Review: Broadway Across Canada's The Lion King a fully immersive experience
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Settling into your seats, you'll notice two musicians with large African drum kits on either side of the stage preparing for their roles, a thrilling hint of what's to come. But when Rafiki the mandrill (Mukelisiwe Goba is wise and mysterious in the role) welcomes the future king Simba to the rolling plains of Tanzania as a score of animals (including an elephant) parade down the aisles of the theatre and on to the stage, audience members feel at one with the rocky outcrops and swaying grasses of the Serengeti. Performers on stilts as giraffes are shadows against the red-orange sky; antelope mounted atop multi-wheeled bicycles spring effortlessly across the landscape.
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The imagination is completely engaged. In an era dominated by endless, exhausting, digital noise, this feels like no less than a miracle.
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Over almost 30 years, the multiple Tony-award-winning Disney story of the lion cub Simba exiled following the death of his father king Mufasa has grown into an integral part of the musical theatre canon. As the third-longest-running and the highest-grossing show on Broadway (pulling in $1.8 billion by 2023), it's fast becoming a tale as old as time.
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And for good reason. Soulful, upbeat tunes by Elton John and Tim Rice combine with Julie Taymor's impressively expansive touch as director and costume designer alongside breathtaking choreography by Garth Fagan to marry a simple coming-of-age story with the powerful history, music and landscape of Africa. The result lodges stubbornly in the heart.
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The first act of the show reveals the Shakespearean tension between Mufasa (the warmly paternal Darnell Abraham) and his brother, Scar (Peter Hargrave is perfect as the two-faced, scheming villain). The young Simba of this production (Julian Villela in the show I saw Saturday night) plays the open-hearted boy cub with all the boisterous bravado the role requires, falling easily into the murderous plot executed by Scar and his henchmen, a circling hackle of hyenas that terrify and amuse by turns. The African red-billed hornbill Zazu (Drew Hirshfield in a pitch-perfect representation) provides enough levity in the first act to keep the little ones in the audience from feeling too despondent.
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But it is the second act in which the humour of The Lion King takes off as Simba fights to assume his rightful throne with the encouragement of his friends. The meerkat Timon (with Canadian-born Robert Creighton behind the puppet) and warthog Pumbaa (Danny Grumich) are hilarious; a robust series of fart jokes delights the family-forward audience. Yet there is room for the brave acts, and the love story between Simba and Nala to unfold.
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