Lion King Tickets - Broadway Musical

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The Story Behind Lion King

The Lion King, a Tony Award-winning Broadway stage musical, is based on the 1994 animated film by Walt Disney of the same name. Directed by Julie Taymor and produced by Disney Theatrical, actors are portrayed in animal costumes along side various giant, hollow puppets. The show debuted July 31, 1997, in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Orpheum Theatre, and was an immediate success there before its permanent change of venue to the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway in New York that same year in October. With great success in the ongoing show, it was produced in the United Kingdom by Harrison Lochtenberg at the Lyceum Theatre in London, where it also continues to play.

The show has been produced in Canada, Australia, and Africa, and the show's tenth year anniversary was celebrated in the new Teatro Theatre at Monte Casino in Fourways. Currently, there are two U.S. touring productions which are very similar to the original Broadway production. With the difficulties of travel and touring, certain scenic elements had to be converted to less costly measures, such as Pride Rock, the stampede and the grasslands. Various stages are also smaller in the U.S. tour and the music and instruments are also decreased to aid in the tour's adaptation.

There are various changes in the storyline that fans of the original animated film might thoughtfully consider. Rafiki's gender was changed to a female role as Taymor concluded that there was no generally leading female character in the film. There are also a number of scenes present that add to the story, giving the stage show a uniqueness and setting it apart from the film. There is a conversation between Mufasa and Zazu about where Mufasa is raising Simba correctly, and a gripping scene where Timon nearly drowns in a waterfall with Simba feeling powerless to help him. In the scene "The Madness of King Scar", the villain tries to make Nala his mate, which leads to her departure from Pride Rock in order to find help.

In The Lion King, many of the animals are portrayed by actors in costume, using props and tools to give the story it's own stage animation, like actors on stilts portraying giraffes. Lions, such as Mufasa and Scar, feature costumes with mechanical headpieces that can be raised and lowered to simulate a "lunging" cat. Other characters, such as Zazu, Timon and Pumbaa are portrayed by actors in life-sized puppets or costumes. In "The Lioness Hunt", there is a complicated dance sequence in which the actresses must manage to maintain the large headpieces worn during the scene.

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