THEATRE REVIEW: "The Lion King" at the Minskoff Theatre (New York, NY)

      On July 30th, 2009, Kathryn and I saw a performance of the Tim Rice / Elton John / Lebo M. / Mark Mancina /  Jay Rifkin / Julie Taymor / Hans Zimmer musical "The Lion King" at the Minskoff Theatre in New York, NY.  We were in town visiting my grandma, and though Kathryn had seen "The Lion King" already, she said she would love to see it again.   It was going to be my first time seeing the musical.  I almost saw it with my family back in 2003 when "The Lion King" had its Chicago Premiere, but the ads kept playing on the TV to an annoying extent, so my mom got a refund for the tickets.  I guess there was something about Rafiki screaming "Nants' ingonyama bakithi baba!!!!!!" over and over again that drove her up a wall. 

     My mom got us great seats.  They were located on the orchestra level, in the center  section.  Kathryn and I were up to our usual shenanigans.  Down the row from us was a tall guy who we pretended to tell off.  We were quiet enough so he couldn't hear us.  I said "hey, tall-and-gangly... down in front."  Kathryn said "hey, giraffe boy, why aren't you up on stage with the other animals?"  That made me laugh so hard.  When the show started with "Circle of Life,"  we quieted down and enjoyed the spectacle.  Though, halfway through the song, I compared the rhinocerous on stage with my mom's dearly departed basset hound Ollie.  

"Circle of Life" (photo by Joan Marcus).

     While Kathryn and I didn't see the Broadway Production of "The Lion King" during the show's Tenth Anniversary year, we only missed the celebratory occasion by a little less than two years.  After beginning preview performances at the New Amsterdam Theatre on October 15th, 1997, "The Lion King" officially opened on November 13th of that year.  The production performed at the New Amsterdam Theatre until June 4th, 2006.  Since June 13th, 2006, "The Lion King" has been playing at the Minskoff Theatre.  Prior to opening on Broadway in 1997, "The Lion King" had its Pre-Broadway Tryout at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The Pre-Broadway, World Premiere engagement of "The Lion King" ran at the Orpheum Theatre from July 8th through August 31st, 1997.

     The scenic design is by Richard Hudson.  Julie Taymor designed the costumes.  I know there was an intermission, but I don't remember what Kathryn and I talked about during it.  I have no idea who was in the cast the night we saw the show--except for Ta'Rea Campbell, who played the role of Nala.   Also, the role of Rafiki was played by Tshidi Manye.  Three years after seeing "The Lion King," I would see Ta'Rea Campbell as Deloris van Cartier in the National Tour of "Sister Act."  Anyway, I enjoyed seeing "The Lion King," and am grateful that my mom got us such great seats.  I think 2009 was before lottery tickets for the Broadway Production of "The Lion King" were available via Broadway Direct -- which they still are.  This was also before "The Morning Report" was cut from the show.  That's just tragic

Tshidi Manye as Rafiki (photo by Joan Marcus).

     While I don't know for sure who else was in the Broadway Cast of "The Lion King" when Kathryn and I saw the show, as of September 30th, 2009, the cast included Derek Smith (Scar), Nathaniel Stampley (Mufasa), Cameron Pow (Zazu), Ben Lipitz (Pumbaa), Danny Rutigliano (Rimon),  and Dashaun Young (Simba).  It's times like this when I really wish I kept all my playbills and theatre programmes.  I suppose I will just have to count my blessings and practice having gratitude, particularly because I never saw "Tarzan: the musical."

Ad for the Broadway Production of "The Lion King" from July 30th, 2009.

     Many productions of "The Lion King" opened around the World following the Broadway Premiere.  In some cases, it just took awhile.  The Los Angeles Production opened at the Pantages Theatre on September 29th, 2000 and ran until January 12th, 2003.  The Toronto Production opened at the Princess of Wales Theatre on March 30th, 2000 and ran until January 4th, 2004.  The London Production of "The Lion King" opened at the Lyceum Theatre on October 19th, 1999 and has been running ever since (except during the pandemic shut-down).  The Hamburg Production opened at the Theater im Hafen on December 2nd, 2001, and has been running ever since (except for during the pandemic shut-down).  The Chicago Production, or the first stop of the Cheetah Tour, opened at the Cadillac Palace Theatre on April 23rd, 2003 and ran until January 18th, 2004.  The Paris Production of "The Lion King (or "Le Roi Lion") opened at Théâtre Mogador on September 22nd, 2007 and ran until July 25th, 2010.  The Madrid Production of "The Lion King" (or "El Rey León") opened at the Teatro Lope de Vega on October 20th, 2011, and has been running ever since.  In 2008, the Cheetah Tour performed (in English) at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City from January 3rd through 27th of that year.  A Spanish-Speaking production performed from May 7th, 2015 through January 14th, 2018 at the Teatro Telcel, also in Mexico City.  Productions also performed in São Paolo, Scheveningen, Basel, and Johannesburg.  

Dashaun Young as Simba (photo by Joan Marcus).

     The Minskoff Theatre was a great place to see "The Lion King" (and still is, I'm sure).  The "house" or auditorium itself is a sight to behold of course, but so is the lobby.  Plus, I can still remember floor to ceiling windows in the lobby that look out over Times Square.  After the show, when you go down the escalater, you can see the enormous Lion headpiece that overhangs it.  Sorry for the "you" statements.  As I mentioned before, my mom got Kathryn and I great orchestra-level seats.  I neglected to mention how much leg room there was.  There was a lot.  I also remember that Kathryn and I attempted to ride the Staten Island Ferry the morning of the performance, and were singing what little of "Circle of Life" we could remember or even knew.  Incidentally, the line for the ferry was too crowded, so we decided to forget it.  We much preferred the The Theatre District and Times Square, which doesn't get crowded at all.