Post by lost_person_no1 on Jan 9, 2004 20:53:33 GMT 11
Ok, Hannah pretty much summed it up, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents for anyone who's interested.
I've seen the show twice now. Once I booked 6 months in advance & got front row seats just after it opened, the other I booked 2 hours ahead & got 10th row centre - a far better seat IMO, given the scale of the show and the height of the stage.
When I got to the theatre, I realised why I was able to get such great seats. It was during previews & I was sitting in amongst people associated with the show, all with their lil notebooks & VIP passes! The entire row in front of me was filled, plus 3 seats on the left of my row, and 4 on the right. So I think the remaining seats they werent using were released to the public just beforehand - luck moi! Julie Taymor was sitting on the end of my aisle, wearing a headset, tho I dont know what she was hearing that we weren't! When I saw her I thought it was her as I'd seen her pic in the paper, but had to check when I got home - it was
. At intermisison, the lot of them dashed off as soon as the curtain came down & huddled behind the audio desk. Was kind of funny to see!
The show... As far as the cast goes, the standouts for me were:
Tony Harvey as Scar. He was suitably evil & a lot of fun to watch. He got to sing my fav number from the film, which is Be Prepared & it was really well done. The elephant graveyard set was awesome. The dance mid-way through the song was a little out of place, I thought. He also did 'The Madness of King Scar' really well, although they cut out one of the better parts of the song from on the OBC recording. Scar & Zazu were hilarious together, both Tony & Terry Bader were really funny in their scenes together.
Jennlee Shallow as Nala was great. I love shadowlands & she sang it perfectly, on par with Heather Headley on the OBC cd, imo. She aslo aced it well - her part in 'The Madness of King Scar', was excellent
Vince Harder as Simba.. I was convinced throughout the entire show that he was Matthew Lawrence (remember him?). I really thought they looked alike, and his accent was good enough that I would've sworn he was American. He was quite good, sang perfectly & was a great Simba. His interacting with Timon & Pumba was alot of fun to watch.
Jay Laga'aia was far better than I had expected. I was a bit disappointed to hear he'd be in it, although in retrospect I'm not sure why. He definately has the voice for the part & I thought he was excellent as Musafa. He conveyed the dual roles of king & father really well (when he takes the mask off to speak to Simba... a big "aww" moment that just melted me!)
Also, the whole ensemble were great, so full of energy & such. You could really tell they were having a good time with it. For a lot of them, apparently, English is a second language, but you'd never pick it. They got quite a lot of (well deserved) applause at the curtain call.
As for the production, it was fantastic. It was a total feast for the eyes, but it didnt seem to overtake the story. Some of the more pivotal scenes were played with minimal sets, which works well letting you focus on the story. There were also several parts with action happening off the stage, even in the circle. It really got everyone more involved in the show & the kids [the biggest being myself] especially loved it.
There was one scene in particular that I was waiting to see. The part where Simba sees Mufasa in the sky. I was really keen to see how it would be staged, and was not disappointed. The lighting in the scene was fantastic. I don't want to give too much away for anyone who hasnt seen it, but I'll say that when I first saw it, it felt like a dream. I wasnt quite sure what I was seeing - if it was real, or some kind of optical illusion. Compared to some of the other scenes (Circle of Life, Cant Wait To Be King, etc) it was relatively simple, but it was truly breathtaking & for me, far more memorable.
The score was awesome! The mix of the two genres, EJ's pop songs with the African music, worked so seamlessly. I loved every minute of it. I had to stay in my seat while everyone was leaving coz the orchestra hadn't quite finished & what they were playing was so beautiful (also because I felt that one stampede was sufficient for the evening).
The story - not much has changed from the movie. Nala's part was altered somewhat. And Rafiki had a gender change! Otherwise it was pretty much the same. Also, there were a couple of Aussie jokes thrown into the script which I [and the rest of the audience] loved! One of them - the song Zazu sings when Scar tells him to sing something cheerful - was actually changed from the preview to the post-opening performance. It is, now, a lot less subtle (and because of that I thought was not as funny) but it seemed to be received better.
So thats about it. No huge revelations, just what this guy thunk!
I've seen the show twice now. Once I booked 6 months in advance & got front row seats just after it opened, the other I booked 2 hours ahead & got 10th row centre - a far better seat IMO, given the scale of the show and the height of the stage.
When I got to the theatre, I realised why I was able to get such great seats. It was during previews & I was sitting in amongst people associated with the show, all with their lil notebooks & VIP passes! The entire row in front of me was filled, plus 3 seats on the left of my row, and 4 on the right. So I think the remaining seats they werent using were released to the public just beforehand - luck moi! Julie Taymor was sitting on the end of my aisle, wearing a headset, tho I dont know what she was hearing that we weren't! When I saw her I thought it was her as I'd seen her pic in the paper, but had to check when I got home - it was
. At intermisison, the lot of them dashed off as soon as the curtain came down & huddled behind the audio desk. Was kind of funny to see!The show... As far as the cast goes, the standouts for me were:
Tony Harvey as Scar. He was suitably evil & a lot of fun to watch. He got to sing my fav number from the film, which is Be Prepared & it was really well done. The elephant graveyard set was awesome. The dance mid-way through the song was a little out of place, I thought. He also did 'The Madness of King Scar' really well, although they cut out one of the better parts of the song from on the OBC recording. Scar & Zazu were hilarious together, both Tony & Terry Bader were really funny in their scenes together.
Jennlee Shallow as Nala was great. I love shadowlands & she sang it perfectly, on par with Heather Headley on the OBC cd, imo. She aslo aced it well - her part in 'The Madness of King Scar', was excellent
Vince Harder as Simba.. I was convinced throughout the entire show that he was Matthew Lawrence (remember him?). I really thought they looked alike, and his accent was good enough that I would've sworn he was American. He was quite good, sang perfectly & was a great Simba. His interacting with Timon & Pumba was alot of fun to watch.
Jay Laga'aia was far better than I had expected. I was a bit disappointed to hear he'd be in it, although in retrospect I'm not sure why. He definately has the voice for the part & I thought he was excellent as Musafa. He conveyed the dual roles of king & father really well (when he takes the mask off to speak to Simba... a big "aww" moment that just melted me!)
Also, the whole ensemble were great, so full of energy & such. You could really tell they were having a good time with it. For a lot of them, apparently, English is a second language, but you'd never pick it. They got quite a lot of (well deserved) applause at the curtain call.
As for the production, it was fantastic. It was a total feast for the eyes, but it didnt seem to overtake the story. Some of the more pivotal scenes were played with minimal sets, which works well letting you focus on the story. There were also several parts with action happening off the stage, even in the circle. It really got everyone more involved in the show & the kids [the biggest being myself] especially loved it.
There was one scene in particular that I was waiting to see. The part where Simba sees Mufasa in the sky. I was really keen to see how it would be staged, and was not disappointed. The lighting in the scene was fantastic. I don't want to give too much away for anyone who hasnt seen it, but I'll say that when I first saw it, it felt like a dream. I wasnt quite sure what I was seeing - if it was real, or some kind of optical illusion. Compared to some of the other scenes (Circle of Life, Cant Wait To Be King, etc) it was relatively simple, but it was truly breathtaking & for me, far more memorable.
The score was awesome! The mix of the two genres, EJ's pop songs with the African music, worked so seamlessly. I loved every minute of it. I had to stay in my seat while everyone was leaving coz the orchestra hadn't quite finished & what they were playing was so beautiful (also because I felt that one stampede was sufficient for the evening).
The story - not much has changed from the movie. Nala's part was altered somewhat. And Rafiki had a gender change! Otherwise it was pretty much the same. Also, there were a couple of Aussie jokes thrown into the script which I [and the rest of the audience] loved! One of them - the song Zazu sings when Scar tells him to sing something cheerful - was actually changed from the preview to the post-opening performance. It is, now, a lot less subtle (and because of that I thought was not as funny) but it seemed to be received better.
So thats about it. No huge revelations, just what this guy thunk!
