REVIEW>'Lion King' triumphs in Boston
New England premiere of Disney's 'The Lion King' showcases all that live theater should be
by James A. Lopata
BOSTON - With the opening of “The Lion King” at the re-opened
Opera House comes the triumph of live theater.
The star of this production, is not any of the talented cast
members, not full-voiced tenor Alan Mingo, Jr. as lion king
Simba, not gentle Adrienne Muller as his queen Nala, not the
kookily endearing Futhi Mhlongo as the eccentric spirit-guide
Rafiki, nor is it the richly melodic and exotically evocative
score of Elton John and Tim Rice, nor is it even the ingeniously
innovative stagecraft of director (and Massachusetts native)
Julie Taymor, which has been justifiably lauded with the highest
of accolades by critics and public alike.
Rather, the star of “The Lion King” is theater itself: that
strange human art form whereby a piece of cloth becomes a river,
a shadow is a mouse, a man on stilts is a giraffe, and a ribbon
pulled from the eyes of a mask becomes tears, and that same
ribbon, ripped off, transforms into defiance; that mysterious
cultural practice whereby characters burst into song as
naturally as co-workers gossip around a water cooler.
And yet unlike much of contemporary commercial theater since the
advent of realism, in “The Lion King,” the piece of cloth is
still the piece of cloth, the shadow is still just a shadow, the
ribbon is still the ribbon. There is no need to hide its true
nature.
It is the brilliance of childhood play. Why else is it called a
play? And director Taymor plays in the fullest sense of the
word.
Consider that “The Lion King” derives its plot from the very
heart of theater, the masterpiece of dramatic literature
Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
About a young prince and heir to the throne whose father was
suspiciously killed, the main character – Hamlet/Simba – must
discern his true nature and take his place in the circle of
life.
This “Circle of Life” theme, also the musical’s opening number
and Billboard hit, finds incredible resonance in the way that
Taymor re-cycles, re-invents, re-imagines and re-invigorates
objects and ideas.
Taymor resurrects ritual, the precursor and roots of theater.
She does not shy away from funeral rites, or the customs around
a call to the hunt. In fact, surprisingly for a musical meant
for children (as well as adults), “The Lion King” contains more
significant killings than any show in recent memory. It is only
through Taymor’s extraordinary use of ritual that the brutality
of these deaths is transformed into the eternal beauty of, once
again, the circle of life.
Not only does Taymor invite the eastern theatrical methods of
Japanese bunraku and Balinese shadow puppets into Broadway, but
she plays with top hat and can dancing in evil Uncle Scar’s
numbers, and she effects American vaudevillian slapstick with
the King’s sidekick clown Zazu the bird. (Note that the Opera
House was first built to house vaudeville performances.)
To witness “The Lion King” is to see the synthesis and
culmination of all that theater can be.
Who could have imagined that it would have been Disney to
produce such a feat?
After all, “The Lion King” represented Disney’s second attempt
at producing a Broadway musical. The first was “Beauty and the
Beast,” a glorified theme park production of the movie.
Providing creative license to a director of Julie Taymor’s avant
garde talents took a leap of faith on the part of the commercial
entertainment behemoth of Disney. The leap paid off handsomely.
And what better way in Boston to celebrate the incredible
ongoing power of live theater than in the gloriously resurrected
Opera House?
The sad side to the triumph of this event is that almost seven
years after “The Lion King” opened on Broadway almost no other
major theater piece – as wonderful as “Hairspray,” “The
Producers,” and “Avenue Q” (perhaps the closest) are – has had
the courage to take the same leap.
“The Lion King” performs at The Opera House, 539 Washington
Street, Boston, through December 26, Tuesday through Thursday at
7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday
at 1 and 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 617/931-2787 or
connect to www.broadwayinboston.com.
First appeared in "In Newsweekly: New England's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender newspaper"
July 22, 2004