Lion King still the crown of live theatre
There’s a double dose of magic with The Lion King, evident in the national touring company of the Broadway mega-smash now settled in at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House for a nine-week summertime run.
Most of us are aware of the magic of the story and the spectacular staging that brings it to life. The coming-of-age tale set to African rhythms has become part of America’s cultural consciousness thanks to the original 1994 Disney film and the enduring stage version, which has been selling out on Broadway since 1997.
As the show continues to tour the nation’s top regional theaters, the spirit of hakuna matata (“no worries” in Swahili) reaches new audiences every day.
But perhaps almost as magical, although in a more practical way, is the manner in which the Disney company has managed to keep the show just as fresh and vivid as when it opened.
What makes The Lion King stand apart from other musical fantasies is the all-encompassing spell, the sheer pageantry that envelopes and holds the audience for its two-and-a-half-hours-plus performance.
The spell is strong, but magic is an ephemeral thing, and it can vanish instantly. That has not happened with this show. The current production is just as effective at conjuring up the enchantment as the last time the tour came this way.
A very human fable
There’s the poignant story with its primal themes, of course. Young lion cub Simba has a natural inquisitiveness that leads to tragedy for his noble father at the paws of his evil uncle Scar. It’s a fable that explores the cycle of life and death unsparingly.
The music from Elton John and Tim Rice, the smoothly percussive rhythms, the dazzling costumes and puppetry, the movement that blends African and modern dance with ballet, the animation, and an eye-filling, scenic lighting and sound design create an ancient but familiar world in a shared experience that is rarely achievable in live presentation.
All that is challenging enough to manage once. Or twice. But to do it thousands of times, night after night on stages of varying sizes and capabilities, seems supernatural all by itself.
At about this point, I should be explaining how they do it. But I can’t. Somehow, Disney, the corporate monolith, has found the heart of this thing and keeps it beating.
The human factor is essential, of course, and this is one of the hardest-working casts you might ever see. The opening parade of animals filling the aisles lets you know from the very first moments that something spectacular is happening. Dozens of denizens from the African savanna pass by, brought to life in a stylized blend of puppetry, technology, masks, poles and human faces.
Drum beats emanating from two extensions on the sides of the Opera House stage fill your ears and travel right to your gut. It continues like this until the audience erupts into sustained, grateful applause at the finale.
The show is recommended for children 6 and older. Our almost-9-year-old boy seemed transported to the place only children seem to inhabit — a world somewhere between reality and imagination that is palpably real to them.
He laughed at the silly jokes, with their contemporary style and sensibility, and watched with wide eyes as the spectacle unfolded. He grew still in intensely emotional scenes, and I suspect he has taken something of that experience home with him.
Despite the grand scale of the production, the story telling is actually simple. Good versus evil, the father-son relationship, jealousy and ambition are all there in stark and vivid simplicity.
Actors inhabit their roles
Jordan A. Hall is splendid as Simba, the young lion, combining equal parts emotion and mischievousness. He successfully carries the weight of sorrow and fright, without losing the essential cheerful nature of the cub.
He is the favorite, of course, but this production really belongs to Patrick R. Brown as the malevolent Scar. Brown’s portrait of brotherly treachery is deeply entrenched in primal emotions, and he carefully calibrates his performance so he can send the occasional shiver up young spines without unsettling them. His rendition of the song “Be Prepared” is multi-layered and robustly sung.
It is a credit to Brown that the audience is unwilling to grant him a fully positive reception at the end. When he appears for his curtain call, the ear-splitting applause, yells and whistles sputter somewhat. He takes it in stride, remaining in character, although as a character who knows he should be ashamed of all the bad things he has just done. To an actor, the restrained response is probably more rewarding than enthusiastic applause.
Of course, it is not all serious. The show puts us in a cheerful mood as the anthem to our lovely planet, “The Circle of Life,” helps the opening parade get under way. The delightful tune “Hakuna Matata” is quite fun. Ben Lipitz and Nick Cordileone delight as the unlikely pals who guide us through much of the story.
Lipitz is Pumbaa, the amiable but gassy warthog, and Cordileone is Timon, the tart-tongued, wisecracking meerkat. Tshidi Manye brings a flamboyant charisma as Rafiki, the baboon soothsayer.
Artful direction
Julie Taymor should get much of the credit. She is the director as well as the costume designer and one of the mask and puppet designers. She even contributed some music, and has artfully incorporated Garth Fagan’s wide-ranging choreography, which borrows from Asian and African motifs.
It is challenging to mount an epic tale with sensitivity, especially with as many technical dimensions as this one requires. Each member of the large cast is lithe and always animated.
With their anthropomorphic animal and plant-life masks and animal appendages, the actors could lose all sense of humanity. But under Taymor’s direction, they remain expressive and communicate fully.
The Lion King remains an enthralling experience that goes beyond the boundaries of live theater. It is a communal celebration, a world unto itself that is created every night at 7:30 p.m. Something not to be missed.
The Lion King continues through Aug. 17 in the Opera House of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW in Washington, D.C.
Tickets range from $40 to $195. They are on sale at the Kennedy Center Box Office, by calling Instant Charge at (202) 467-4600, or online at www.kennedy-center.org/tickets.
There will be audio-described performances on Sunday, July 20 at 1:30 p.m., Thursday, July 24 and Friday, July 25 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 3 at 1:30 p.m.
Sign-interpreted performances are on Thursday, July 24 and Friday, July 25 at 7:30 p.m., and Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m. Captioned performances will be on Friday, Aug. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 3 at 1:30 p.m.
The Kennedy Center will accommodate accessibility needs, including wheelchairs and assistive listening devices. Call (202) 416-8727 (voice) or (202) 416-8728 (TTY) for information. To reserve a courtesy wheelchair, call (202) 416-8340.