the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office, 1419 H Street, or by phone at (916) 557-1999. Tickets can also be purchased from Tickets.com or the Community Center Theatre box office at (916) 264-5181.
    For more information on the Broadway Series and Sacramento's Music Circus, visit CaliforniaMusicalTheatre.com. To visit the official THE LION KING page, click HERE.

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