The Lion King, Did i miss something ?- Page 2

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 2:09pm

uncageg - I agree.

I saw the show twice - the first week it was open (with the full OBC) and then some time later - I think the OBC Scar and Mufasa were in it...

Anyway, I love the new music, the African music, and the visual aspect. TLK has always been my favorite animated movie.

Meh. I enjoyed it.

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 2:09pm

How can one of the "best musicals of the 90's" have a "lame" story? And while I'm on that line of thinking, how can a "lame" story be praised for its "awesome...old-fashioned storytelling" and inspire "thought and imagination?"

I understand we all have different priorities when it comes to judging theatre (what we like and what we don't like, what elements of the show we weigh heavier than others, etc.) -- but I can't for the life of me reconcile all of those comments.

By the way...for the record, I love the African material added to the show -- as a listening experience. As a theatrical experience, they brought the story to a screaching halt. Updated On: 4/14/06 at 02:09 PM

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 2:11pm

Considering it's based on Hamlet...I'd hardly call it a lame story.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 2:20pm

Yeah, but it is a lame story. "She's the Man" - the new Amanda Bynes movie is based on Twelfth Night, but that doesn't stop me from saying it has a lame story.

I didnt think her direction was all that inspired either. I think the opening was good, but after that it just sorta lacked. I'm sure its more amazing on Broadway with all the elevators and people in the audience, but it wasnt all that great on tour. the "can you feel the love tonight" scene was so inrecible boring. I didn't understand why these huge ugly flys and plants were standing there and why simba and nala were on opposite ends of the stage singing the song. Shouldn't they have been together? Since it is a love song. Singing it to each other?

[Piazzaslight]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 3:14pm

I thought the show was good. Not great, not bad, just good. I didn't notice anything spectacular to write home about, other than the opening scene. However, it's just a show that most likely won't be put down in history as the gretest show ever, but it's a good way to introduce a kid to theatre. That's it.

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 3:29pm

I just saw it last night for the very first time. To me... it was just... The Lion King. It was familiar, but it also extended into some new material and territory I had never seen nor heard before. The characters were... just the characters. Nothing new as far as they go. It was just... okay. I'm overusing my elipses here, but that's the only way to express it. I don't quite know how to describe it. I didn't hate it (far from it), but it's also far from being my favorite musical. It was just "The Lion King".

[misto625]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 4:59pm

I am just curious what all the people writing here about how bad Lion King is consider to be "good theater." And if you say the Sweeney Todd revival, I will shoot you. That is an attempt at entertainment through budget cutting.

It seems that KJisGroovy is one of the few people here who is actually using facts to back up his view instead of just his opionion, and he also is defending the show. Coincidence?

Performing in the show is much harder than it looks and I have seen the show three times and have not seen an actor who looks like he doesn't want to be there. Many seem to really enjoy the experience.

Why would Lion King gross more than Rent and Chicago combined on a weekly basis if it is so bad? Last week the only show with a higher gross was Wicked. It had 97% attendence in the second largest theater (also behind Wicked.)Why would there be three companies in the US alone not to mention overseas? Why would someone in this thread say they have to sell their soul to get tickets? Something must be going right. That is way more than just families going. BatB made under 700,000 last week, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang couldn't survive. There are definitely many adults going who are enjoying the show.

[Sparklesss]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 5:51pm

the first time i saw it i thought the same thing...this is getting all that hype? but i saw it a second time and then loved it...so i guess it just depends on who you have and where you're sitting...i think its a good play to have close seats to.

[sybil7]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 5:53pm

misto625 I think you missed the point of the original post. TLK has been touted as 'great' and has consistantly high gross - the originator didn't like the show and wanted to know if they were 'missing' something. Those who do not like the show (myself included) simply voiced their agreement that we didn't like it - thus the originator knows they are not alone. That's it - simple. Because I didn't like it but didn't go into great detail on 'why' - is that so wrong? If I don't like chocolate - do I have to have a gazzilion reasons and facts to back it up? Everyone to their own taste. I didn't like TLK and I didn't like CATS - Why are they so popular? I guess because others liked them - - I did not - - end of story. (but, I DO like chocolate! )

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 6:01pm

It's all a matter of personal taste. Just because the majority of people love a show, and therefore make it a high-grossing show, doesn't mean that there aren't those who don't like it. I'm always been confused by the concept that a "popular" show must therefore be liked by everyone -- and this is not the first time on this board that I've heard that argument.

I'm sure you like shows that I don't, and it's that simple. Personal preference. I could give you reasons I didn't like it (in fact, I believe I did), but they're not going to change your mind. Nor are you going to convince me to like it. It just doesn't work that way.

Updated On: 4/14/06 at 06:01 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 6:08pm

Art is subjective. I loved Sweeney Todd and no it was not because of a low budget. Its called a directorial concept. Julie Taymor did the same thing with Lion King. She used a concept.

I don't need facts to back up how I feel about a show. Who needs facts to base an opinion. I sat in the theater and watched the show. That's enough. Just cause you like it doesn't me we do. And just because its selling tickets and has a high attendence record doesn't make it great art. It just makes it great entertainment. Which it is, and that's why its selling out. Because its safe to bring kids too and parents know that theyll get their money's worth.

[jakebloke]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 6:25pm

The first time I saw it, I sat in the front row, on the isle. It had been open for less than a month. The cast was fresh and excited and I felt like they were connecting with the audience on some level. Plus the visuals were beautiful. I walked out loving the show. So a year later my siblings come to NY and I tell them we have to go see The Lion King, so we get tickets and go and it was such a let down. It's like the cast was just going thru the motions. No emotion in their singing or performances. The visuals were still great, but if you can't bring some "feeling" to a show, those visuals will only carry it so far. We all thought it was just ok that night. Kinda sad. It happens to alot of shows unfortunately. Ragtime definitely got screwed at the Tonys.

[knows_too_much]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 6:29pm

I love aspects of the show hate other aspects of the show,am glad I saw it, but will never see it again. What I loved and hated about it has all basically been said so I wont go into extreme detail. I think Julie Taymore is an extremly visual director. This, like her movies, is beautiful to look at but little more(her movies are stronger due in large part to thier casts). Being nice to look at sells on Broadway thats what non theater people want when they go to the theater. Why else would Phantom, Cats, Wicked, TLK, BatB, etc... all be such hot ticketts?

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 6:32pm

I saw it about a year after it opened too, with much of the original cast. One of my most vivid memories is being able to see the human faces of the Hyenas. Their hands and bodies were making their heads and bodies move, but their faces were completely lifeless, out of character, and bored. One of them even made prolonged eye-contact with me (I was in the 4th row). Talk about a lazy actor.
Updated On: 4/14/06 at 06:32 PM

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 6:37pm

Nice to see i'm not alone, this was one show i wanted to love and had waited over 8 years to see.

The Australian cast left me cold, the young boy who played "Simba" i just wanted to slap him off the stage.

There where moments in the staging that just seemed to be done just to fill dead space.: "Can you feel the love tonite" why was there people flying in that scene ?

As i said in the first post the show looked great, but there was huge gaps in the flow of the story.

The only cast memeber for me who brought the show alive was "Buyisile Zama" who played Rafiki.

As for good theatre: Nine, A little night music, Chicago, Guys and Dolls, the state opera companys production of "Sweeny todd" i could go on and on.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 6:41pm

Nice to see i'm not alone, this was one show i wanted to love and had waited over 8 years to see.

The Australian cast left me cold, the young boy who played "Simba" i just wanted to slap him off the stage.

There where moments in the staging that just seemed to be done just to fill dead space.: "Can you feel the love tonite" why was there people flying in that scene ?

As i said in the first post the show looked great, but there was huge gaps in the flow of the story.

The only cast memeber for me who brought the show alive was "Buyisile Zama" who played Rafiki.

As for good theatre: Nine, A little night music, Chicago, Guys and Dolls, the state opera companys production of "Sweeny todd" i could go on and on.

[ElphabaRose]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 7:56pm

I absolutely adored The Lion King. I think that it is visually stunning and I love the music. I saw the OBC and the cast that was on last June (coincidentally, 5 years and 1 day after I had originally seen the show). BUT I still think that Ragtime was robbed.

[sally1112]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 8:00pm

We all missed something..a good show.
I hated this show and I like everything. After the opening I just waited for the ending....and it took it's sweet time.