The Lion King Musical Review

The Lion King is a musical based on the animated feature film of the same name released in 1994 by Walt Disney Animation Studio; the show is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions and features actors in animal costumes to represent their roles, as well as puppets for certain characters such as Zazu. Having first debuted in 1997, the musical has come a long way to reach today with a Tony Award for Best Musical, so if you are interested in going to see this for yourself, then read on for what to expect and opinions of the show overall.

The musical incorporates several changes and additions to the storyline as compared to the film, such as Rafiki’s gender being changed to a female role because the director Julie Taymor “believed that there was generally no leading female character in the film”. There are several new scenes in the musical that add to the story a lot more than the film version, such as Timon being in danger at the waterfall and Simba feeling powerless, and also Nala departing from the Pride Lands to find help after the villain tried to make her his mate.

Above all, the additional songs are the best part of this musical, which is great as it is a musical after all. The track “Shadowland” in particular was very gripping and mesmerising to hear; on the other hand, there are original songs that I personally had high expectations for that were not met, for example “Be Prepared”. This is a song that has a lot of up and down energy throughout, with a strong sinister tone in every verse, but I felt that this was not portrayed during the live show at all; it seemed like there was a lack of energy in the song overall, but the showcasing of the song was definitely worth watching.

The musical production includes a lot of talented people behind the scenes, such as music having been created by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, and additional music and lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, and Hans Zimmer.

Many of the animals portrayed in the production are actors in costume using extra tools to move their costumes – for example, the giraffes are portrayed by actors walking on stilts. Characters like Mufasa and Scar had mechanical headpieces that can be raised and lowered to foster the illusion of a cat lunging at one another. Other characters, like the hyenas, Zazu, Timon, and Pumbaa, are portrayed by actors in life-sized puppets or costumes.

If you are interested in seeing the live version of how The Lion King looks, then watching the musical is a must; not only are the songs amazing, but the work that the actors and actresses put into the show as a whole is incredible and worth giving a standing ovation to!

Check out the trailer for the musical below:

To buy tickets, click HERE and start looking at dates in advance for the best seats available at reasonable prices: