Theater Review
"Lion King" spirited journey of discovery

By Misha Berson
Seattle Times theater critic

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The ovation starts when an elephant answers the piercing, full-throated call of an African shaman and lumbers down the Paramount Theatre aisle.

And it continues, as zebras and gazelles, flocks of birds, and lanky giraffes answer the musical summons to congregate onstage, where a bronze sun rises above an inviting African savanna.

This beguiling, make-believe parade ushers us into the Broadway megahit "The Lion King." A unique victory of stagecraft and atmospherics, the show is an ecological pageant that can take the viewer on an enchanting musical safari unlike any other.

"The Lion King" is not, as you may know, a literal transfer of the animated Disney movie musical that inspired it (like Disney's "Beauty and the Beast' musical.) Nor is it an eye-popping pop-romance (a la Disney's "Aida").

Thanks to the expansive imagination and pan-cultural genius of director Julie Taymor (who also designed the exquisite costumes, and, with Michael Curry, the wondrous masks and puppets), "The Lion King" mostly transcends its elementary plot and bombastic pop-up ballads.

And the spectacle of a lion cub's passage from youth into kingship unfolds in a sophisticated yet organic wonderland that young children especially are unlikely to forget.

Still, a caveat: All the hype and prizes (six Tony Awards, a Grammy et al) heaped on "Lion King" since it roared onto Broadway in 1997 can drive one's expectations through the roof. And with many children jaded by the visual dazzle and pace of techno-toys, the neo-folkloric marvels Taymor conjures may require a perceptual adjustment.

My advice: Focus on the ingenious synergy between the human performers and the critters they portray. The lion king Mufasa (Rufus Bonds Jr.), his son Simba (played as a frisky cub on opening night by Robert Harris, and as a young adult by Brandon Louis), and Simba's playmate Nala (Ashley Argota as a cub, Adia Ginneh later), move, roar and rough-house like big cats.

The shaman Rafiki (mesmerizing South African singer Thandazile A. Soni) has a baboon's gregarious spirit. Mafusa's "major dodo" Zazu is a bird puppet handled so deftly by actor Derek Hasenstab, it's hard to tell where man leaves off and fowl begins.
 
In perfect sync, too, are the likable Mutt-and-Jeff clowns, Timon (a meerkat puppet, attached to actor Adam Hunter) and Pumbaa (a warthog ridden around, like a toy car, by Phil Fiorini).

And there's Scar, Simba's uncle and the preening villain of the fable. (If "The Lion King" is a variant of "Hamlet," Scar is Claudius.) Like the other lion performers, Larry Yando wears a heraldic mask on his head. But he can adjust it so Scar suddenly leers and lunges to sinister effect. (Note: the tale's vivid violent moments may scare some younger patrons.)

The lions and a pack of jive-talking hyenas are the main figures in the show's book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi (which plops in some jarring slang and fart jokes). Just as arresting, though: a stampeding herd of Picassolike wildebeest, the graceful palm trees, hanging vines and stands of palm grass — all in richly decorated human form.

Choreographer Garth Fagan keeps all living things in perpetual, elegant motion. And "The Lion King" vibrates to the intense hues of Donald Holder's lighting and textured vistas in Richard Hudson's sets.

The Elton John-Tim Rice songs (from the film, and new tunes) are catchy at best ("The Circle of Life," "Hakuna Matata,"), soppy at worst ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight").

But the slick pop score gets happy jolts from the tribal harmonies and jubilant rhythms inserted by composer-choral director Lebo M, and performed by excellent musicians and chorus. When that African chorale pipes up, the blazing savanna really shimmers.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com

Now playing

"The Lion King." Tuesdays-Sundays through Jan. 16, Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., Seattle; $25-$125, 206-292-ARTS or www.ticketmaster.com