So, I never saw the show at the Palace, but I did see the original Canadian production in Toronto (one of the first productions of the show outside the US). It was incredible. It was the very first musical I saw, and I remember just being in awe of the show. The design I always thought was very ingenious, and very much like what I would have expected the live version to be. However, after hearing on Stars in the House the other night, Disney was worried that people would feel almost betrayed if the movie didn't exactly come to live in front of them I understand some of the criticism over the show. But to me, it was lush, lavish, and beautiful. I think it was great. I can tell you I worn the crap out of my cassette of the cast album.
Something to point out is that I then saw the national tour that came to Toronto about 6 years later, the show seemed different. I don't believe it had the whole huge castle set that the original had. Just some pieces of it. I remember there being a fireplace down stage right with what looked like arrows sticking out of the top of it. The show received lacklustre reviews upon its return, party because when it cam back, The Lion King was playing in Toronto and everyone saw what Disney could do, and kept making a partly unfair comparison.
Jump to July 2007, and I saw the final Broadway company weeks before the closing. I remember people saying on these boards that once the show moved from the Palace, it was cheapened. The only think I can say to that is I felt like you had taken a widescreen movie, and squished it to full screen. It seemed cramped.
Two other interesting productions I saw of the show were the Networks tour from a few years ago which, had the whole creative team come back, and looked (and the cast I saw) seemed like it should be at the theme park. It made it like a community theatre, which I find weird that the original would let that happened. The other was the original Paris production produced by Disney and Stage Entertainment. They had new designers (David Gallo who won a Tony for the Drowsy Chaperone sets) was the scenic designer but I can't remember anyone else. This was the same production that played all around Europe in the early 2010's. Again, it wasn't a great design (Gallo did use that "earl gray" purple/blue/gray that they used a lot in the original production, but it still seemed to be lacking compared to the original.
I am interested in what a new revival will bring seeing as 2 of the Disney redesigns seem to miss the mark. I wonder how much will rely on the live action movie. Also, looking a what is currently on the cruise ship, I worry. I love puppets, but I don't know about the objects being puppets. Although when they turn fully into objects, its cool. It was so interesting to hear the story from Susan Egan about the best version/run of the show Jeffery Katzenberg ever saw was the last run through without costumes, make up etc. He said you really saw the people, and the humanity.
