Post by jackjackjack on Jun 6, 2006 3:56:40 GMT 11
I saw the show with a little over a week to go. At the end of the day I was entertained but really fail to see what all the fuss was about.
I would say that for the most part, the show succeeded only in ways that it couldn't fail to given the budget and the source material. Shadowland and perhaps They Live in You were the only new songs that were worthwhile, although The Morning Report might have done alright if they hadn't talked over most of it.
Visually the show swayed from brilliant to bewildering. Brilliant was the giant head of Mufasa in the stars, the Wilderbeast chase and the leopard puppet. Bewildering was the entire staging of I Just Can't Wait to Be King, the dancers without context in Can You Feel the Love Tonight and the bizarre grass hats. And why have a puppet of Timon if you're going to make it the size and shape of a human being? The actor alone could have given it more character.
I'm beginning to think there's a narrative strategy to doing something completely pointless after intermission. As if we have to be woken up again. I've noticed it in Kiss Me Kate, Dusty and now the Lion King with the song One By One. I think it shows a total lack of respect for the audience.
My main two peeves are both things I'm going to blame on direction. Firstly, the actors seemed to have been directed to play to a person in the back row of the circle who's legally blind. Their gestures were so grand that they nearly put my eye out in the second row. I've seen shows from further back before and I just don't believe that's necessary. Secondly, why is an international cast, of a show in Australia, set in Africa, doing American accents and saying "cairn't"? Timon and Pumbaa were virtual impersonations of Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella. Not good enough.
Kudos to Simon Van der Stap, my understudy Scar, who failed to disappoint even though I was mostly there to see Be Prepared, and to Jordan Herbert and Ariel Kaplan, who gave off the lion vibe much more than any of the adults.
James
I would say that for the most part, the show succeeded only in ways that it couldn't fail to given the budget and the source material. Shadowland and perhaps They Live in You were the only new songs that were worthwhile, although The Morning Report might have done alright if they hadn't talked over most of it.
Visually the show swayed from brilliant to bewildering. Brilliant was the giant head of Mufasa in the stars, the Wilderbeast chase and the leopard puppet. Bewildering was the entire staging of I Just Can't Wait to Be King, the dancers without context in Can You Feel the Love Tonight and the bizarre grass hats. And why have a puppet of Timon if you're going to make it the size and shape of a human being? The actor alone could have given it more character.
I'm beginning to think there's a narrative strategy to doing something completely pointless after intermission. As if we have to be woken up again. I've noticed it in Kiss Me Kate, Dusty and now the Lion King with the song One By One. I think it shows a total lack of respect for the audience.
My main two peeves are both things I'm going to blame on direction. Firstly, the actors seemed to have been directed to play to a person in the back row of the circle who's legally blind. Their gestures were so grand that they nearly put my eye out in the second row. I've seen shows from further back before and I just don't believe that's necessary. Secondly, why is an international cast, of a show in Australia, set in Africa, doing American accents and saying "cairn't"? Timon and Pumbaa were virtual impersonations of Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella. Not good enough.
Kudos to Simon Van der Stap, my understudy Scar, who failed to disappoint even though I was mostly there to see Be Prepared, and to Jordan Herbert and Ariel Kaplan, who gave off the lion vibe much more than any of the adults.
James