"I think all the music interlude from Can You Feel The Love Tonight should be cut. kinda not needed."
A. None of it needs to be cut because it is a perfectly good show the way it is. B. No one should ever touch anything having to do to with "Can you Feel the Love Tonight." C. Just MHO.
Now it says they are cutting "Morning Report" and "Chow Down", and they are editing "Be Prepared" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"... Keep checking their Twitter page.
This makes no sense. After 13 years, the show is stilling pulling in over $1 million/week and they decided it needs cutting and revisions? I could understand if it were struggling financially, but there is absolutely no indication that anything needed to be changed unless it were for a truncated Vegas production. Now, there are few moments here and there that I don't particularly like (the hyena dance break comes to mind), but the show's overwhelming international success has pretty much proven that despite all these little personal quibbles in this thread, nothing actually NEEDS to be changed at all. In less than 3 years, it will surpass A Chorus Line's original run. And with the current weekly numbers, that is more than likely to happen.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
I really could not get into this show at all. Seeing it as a kid, I remember loving it, but revisiting it this past December, I wanted to leave that show after the Circle of Life.
I think "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" is the most beautiful moment in the show (even more so than Circle of Life). I'm frankly a little appalled that they would cut the interludes.
"Chow Down" on the other hand should have been cut YEARS ago.
This show should be about 30 minutes shorter and drags like a corpse, but I feel like Morning Report should not have been one of the first things to go. And it is odd that it's happening so late.
Well, I'm seeing the show for the first time in 10 years in two weeks, when would these cuts be taking place? I'm quite frankly annoyed by the idea of it.
I love The Morning Report. One of my favorite numbers, in fact. Too bad, as it's the only number that belongs to Zazu. And if they get rid of One By One at the top of the second act, then I'd probably not see the show again. It's one of the numbers that underscores the entire concept of the production, which is to be more than simply a Disney film thrown on stage. I won't weep Chow Down is gone, but I still wonder...why now?
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Well as long as they don't touch ONE BY ONE, I'm happy. Any idea if these changes will be transferred to the National Tour,London and worldwide Companies?
Aww, I like Morning Report. Don't care for Chow Down; however, I don't think anything really needs to be cut from this show. It works as is, pulls in millions of dollars each month and continues to draw large audiences.
Why bring these changes out of no where years later?
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
It's true- my friend in the cast confirmed... she said the director thinks the audience is losing attention span and the show is dragging... the cast doesn't like the decision though
I won't believe it. It makes NO sense. It wouldn't be Taymor's decision now anyway, right? The show is now frozen. The only way this would happen is if the producers were to desire changes and bring her in to make them, or for Taymor to approach the producers and get their OK.
If Taymor thinks the show is lagging and that the audience's attention is getting lost, then those are probably key points to address YEARS ago, even if it were soon after Opening Night.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
If this is true (which seems likely), I don't mind that Morning Report was cut. I have only seen the show on tour, so I can't speak for the Broadway production, but I found that a fair amount of the show (including Morning Report) really dragged.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
CapnHook, I do agree with you. The only way that this would make any logical sense to me is if the Vegas production had cuts done to make it a tad bit shorter and the Broadway production was following suit. However, as far as I know, the Vegas production has not been altered to cut down its run time so therefor, I can't see the changes on Broadway being justifiable.
Princeton, I was just watching something on Youtube that seemed to be a special feature to the Lion King DVD about the making of the Morning Report scene to the special edition of the movie. They were trying to give off the angle that it was Rice and John's big new song for the show that they did etc.
"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear"
Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll
The show in Vegas is about 15 minutes shorter than the current Broadway version. Julie and Disney and co are all really happy with the way the show is running in Vegas and feel this "streamlined" version truly works better. They'll be implementing these changes in all companies, worldwide.
The Lion King is currently running at 2:45 nightly, but they do feel that at 2:30 including the intermission, that the audience will be happier.
The only number that I know for sure that is being cut in full is "Morning Report," other than that as previously mentioned, the "ballet" in "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" is cut. The end of Act one, during "Hakuna Matata" there will be some dialogue cuts - mainly the grubs that crawl across the stage will be axed, and they will have one grub appear through a trap. Other than that, I'm not sure, or rather I don't remember exactly, what else specifically will be cut, but there will be some dialogue cuts throughout the show to match what is in Vegas. Updated On: 5/10/10 at 11:03 AM