The Lion King

As part of our Anniversary celebration, we got to go see The Lion King on Broadway. We thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I met Brian at his office in Manhattan and we stopped for a quick dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. They have really yummy pizza there, among other things. We took the 6 train up to Grand Central, then rode the shuttle over to Times Square. The shuttle runs directly between the two, skipping the middle 5th Avenue stop. The shuttle trains usually are covered in a big vinyl wrap, inside and out, advertising some destination or such. The seats, floors, walls and ceilings all become a part of the same image. This time the whole train was blue, something to do with water, I don't really remember. 

We surfaced right in the middle of Times Square. The tourist in me always gets really excited on first entering Times Square. All the lights, people, shops and buildings meld to create a cacophony of glitzy New York life. Then, about three minutes later, I get over it and I become impatient with the crowds. It's been about a year since we last visited, and this time the chaos was heightened because a portion of the center road is under construction. It's a crazy place, but definitely a must see once if you come to New York. I looked at Brian while we were there and said that I'm really glad we don't try to come on New Year's Eve.

I love the giant sign for The Lion King hanging in the windows of the theater.

Right around the corner from the sign we found the entrance to the theater. It plays in the Minskoff Theatre.

Underneath the sign there is this passageway all lit up with lights. The doors to the theater are on the left.

We picked up our tickets at the ticket booth then walked up the red-carpeted stairs. On the wall above the stairs is this huge sculpture of Mufasa's head. It's a replica of the one seen during the show.

At the top of the stairs they had a few replicas of the costumes used in the show on display. These ones are of Mufasa, Sarabi and young Simba. Seeing this just made me more excited.

They also had Rafiki's costume on display.

Across from the costume's was a small gift shop. In one of the display cases was a part of Ed the hyena's costume.

The theater was beautiful with all its lights and decorations.

We went up an escalator and were directed to the door where we would enter once it opened. We had amazing seats. We were in the orchestra seating, about 14 rows back from the stage in the very center. The story line follows that of the movie, so there was nothing new there. But the set, backgrounds and costumes were amazing.

I have to say that the opening scene where all the animals gather to celebrate Simba's birth was my favorite part of the whole show. I loved the giant sun that rose from the floor. It was made of some sort of fabric, because the individual stripes would move, giving it a shimmering effect. After a few animals crossed the stage, I looked to the side and animals were coming down the aisles from the back of the theater. There was a rhinoceros leading the way on once side and an adult and baby elephant leading the way on the other.

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It was so exciting to see the costume of each new animal, and both Brian and I found ourselves trying to figure out how they worked. I loved that some of them were a combination costume and puppet.

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After Mufasa dies, there is a scene where they show all the lionesses mourning his death. They started pulling down strips of paper from the eyes of their masks, and I was very confused at first why they were pulling their eyes out. I thought it was a little gruesome...until I realized that the papers were supposed to represent tears. Apparently Brian had the same thought, because we both looked at each other with confused looks on our faces, then as realization dawned we started laughing.

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Brian's favorite character/costume of the whole show was Zazu. The actor that played him was dressed in a long blue coat and controlled a separate puppet. He was the comedic relief of the show and the actor did a great job with the puppet.

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I can't decide what costume I liked the best, I loved them all. The giraffes were pretty cool as was the cheetah. I really like the actors dressed up like grass. They twirled and danced around the stage, creating a living grassland through which Mufassa and Simba chased each other. I loved their skirts and the way they moved.

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All too soon the show was over and we had to leave. We wandered about the theater a bit before leaving. The theater has great big windows that overlook Times Square. As we came out of the theater and looked out the windows I at first thought that it was still light outside. But then I looked at the clock and realized it was after 10:00 and the light was just the signs on the buildings. It really is as bright as daylight all the time there! We got a keychain at the gift store that we plant to repurpose into a Christmas Ornament. This event was definitely worthy of a spot on our tree. 

This show was absolutely worth seeing. What do you think we should go see next?