Image: Deen van Meer ©Disney
Last week The Lion King, Disney’s bold stage adaptation of its 1994 hit film, became the highest grossing stage show of all time, surpassing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, which, to be fair, had been given an 11 year head start. It’s just opened in Brisbane with the largest advance box office in the history of the Lyric Theatre. The Lion King is a cultural phenomenon, so much so that people who do not enjoy it cannot say so publicly, it is not socially acceptable. For even questioning the power of the MacArthur-certified genius of director Julie Taymor, one would be driven underground, forced to live in the sewers of South Bank, with no escape via the manholes, welded-shut for the G20. But there’s also no escaping the universal truth that its broad appeal, which leaps like a gazelle across barriers of age and language, has significantly less to do with the story and the music and more to do with its old-fashioned ingenuity.
Adapted from the film’s screenplay, influenced by biblical narratives and Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it tells the familiar tale of a royal succession plan gone awry. Young Simba is set to inherit the Pridelands from his father Mufasa, but a tragedy orchestrated by Mufasa’s brother Scar sees Simba flee his home, living in exile with meerkat Timon and warthog Pumbaa until the day he is found by childhood friend Nala and convinced to return home and fight for his title and his kingdom.
Seventeen years on from its Broadway debut, audiences are no less enthused by what this story delivers visually – enamoured as the first giraffes stalk across the stage on stilts, breaking into rapturous applause as full-size puppets begin shifting down the aisles. Taymor’s mask work was and is extraordinary and the variety of puppets she developed with Michael Curry remain the main attractions. Just think how good she would have been at the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge. Richard Hudson’s scenic design is suitably sparse, evoking an African savannah. As with Taymor’s work, Hudson relies on audience imagination to help create the scene.While South African composer Lebo M’s choral sound sends the heart aflutter and is still used to sell the show around the world, Elton John and Tim Rice’s work is a mixed bag at best. Circle of Life soars, Hakuna Matata is catchy (but so is the jingle for Woolworths) and Chow Down takes you by surprise, in that it hasn’t been cut from the show. Even the politely-cute I Just Can’t Wait To Be King overstays its welcome, with a rough sound mix ensuring that Young Nala and Simba are almost entirely drowned-out by the orchestra.
Leading a cast of performers from across the globe, Australia’s Josh Quong Tart is a brooding, camp and wonderfully wicked Scar. Rob Collins gives genuine warmth to Mufasa and when opportunities present, Jamie McGregor and Russell Dykstra thankfully resist the urge to scene-steal as Timon and Pumbaa. In his musical theatre debut, Nick Afoa makes for a charming, comfortable Simba – perhaps too relaxed to bring any emotional weight to a song like Endless Night. And it’s impossible to imagine this production without Buyi Zama, who has performed as shaman Rafiki in productions all over the world, including in the 2003 Australian production. Her voice, physicality and comic timing are incomparable.
The Lion King has roared into Brisbane at the exact right moment – pure entertainment about family, for families. And with everything else going on, ‘no worries for the rest of your days’ sounds to many like a pretty appealing problem-free philosophy.
Rating: 3 out of 5 starsThe Lion King
Music and Lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice
Additional Music and Lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor and Hans Zimmer.
Book by Roger Allens and Irene Mecchi
Directed by Julie Taymor
Scenic Designer: Richard Hudson
Lighting Designer: Donald Holder
Costume Designer: Julie Taymor
Mask and Puppet Designer: Julie Taymor and Michael Curry.
Musical Director: Richard Montgomery.
Sound Designer: Steve Canyon Kennedy
Choreographer: Garth Fagan
Cast includes: Nick Afoa, Rob Collins, Russell Dykstra, Cameron Goodall, Josslyn Hlenti, Andre Jewson, Jamie McGregor, Ruvarashe Ngwenya, Josh Quong Tart, Terry Yeboah, Buyi Zama.
Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre
www4.qpac.com.au
21 September – 25 January
