As a fan of musical theatre and a lover of most things Disney, I had wanted to experience “The Lion King” since it first opened on Broadway. Back in 2003, thanks to the wonderful people at the Dallas Summer Musicals, I finally had my chance. With my son in tow, I headed to the Music Hall at Fair Park prepared for an evening of enchantment. Fortunately, the show delivered more than I could ever imagine. Now, its 2007 and "The Lion King" is back at the Music Hall, right smack dab in the middle of the State Fair. This time I brought my daughter, who is 4 years old (and wasn't even born the last time I went). She is as much a lover of Disney movies as I am, "The Lion King" being one of her first 'favorites.' She used to watch it so much that she insisted on playing it every night for months. Now she's more into the Princesses, but news that she was getting to see the live Broadway version of the show has kept her jumping and squealing with joy for the last two weeks. When she and I headed out that Saturday evening, we thought we were going to be braving the State Fair traffic but I was surprised and relieved to find out the State Fair did not start for another 6 days.

So the trek was pretty uneventful, except for the fact that Sarah was jumping up and down asking me "Are we there yet Daddy? Daddy, are we there? Daddy, Daddy, Daddy…"

Once inside, we hung out wand waited for the show to start, which for me was pretty easy. For Sarah… not so. Waiting for an hour and a half is like waiting forever so I did my best to keep her entertained until show began. Fortunately she made a friend of another little boy and the pair played 'chase' until it was time to go into the auditorium.

When the lights went down and the curtain went up, we were caught up in the opening strains of “Circle of Life”… as the sun rose on the stage. Animals darted across the landscape, an elephants and rhinoceros headed to the stage through the audience, and Pride Rock moved in from the side, circling around into place. The music soared, Rafiki lifted baby Simba to the heavens, and then…the stage went black to the thunderous and seat-shaking bass note that ends the song. It was, in a word, amazing. Seeing the look in my daughter's eyes throughout this opening brought tears to mine.

Director Julie Taymor certainly, deserved her Tony Award win for this inventive and challenging show. To take an animated movie and adapt it to the stage is not an easy task. There is creativity in every single aspect of the show. The use of puppetry and costumes, though right out in the open, completely transforms the actors into the animals (and sometimes plant life) they are supposed to represent.

What amazed me the most was how they were able to take some of the most powerful scenes from the movie and recreate them on stage. Most impressive was that of the Wildebeest Stampede in which Mufasa, the King, is killed. I can’t even begin to describe it here, but it is as believable and heartbreaking as it ever was on film.

At times, some of the subtlest effects were amongst the most powerful. The image of Mufasa looking down from the night sky to tell Simba of his legacy was brilliantly designed. Various shapes slowly moved and turned through the background, only occasionally being hit by dim light. As the scene progressed, these pieces came together to form the massive face as it was hit by full light.

The only scene in the show that I thought was unnecessary came in the middle of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." The stage was taken over by nearly nude dancers who moved through a rather rudimentary ballet sequence, four of them performing from wires over the stage. It seemed horribly out of place both musically and visually and went on a little too long and actually got a little boring until Simba and Nala returned to the forefront. Still, this is the only misstep in an otherwise incredible show.

All of the performances were terrific. Dionne Randolph commanded the stage as Mufasa, while Timothy Carter oozed evil as Scar. Almost stealing the show was Tony Freeman, who was hysterical as Zazu. Mark Shunock as Timon and Ben Lipitz as Pumbaa made a delightful team. But most memorable was Phindile Mkhize, whose terrific performance of Rafiki served as the glue that held the entire show together.

All in all, “The Lion King” was entertaining start to finish with only one brief dull moment. It was great watching all the kids on the audience, my daughter most of all, using their imaginations to the fullest, all the while allowing these actors to bring some of their favorite animated characters to life.

The Lion King
September 20 - October 21, 2007
State Fair of Texas
Fair Dates: Sept. 28 - Oct. 21, 2007
Website

We'll give The Lion King: The Musical an A.