Julian's at the HeritageThe Lion KingSat.Julian'sTampa Bay Performing Arts Center
1010 N. MacInnes Place
Tampa
813-229-STAR
Through Jan. 26
7:30 p.m. Tues.-Thurs.
8 p.m. Fri. and Sat.
2 p.m. Sat.
1 and 6:30 p.m. Sun.
Some exceptions during the holidays
$22.25-$133.25Sat.$$$$1/2Julian's at the HeritageJacob Marley's Christmas CarolSat.Julian'sGorilla Theatre
4419 N. Hubert Ave.
Tampa
813-879-2914
Through Dec. 22
7 p.m. Tues.-Thurs.
8 p.m. Fri. and Sat.
3 p.m. Sat. and Sun.
$20, $15 students/seniors
$8 12 and underSat.$$1/2performanceExtraordinary. The word occurs to you almost immediately after the curtain rises on The Lion King. The song is one you've heard before — Elton John and Tim Rice's "Circle of Life." But there's nothing familiar about the parade of animals that comes prancing down the aisles and onto the stage. Giraffes and an elephant, gazelles and birds, zebras and wildebeests — all created by human actors with the help of stilts, masks and puppetry — delight the eyes and provoke the imagination. Maybe you've seen people disguised as animals before, but in this case there's no disguise: the human element, brilliantly costumed, is frankly divulged to us as part of the wonder. And as the music swells and an enormous sun rises behind the confusion of teeming wildlife, you have the first of the many rapturous moments that The Lion King affords. So much visual and aural beauty all at once. Extraordinary. Can it be sustained for two acts and almost three hours?
Yes it can.
Let's be clear about this phenomenon: It's many-faceted. There's fine acting, wonderful singing, inspired choreography, delightful costumes, fabulous puppetry, impressive masks and splendidly symbolic sets.
Only the dialogue is less than wondrous, but this isn't a show about words. It's about spectacle and song, about the potential of live theater to create a magical event. And this is no mere translation of the Disney movie to theater. The animated movie was fun; the stage show is astonishing. It tests the limits of theatrical inventiveness and returns us to our most childlike awe at the world of animals, their enigmatic forms, their mysterious abundance. There's comedy here too, and some tragedy, and much moral seriousness. But mostly there's a feast for the eyes and ears.
Prepare for a banquet.
The story of The Lion King (as if it mattered) is about young lion prince Simba (alternately played by Akil I. Luqman and Rydell Rollins), his father King Mufasa (Alton Fitzgerald White) and his villainous uncle Scar (Patrick Page). Scar has designs on the throne, and wants first-in-line Simba out of the picture. So he murders Mufasa, but in such a way as to convince Simba that he's really responsible.
Simba exiles himself and is befriended by Timon the mircat (John Plumpis) and Pumbaa the warthog (Blake Hammond), two slackers whose motto is Hakuna Matata, "No Worries." But back at home, Scar's monarchy is devastating the lion kingdom. When the adult Simba's (Josh Tower) erstwhile fiancée Nala (local heroine Kissy Simmons) discovers Simba and his pals, she insists that the guilt-stricken lion return to assume the throne and oust Scar. Only problem is, Simba may have lost his nerve….
Sure, it's a parable on the subject of taking adult responsibility. But more than that it's an opportunity for some brilliant theater artists to show their collective stuff. Julie Taymor and Michael Curry designed the 200 puppets and many masks, from Nala's curiously solemn lioness' face to Pumbaa's hilarious warthog, from the enormous elephant that lumbers somberly across the stage to the stampeding wildebeests that almost trample young Simba.
Taymor also directed the show (and became the first woman director to win a Tony award) and created the vividly colorful costumes. Sets are by Richard Hudson — particularly memorable are the grasslands worn on top of actors' heads, and a stream beautifully suggested by billowing blue fabric. The consistently delightful choreography is by the gifted Garth Fagan. The music and lyrics are partly by John and Rice, but additional African-inspired songs are contributed by Lebo M and Mark Mancina. The useful, if relatively conventional book is by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi.
As for acting and singing, it's excellent in nearly all cases, though Page as Scar is particularly funny, and Fredi Walker-Browne as the shaman/baboon woman Rafiki is unforgettably serious. Area native Simmons turns in a creditable, if less than commanding, performance as the adult Nala, but Jeffrey Binder as winged courtier Zazu is as comic a fowl as ever filled three dimensions.
Finally, attention should be paid to the very African-ness of this Lion King, a feature that sharply distinguishes it from the movie on which it's based. Whether it's a song in Zulu or a harmony reminiscent of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, this is a musical that leaves you with an unmistakable sense of place.
And it'll leave you with much more — with a memory of having witnessed something unique, theater at a new level.
It opened five years ago on Broadway and won six Tony awards. It's taken a long time to get to the Bay area.
It was well worth the wait.
Marley UnchainedYou really have to admire actor Eric Brandon Davis. In Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, he plays 27 different characters, and lends a noticeably different attitude to each. For example, as Marley, he's gruff, as Ebenezer Scrooge he's downright vicious, and as the demon/sprite Bogle he's comically amicable.
And while rendering so many impersonations, the indefatigable Davis scurries all over the Gorilla Theatre stage, climbs up a ladder and vaults back down, and jumps onto and off a desktop with seeming effortlessness. This is not just an acting tour de force, it's an athletic one too.
So why is Tom Mula's play, which purports to tell us the famous Dickens story from Marley's perspective, so, well, tedious? For one thing, there's too much narration and not enough drama. Then there's the problem of predictability: We all know what's going to happen to Scrooge, and we can bet that in a Christmas show, Marley's end won't be much different. And at two-and-a-half hours, the show is simply too long. This is an evening of virtually constant, relentless talk, and it just wears you down, finally, wonderful acting or not.
Still, kudos to director Crystal Solana Bryan for making it almost work, to sound designer Robert Neuhaus for a musical background that really sets the mood, and to composer Larry Schanker for the music itself.
All that's missing are some pauses.
Contact performing arts critic Mark E. Leib at mark.leib@weeklyplanet.com or call 813-248-8888, ext. 305.
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2002.