Last night I returned to the Lion KIng for the third time since it's opening 15 years ago. I saw it all the way back in the fall of 1997 in previews and then again in 2009 and last night for the third and final time. Is it me or have they changed many scenes in the show? I also feel that the show which always possesed an African style has taken on an even deeper African tone. I usually recall shows pretty well but really feel that overall this production has changed over the years. Anyone who is very familiar with the show please let me know if my observations are correct?
I have seen the tour 5 times. I, too, have noticed also in the tour that many scenes have changed, some of the choreography has changed, and the sets and puppets have been tweaked just a little.
Theatre is my life. No one can take that away from me.
I can only speak for the Broadway production, but I first saw the show in '99, and when I saw it again in 2010 (just weeks before they cut several numbers), I found the show to be more of a commercial spectacle, and void of its original theatrical charm.
Have never had an interest in seeing this, especially after being treated to the garish animation-on-stage Beauty and the Beast. If I wanted to see such kids' fare, I'd visit Disneyland.
Recreation of original John Cameron orchestration to "On My Own" by yours truly. Click player below to hear.
Tour changes are the same as Broadway changes. They cut "The Morning Report" and other little bits and pieces. The show has been reduced by 7 minutes. I didn't miss "The Morning Report" like I thought would, but I did miss the pouncing lesson. When they cut "The Morning Report" they did not add in the pouncing scene from the film version. What I TRULY miss though is the discussion of having worms between Scar, Shenzi, and Banzai. That was one of my favorite moments, and I'm sad that it is completely removed.
However, the tour also has some changes to sets and costumes. The most noticeable is that the cast is smaller on tour than it used to be, so there are not as many animals on stage at the beginning as there used to be (i.e. just one cheetah now). Then the stampede has been condensed down some too. They got rid of one of the spinning pieces and a platform. I guess this is to help with the smaller cast? They also have removed the back portion of the stages ability to rise and lower. They have also removed the free-standing pair of elephant ribs from the background of the Elephant Graveyard scene. Basically, for the tour, seven minutes of production and one or two 18 wheelers worth of materials have been removed from the show.
I loved the Lion King the first time I saw it. When I went the second time I really did not enjoy it as much as the first time. Upon trying to figure out why...I can attribute it to the fact that the "wow" moments were gone because I already experienced all the visual moments. Example - seeing the drought happen again was just a sheet being pulled into a hole.
Not that it's a wonderful song or even beneficial to the plot, but doesn't "The Morning Report" give the audience a break from the relentless African chanting and interpretive dance?
LION KING: Thrilling opening number, tepid and boring rest of the show. It's more fun on the Tony Awards.
I like the chanting. I really enjoy the attempt to show "authentic" Africa.
The drought, still gets me.
However, I must say that the current tour cast (who I saw in Houston) is better than the Broadway cast (that I saw last week). I wasn't expecting to feel that way, and I was really disappointed by my NYC Lion King experience.
Those speaking to the tour changes have neglected to mention that the tour dropped the hydraulic raked stage years ago. On tour, the stage no longer "tilts."
Why did they take so long to cut Morning Report? It was in the production when I saw it in either 2006 or 2007, then when I saw the tour. The second time I saw the tour a couple of years after that, it was cut.
I actually thought the song was cute.
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
I really liked The Morning Report and the entire scene. It gave a clever number to an underused character and the scene reinforced the Simba/Mufasa bond. It was the acrobat hyenas I could have lived without.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
