Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King? — Page 2

No, see THE LION KING. BEAUTY & THE BEAST is an "OK" show. In order of Disney shows, see the following:

AIDA (which is now closed. you missed out!) > THE LION KING > MARY POPPINS > BEAUTY & THE BEAST > TARZAN > ON THE RECORD (never even made it to Broadway, so don't worry about it).

THE LION KING is an experience. BATB is just the movie on stage with new songs. The fact that it is on TKTS and THE LION KING is not says something. When comparing shows, that is not always the case, some shows just don't sell. But both TLK and BATB are equally marketable shows from the same company - Disney. TLK is still selling to over 90% houses and still sells out in advance. BATB is on TKTS every day. And both houses are about the same size.

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Updated On: 12/27/06 at 01:55 PM

CapnHook that is a very accurate list. We need an AIDA revival soon even though it closed two years ago.

Beauty & The Beast...
It's majestic score, entertaining visuals, memorable characters, etc. just outshine Lion King IMO.

I agree with Lizzya9.
If you're too synacle for Disney, well that's you're problem.
And as far as I'm concerned, there are Wicked/Rent fans, and then there are theatre fans.

Go see Beauty & the Beast, hands down.

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Lizzya9, I'm trying to say this nicely as possible, try to appreciate other shoes besides Disney ones and sound a bit more mature about it. I seems as if all you're here for is Disney shows.

Updated On: 12/27/06 at 03:23 PM

Well the only show I've seen is B&tB so I guess I can say all I've seen is Disney shows - I would like to see Drowsy Chaperone or A Chorus Line but unfortunately I can only go to NY every few years.

In all honesty - the best advice I can give you is NOT to see a Disney show. You are going to NEW YORK!!! to BROADWAY!! Disney shows tour. Disney shows get performed at regional theatres. SPRING AWAKENING does not.

Here is a list I recommend, in order, according to your situation:

- JERSEY BOYS
- THE COLOR PURPLE
- AVENUE Q
- LES MISERABLES
- THE WEDDING SINGER
- GREY GARDENS!!!
- SPELLING BEE

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"Well the only show I've seen is B&tB so I guess I can say all I've seen is Disney shows."

"Disney IS Broadway! I guarantee there are no better shows out right now than Disney shows."

Wait .... what? If you've only seen one Disney show, how can you say that "Disney IS Broadway"? I don't get it.

That being said, to the original poster:

If you have to choose between the two, I'd go with The Lion King. Beauty and the Beast had none of the magic of its source material and the cast looked miserable when I saw it. Granted, I wasn't a huge fan of TLK, and the majority of the new music was terrible, but there are at least some interesting and beautiful artistic choices made with the costumes and staging. BatB is a mind-numbingly literal adaption with a couple of flimsy new songs thrown in.

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Updated On: 12/27/06 at 06:45 PM

I would choose Beauty & the Beast.I really loved BatB. I really enjoy the story, whether it's Disney's version or the original classic (looking into a person's soul to judge them instead of their appearance & all of that...) I think Disney did a beautiful job with it. The sets are interesting, the costumes are lavish & gorgeous, & the characters are compelling & comical. My only complaint about the show was that it seemed rushed at the end. My second recommendation for you if you do not choose BatB would be Avenue Q. It is a hilarious show!

I'm just saying I don't think any other show will ever affect me as deeply as B&tB did. But hey, it's worth a shot. = )

Lizzya9,

This is what you said:

"Disney IS Broadway! I guarantee there are no better shows out right now than Disney shows."

I'm not going to attack you because you're so young. But you must realize that statement is very ignorant. You admit you haven't seen many shows on Broadway and you also admit you have only seen one Disney show on Broadway. By those statements alone, you have contradicted yourself and your claim that you can guarantee there are no better shows than Disney shows has no merit.

I have seen 21 out of the 26 musicals on Broadway right now, including ALL of the ones of the new season, THE LION KING, TARZAN, BEAUTY & THE BEAST, and MARY POPPINS (and AIDA which has closed but is a Disney show).

I will say this, Disney's LOOK of their shows are always extreme. Sometimes, in a good way (Aida, Mary Poppins, The Lion King, BATB) and sometimes bad (Tarzan and I've heard On The Record, too). And the music is always good. But the book of ALL of their shows are kiddied down. There is nothing wrong with that, but each and every time they kiddied down the book, they sacrifice some majorly needed elements, such as pace.

Disney is ON Broadway but certainly not IS Broadway.

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I havent seen The Lion King, but I did see Beauty and the Beast and did not mind it. It was not the best thing I have seen, but I was with my mom and she loves the movie, and we needed a show that was on TKTS.

It certainly was not terrible, and I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised. Plus, you cannot go wrong with John Tartaglia.

But I do agree with these other suggestions, Avenue Q is a far superior show.

I hate THE LION KING, so my vote would be BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.