Sunday 14th July 2013 by Jack Newman
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| One of the many superbly crafted masks in The Lion King musical. Image by Steve Evans |
Since October 1999 the musical version of Disney’s The Lion King has been dazzling audiences in London, regularly filling The Lyceum Theatre, one of London’s largest theatre venues. The popularity of the show is unrelenting as people flock from around the country, and indeed from around the world, to see this theatrical spectacle explode onto stage, with every performance an unforgettable tour de force of musical, verbal and visual storytelling. The question that many have pondered is why The Lion King has become such a stunning success, certainly in terms of its box office takings, but more importantly in terms of the lasting effect it has on spellbound audiences. Jonathan Andrew Hume, currently playing the role of Simba at The Lyceum, explains that “there are so many layers that create the performance”… “but at the heart of it is a timeless story that resonates with everyone”. The idea of many creative layers certainly applies to The Lion King, but is it the story that is “at the heart” of the show’s success?
The story line is certainly very strong when one considers both the direct influence of the film and the indirect influence of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As Dominic Cavendish suggests in The Telegraph, the DVD of The Lion King is present in almost every UK household and has become a childhood memory for some and a warm favourite for all those parents and grandparents who have watched it hundreds of times with their children and grandchildren. The film clearly propels fans of the story towards the West End as they hunger for more of Simba and his adventure; the musical is closely faithful to the film’s story, giving fans of the movie exactly what they crave. As for the story’s foundation, Shakespeare’s tail of murder, treachery and revenge in the Danish Royal Family is the bedrock for the Disney epic. Hamlet tells the same story of a murdered father, his power-greedy brother and the son/nephew’s delayed quest for revenge to his rightful kingdom. The Lion King has even drawn its secondary characters from Shakespeare’s tragedy, such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern brought to the plains of Africa as Timon and Pumbaa.
The strength and pedigree of the tale is undeniable but we must not downplay the importance of the epic songs, largely created by Elton John and Tim Rice. The timeless “Circle of Life” aside, The Lion King does not have musical scores that attract audiences the show on their merit alone, as is true for many other West End musicals. Michael Billington of The Guardian describes the music as bland and mainly consisting of western ballads pulling on western heart strings, with an African theme. This dismissal of The Lion King’s dramatic numbers is harsh, and compared to the vast majority of revelling audiences it is certainly against the grain. The far more popular opinion is that the songs are not to be considered alone but within the rich context of the show, from which they shine brightly. Despite his unfair dismissal of Lion Kings moving songs, Billington goes on to make an excellent point that the music and the story may be the foundations, but the real beauty and magic of The Lion King is a visual experience. It is the sheer spectacle that keeps the show alive and strong; the depth and complexity of the visual display wows first time viewers, while returning audience members can enjoy the performance again and again..
The creative figurehead of the optical feast is Julie Taymor, who creates a pastiche of techniques to carry the essence of the show within the masks, costumes, puppets, backdrops, props and makeup. Using puppetry and costume conventions from across the globe, Taymor has given the show both an exotic feel and a unique diversity, bringing such an array of visual treats together into one epic, that the story could be told without the music or the dialog. This is perhaps where some dismiss the quality of the story and music; it is not the case that the story and music are bland, rather it is the brilliance of the visual display, aided by Garth Fagan’s exquisite choreography, that stands above an already tall crowd. Some have commented that The Lion King has become such a roaring hit because it is capable of attracting audiences of all ages and nationalities. This universal appeal is clearly rooted in a language that everybody can enjoy; it is the language of visual beauty and The Lion King speaks it in lavish abundance.