Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
winston89
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
#1Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:41pm
For every other show on broadway sans the lion king. I can tell you who is in the show and I can follow the cast closley and know what shows they have been in ectect. But, I cannot do this with the lion king. Is it because that disney has spent so much time focusing on the show itself and not the cast. And that every other disney show was mentioning the cast. Every other disney show on broadway has had photos of the cast outside the theatres and spoke about the cast ect.
Yet, I do not see this going on with the Lion King. I spoke to another friend of mine follows broaday as well and they had the same view as I did.
Is it just me? Are there other people that feel the same way?
Honestly the only person that I can name from the current Lion King cast is Patrick Paige because they announced him two years in a row as the grinch on broadway. But that is about it.
"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
americanboy99
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/06
#2re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:55pmNot as big as a problem as I have with TLK's boring first half of Act 2.
#2re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:58pm
I think there are a number of problems with "Lion King" specificity. People can easily be lost in the Disney machine, no matter what show they're in. But because the Lion King is so anthropomorphic and at the same time sort of personally engulfing, people get lost in the animals they play. That and, well, bigger names went into Aida and Beauty and the Beast and the Little Mermaid. Ask people who Sheri Rene Scott (ooo, more than one show on this list!) and Heidi Blickenstaff are (God bless her), or Adam Pascal or Heather Headley or Kerry Butler...you get my point. They are "known names." The Lion King hasn't had those sort of people.
I dunno, I still enjoyed it? But, granted, I was 15 then and my experience with musical theatre was rather nonexistent, as I was the first person in my family to find it and appreciate it for the way of life that it is :).
americanboy99
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/27/06
#3re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 12:13amHeather Headley was in LION KING (OBC).
#4re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 12:16amThen I stand at least somewhat corrected. But I don't know if I'm the only one who would associate her with Aida first? It just seems like The Lion King lends itself to the show first and the people second (as was mentioned above) a whole lot more than the others did.
#5re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 12:17amSo was Kevin Cahoon.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
#6re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 12:22am
Actually, The Lion King HAS had "names", EVEN Heather Headley herself! And more, from Renee Elise Goldsberry to Tom Hewitt to the forementioned Patrick Page. And Kissy Simmons has certainly made a name for herself.
Plus, I think Beauty (and perhaps Mermaid) are just as anthropomorphic.
The reason TLK doesn't advertise specific peeps (or hire them for that matter) is because THEY DON'T NEED TO. A majority of people who see The Lion King don't know English, let alone Broadway celebs. Lion King hearkens back to the heydays of the CamMac logo images, when it was completely unnecessary to advertise who was in Les Mis, Miss Saigon, or Phantom. (Phantom is still not marketed by utilizing the cast in any way. winston89, you're telling me that you can follow the past couple of Phantom casts closely? Really?)
[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.
#7re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 12:25am
Obviously, peeps associate Headley with Aida, because it won her her Tony. But she did make her Bway debut as Nala, which was a big deal at the time.
And yay for Kevin Cahoon. Love him.
[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.
#8re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 12:43amHeidi Blickenstaff, who is this person?
Well I didn't want to get into it, but he's a Satanist.
Every full moon he sacrifices 4 puppies to the Dark Lord and smears their blood on his paino.
This should help you understand the score for Wicked a little bit more.
Tazber's: Reply to
Is Stephen Schwartz a Practicing Christian
#9re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 12:51am
She's one of the stars of the amazing, ample- fan- based [title of show], and she also did two of the main roles in The Full Monty on Broadway. (She was Emily Skinner's understudy so she went on as Vicki Nichols a bit. Then she did the role herself on tour.) She recently did the big Meet John Doe in D.C.: https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=16306
She has a role in Mermaid, and also covers Sherie.
[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.
winston89
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
#10re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 1:28am
Infinite theatre frenzy,
It is true that Phantom is still advertising using the mask. Just like the revival of Les Miserabels advertised using the typical Cosette logo.
But, if you do pass the Majestic they have photos of the current cast with the actors names below them. The lion king has no such thing whatsoever.
And the only person who I hava heard of who ever been in the Lion King were Cahoon and Paige. Cahoon has made a name for himself in the broadway world. And I would not have heard of Paige if it had not been he who was announced to play the grinch this year and last.
I agree with the statement that disney focus more on the show rather then the actors. Where is the other ones focus on the actors who are in the shows.
"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
#11re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 1:34am
"But, if you do pass the Majestic they have photos of the current cast with the actors names below them. The lion king has no such thing whatsoever."
This is true, but may be due to any number of circumstances, such as logistics of the specific billboards at the Majestic vs. the New Amsterdam or Minskoff. But you're right.
You may have only heard of Cahoon and Page, but Heather Headley is a Tony Award Winner with a big solo album who has done loads of high profile concerts. Tom Hewitt is a Tony Award nominee who has starred in Rocky Horror Show, Dracula, Boys From Syracuse, and more on Broadway. And Renee Elise Goldsberry originated the role of Nettie in Color Purple, starred on One Life to Live for years, and was Emmy nominated.
[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.
#12re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 1:37am
Heather Headley, however, was not a Tony Award winner with a big solo album with loads of high profile concerts when she did The Lion King. As far as I know.
Which, I think, is an important distinction, as I don't believe the discussion is about future stars that TLK might employ.
#13re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 1:44amRight, but Kerry Butler had never originated a role on Broadway before she was in Beauty and the Beast. It was not until Hairspray, later. She wasn't a "name" at the time. Heather Headley was more of a name during Lion King, because her being cast as Nala was a big deal. I might be wrong, but I think I remember reading a (Times?) feature in 1997 about her arriving in New York and finding tons of roses in the apartment Disney got for her.
[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.
#14re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 1:46amThen erase Ms. Butler (OH NOES) from my list. But I still think that The Lion King employs fewer "now stars" than the other ones have. Maybe I'm wrong, but then again, I'm new to this whole musical shindig.
#15re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 1:49am
"I don't believe the discussion is about future stars that TLK might employ."
Well, the first discussion wasn't about stars they had at the time either, OR about people they had that were famous earlier or later. I think the first discussion put forth was about shows advertising using cast members, whether they be stars or not. And the point is that regardless of who TLK has had, whether Broadway names or awesome gypsies or stage neophytes, they have not utilized them.
[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.
#16re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 1:53am
Well said. Couldn't agree more.
I guess you truly have a powerhouse show (for better or worse) when you can completely ignore everyone in it and still make money. If only the Drowsy Chaperone were so lucky. 
DG
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/2/05
#17re: Am the only one who has this problem with the Lion King?
Posted: 11/3/07 at 2:50amNot to put too fine a point on it, but isn't it really about the show anyway, not the actors?
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