Her voice is the first thing you hear, spotlit and echoing out into a dark theater with the first words of “Nants’ ingonyama!” (Zulu for “I see a lion!”). Buyi Zama, who plays the lovable, stick-wielding mandrill Rafiki, owns the show whenever she is on stage. The best performances, alas, are by actors who are not always on the stage. On the other side of the spectrum, the mask for Mufasa is removable, giving Ramsey the ability to have a very human moment with young Simba, played Thursday night by Charlie Kahler, while he told him that he’d always be with him. The masks, though, sink over their faces during their more animalistic actions, fully immersing them in the lion costumes when better for the story. The lion face masks usually hovered just over the heads of the actors, allowing them to express emotions with their own faces with this aspect of animal nature still in the sight line of the viewer. What struck me most was how deliberate the costume design elements were, perhaps best illustrated by the masks worn by Gerald Ramsey, playing Mufasa, and Spencer Plachy, playing Scar. It’s one of the best parts of the show - perhaps one of the best things I’ve ever seen at the Morris, a jaw-dropping use of space and costuming that transports you from chilly South Bend to the pride lands of Africa.
If you’re not in your seat by showtime, you’ll miss the opening number, as they don’t let folks walk to their seats during it. I found myself growing emotional throughout the first song, “Circle of Life,” which somehow capitalized on the nostalgia I had for a film from my youth while also creating an entirely new spectacle on stage, in the aisles and the upper boxes.ĭo not be late to the theater. The combination of costumes, puppetry, lighting and blocking makes for a production design that stuns in the best way.
Presented by The American Theatre Guild, the show is a technical achievement that cannot be overpraised. SOUTH BEND - The first five minutes of "The Lion King" are enough proof as to why this is considered “the No.
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