The Lion King: A Live Theatre Report

On February 12, 2015, the African savannah was packed up in a box- lions, hyenas, birds and giraffes included- and shipped to Memphis, Tennessee where it transformed the stages of the Orpheum theatre! The Lion King, an adapted musical from the book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, is an exciting and relatable tale of a young lion, Simba, and his journey growing up as the next in line to be king of the savannah. The production takes the audience from the birth of the prince through his rambunctious, care-free childhood and follows all the struggles and triumphs he faces leading up to his crowing as king of the pride. The Lion King takes full advantage of the audience’s senses, and the theatre’s space. …show more content…
There are many scenes in the production that one would imagine to be very difficult in creating on a simple stage, such as the scene where Mufasa is trampled by a stampede of antelope. Although difficult to portray, the extreme creativity utilized does an incredible job of communicating the story to the audience! In the antelope stampede scene, the set-designer used three different levels of perspective. Farthest upstage was a painted back drop of many small antelope. This was constantly moving as if on a rolling pin, pulling the image down to appear as if more, and more waves of antelope were moving towards the audience. In front of this backdrop were carved antelope bodies mounted on a wind-mill like structure that caused them to also move in a way that makes them look like more and more are coming. Further downstage, dancers dressed as antelope danced around as Mufasa was trampled among them. The three moving layers of this scene were all framed by tall pieces that gave depth as though the antelope were running in a valley, and also aided in focusing the audience’s eye on the herd “running” towards them. By utilizing the different levels and sizes of antelope, the set-designer successfully gives the appearance of seeing many antelope far off, and then, growing increasingly big each layer, makes it appear as if they are coming straight for the viewer. This makes for …show more content…
From the very start of the show it is the backbone of the production. High on either side of the audience were men with bongo drums giving a very wild, animalistic sound, helping to transport the audience member into the setting of the show. So many of the songs have been well-known since the release of Disney’s movie version of the show. This, in a way, helps unite the audience, many of whom recognize the songs from their childhood and want to sing along! Even if you haven’t hear the soundtrack before, the music is all incredibly catchy and perfectly captures the mood of each scene and marks important turns in Simba’s story. Lyrics in songs such as “Hakuna Matata” are extremely clever and even