The Lion King

The Lion King is leaving Sydney in a matter of weeks. It's a good thing we were able to get tickets for the May 5 showing. It's also fortunate I didn't have any scheduled work or emergency calls that night. We got to Capitol Theatre around 7:55pm, and the show started promptly at 8pm.

It was a spectacular show and better than I expected. The firstthing that got my attention was the actors' voices, esp. Rafiki. They were so loud and clear, I'm sure they're being magnified by microphones, but I can't spot anyone wearing one. (From where I was seated, I don't expect to see any mic. Hah!) The sets and the costumes are unbelievably inspired and creative. You've got people dressed up as lions, giraffes, leopards, birds, hyenas, antelopes, shrubs, meerkat, and warthog, etc. The costumes are so well-designed, you tend to forget about the actors and start seeing the characters as real animals. The live orchestra and the stage design and the props are very impressive, too. During some scenes, the stage would angle up to give more depth and space. Later, parts of the stage would open up and out comes plastic inflatable cactus plants. In another scene, a circular piece of reflective cloth simulating a pond was slowly pulled through a tiny hole to represent drought. Then, there were giant ostriches(?) and sliding staircases that circle and move around the stage. Not sure if there are people inside the structures pushing them, or maybe they're remote-controlled. There were some innovative use of shadow puppetry, too. The lighting was just amazing - cool blues, bright oranges, radiant greens - all colors of the rainbow (except yellow, I think).

Unfortunately, all forms of photography and video are prohibited. I was really itching to take some shots. I've actually got my camera out - LCD viewfinder turned off and volume set to silent, but there's just too many ushers around, and I don't want to risk being kicked out of the show. But it's all good. Hakuna matata.