T reminded me to write about "The Lion King." I bought the tickets in February because I really wanted to see it and I didn't want to miss out like I missed "Wicked" last year.
The performance was held at the Capitol Theatre, which I think is a beautiful place. We went on opening night, and the place was full. In fact, it might not even have been the official opening night, but more like an advance showing or something. Regardless, it was a full house. I wore a dress and T wore some nice shorts that my mom had bought for him and a nice shirt. Before the play, we had dinner with MT and his sister at the Olive Garden, so it was a fun night all around.
An interesting side note, and something I love about SLC. The variety of dress of the patrons was all over the place. I mentioned that I wore a dress, but it was simple. I saw women in much more formal evening wear, but there were also girls and women in shorts and t-shirts. There were men in ties and sport coats and men and boys in jeans or shorts and t-shirts. This is a very laid-back city.
For me, the best part of "The Lion King" movie has always been the opening song, "Circle of Life." I love the way all the animals gather around Pride Rock, frolicking and prancing about until Mufasa and Sarabi climb to the top and the animals all bow, then Rafiki holds up baby Simba and all the animals celebrate in their own animal way. And that song! I love the African rhythm of it and the way it builds to the majestic climax during the Rafiki/Simba part.
Because of my love for the opening song/scene, I had high hopes for the play, and I wasn't disappointed. The Rafiki character sang the opening African part. Her voice was clear as a bell and I got goosebumps when she started singing. The first "animals" that came across the stage, with an huge sun as the backdrop, were giraffes. It looked so cool! Then more animals started coming on the stage. It's hard to describe the animals. Some were like puppets, others were costumes, but it all worked. There were even animals that came up the aisles onto the stage, like the elephant. It was just spectacular. And Mufasa and Sarabi climbed up Pride Rock and the animals bowed, then Rafiki held up Simba (a puppet) and there was celebration and as soon as the last note of the song was over, the theatre went dark and the audience went nuts, yelling and cheering and clapping. It was magical.
The rest of the play was wonderful. I thought Mufasa was great. I loved the way they did the scene where Mufasa is killed. Pumbaa and Timon were very good. The actors sounded just like the actors from the movie, which was fun. The woman who played Nala was excellent and had a wonderful voice. Zazu the bird was also terrific.
For me, though, the best was Rafiki. I just loved her.
So that's it. Go see it if you can!
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