Can it really be almost twelve years since Julie Taymor’s acclaimed
stage adaptation of “The Lion King” first bowed on Broadway?
Given that the London production just celebrated its 10th anniversary at
the Lyceum Theatre, I guess the answer to that question would have to be “Yes.”
All sorts of stars turned out this past Sunday to walk
the red carpet (Which – for this extra special occasion – had been dyed Lion
King Yellow). And among the performers who were on hand that night was the Tony Award
Winner who had originally voiced Mufasa for the the 1994 animated version of "The Lion King,” James Earl Jones.
(L to R) Phylicia Rashad, “Lion King” choreographer Garth Fagan, Debbie Allen,
James Earl Jones and Shaun Escoffrey (as Mufasa), back stage at London’s
Lyceum Theatre for the 10th Anniversary celebration of "The Lion King."
Photo by Helen Maybanks. Courtesy
of Disney Theatrical Productions
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
Now you’d think – since this show has already been seen
by over 50 million people around the world – that the folks in charge of Disney
Theatrical would be kicking back right about now. Basking in the glow of “The Lion King” ‘s
success. But that’s where you’d be wrong.
So even as Julie Taymor was standing onstage in the West End,
being warmly applauded by an audience that included 250 former members of the
London production of “The Lion King,” Disney Theatrical was getting ready to expand
the Circle of Life by creating yet another company of this stage musical.
“So where’s this one going to be presented?,” you ask. In
Singapore. To be specific, at the Marina Bay Sands Resort & Casino. Where this Tony
Award-winning production will make its Southeast Asian debut in September of
2010.
Julie Taymor appears on stage for the final curtain call at the 10th anniversary
performance of the London production of Disney's "The Lion King." Photo
by Helen Maybanks. Courtesy
of Disney Theatrical Productions
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
Mind you, Disney Theatrical isn’t planning on stinting with the
Marina Bay Sands’ version of “The Lion King.” This production will be identical
to the seven other companies that have been entertaining audiences in Hamburg, Las
Vegas, London, New York, Paris, Tokyo as well as the show’s on-going US tour.
Speaking of Las Vegas … A few months back, I got to visit backstage
at “The Lion King” just a half hour or so before the curtain rose for that night’s
performance at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. Which was quite an eye-opening experience.
Now if you’ve only seen this sort of setting as it’s been portrayed
in multiple motion pictures, you’d expect the backstage area of a musical to be in constant chaos. With performers running to and fro as they
struggled to get into costumes, stage managers barking out orders, etc.
Photo by Joan Marcus. Courtesy
of Disney Theatrical Productions
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
But behind-the-scenes at the Las Vegas company of “The Lion
King,” things were ridiculously calm. Serene even. As the “Half hour call. This
is your half hour call announcement” came over the backstage loudspeakers, a
dancer laid out a yoga mat and began her nightly stretching exercise. Totally
ignoring that several ton Elephant’s Graveyard set that hung directly overhead
in the flies. Dangling over this dancer’s head like some boney Sword of Damocles.
Meanwhile just behind the curtain -- as the audience was
being loaded into the theater – one of the “Lion King” ‘s assistant
choreographer quietly rehearsed with one of the show’s understudies. Helping her learn the steps for the second act’s
“Prideland” number.
As you might expect, given the number of puppets that are
used in this musical, there were piles of them everywhere. To stage left, the
Zazu puppet sat on a shelf right next to his understudy.
Photo by Joan Marcus. Courtesy
of Disney Theatrical Productions
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
“And why would a puppet need an understudy?,” you ask. Not
for the reasons that you might think. You see, after nearly 12 years now of
futzing with the design of the “Lion King” ‘s Zazu puppet, the one that’s used
in this show now is surprisingly sturdy. Not prone to breakage anymore.
But that said, because the human performer who plays Zazu in
this stage musical has so much blue make-up on his face, this puppet eventually
winds up smeared with the stuff. Which is why “The Lion King” needs a back-up
bird. So that this show will always a clean Zazu ready while the primary
puppet has to make a trip to the birdbath.
Nearby on a wardrobe rack, the front & back half of a
zebra costume waits for the performer who’ll wear this outfit in the show’s
opening number, “The Circle of Life.”
Courtesy
of Disney Theatrical Productions
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
A wardrobe mistress walks through the backstage area, carrying
a dress that’s supposed to look like enormous blades of grass. It’s so large
that members of the stage crew actually have to step out of this woman’s way as
she heads to that area directly behind “The Lion King” ‘s main backdrop.
Back here … Well, there’s this 50-foot-long wall of costumes.
Gazelles are hung up next to hyenas, which are then hung up right next to dozens of lioness outfits. Enormous colorful giraffe-like
creatures were carefully placed off to the side, so that they then wouldn't trip up any
performers. Who – over the course of the show – have to repeatedly race back to this space to make lightning-quick changes.
Mind you, not all of the "Lion King" 's costumes are kept back here. Do you
remember those huge grass-covered headpieces that the performers wear early
on in this show? You know, during that moment in this musical when Mufasa & young Simba are out
exploring the savanna?
Photo by Joan Marcus. Courtesy
of Disney Theatrical Productions
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
These headpieces are so huge that Disney Theatrical actually
had to have an aluminum storage rack custom-built for them. It sits stage left,
loaded with these yard-wide patches of foot-high artificial grass.
“So how do the performers keep these unwieldy hats on their
heads?,” you query. It’s simple, really. Have you ever seen one of those safety
helmets that construction workers wear? You know, the ones that you can lock
into place by twisting a knob towards the back of this helmet? Well, that’s the
exact same sort of locking mechanism that these headpieces have.
While I was standing backstage, the wardrobe mistress and
her team began pulling these grass-covered headpieces out of their storage rack
and then carrying them down to the theater’s basement level. Here, these headpieces were
carefully paired with the appropriate costume items and then left in place right
under the stage. So that the performers who were in “The Circle of Life” number as
well as in the show’s second scene wouldn’t then have to rush around, looking for
all of the pieces that they'd need for their next costume change.
Photo by Joan Marcus. Courtesy
of Disney Theatrical Productions
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
That -- in a nutshell -- is what was so interesting about being backstage at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. Even though this was still basically a brand-new production (The Las Vegas company of "The Lion King" officially opened back on May 15th), because the cast & stage crew here could take advantage of the knowledge & the expertise that had been gained through those thousands of performance of "The Lion King" that had been presented around the world ... Backstage wasn't this crazed, stressed-out environment. Things moved at a very smooth, deliberate pace. Almost like clockwork.
So whaddaya know? Practice actually does make perfect.
Of course, this isn't to say that -- over the past 12 years -- that some changes, some innovations have been incorporated into the staging of this acclaimed musical. Take -- for example -- those highly stylized wildebeasts & gazelles that the cast sometimes has to haul out on stage. When "The Lion King" first opened in November of 1999, those props were awkward to carry and -- sometimes -- quite heavy.
After fielding numerous complaints from the performers, Disney Theatrical eventually recast many of these Julie Taymor-designed pieces in resin. Which then made these props a lot easier to carry. The only problem was that these ergonomically correct, lightweight plastic wildebeasts & gazelles were now quite fragile.
Image courtesy
of Disney Theatrical Productions
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
But the upside is ... If a cast member accidentally drops one of these props, not to worry. The backstage crew has a number of spare wildebeasts & gazelles on hand. And these pieces can be pressed into service while the original prop is repaired with a healthy application of Bondo.
As curtain time approached, I made my way back to the front of the house. But before I left the backstage area, I watched as the audio guys put together all of the mike packs for that evening's performance. (One of the techs there asked me to mention that Disney Theatrical -- just like every other divisions of The Walt Disney Company -- is trying to go green. Which is why they now only use rechargeable lithium batteries in all of the "Lion King" 's mike packs.)
So while there's a lot of roaring & running around going on onstage while "The Lion King" is being presented ... Backstage, the emphasis is on keeping things clam. Making sure that things go smoothly night after night. That the performers & crew are kept safe while -- at the same time -- the audience at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino gets the exact same show as the folks in London & New York & Paris & Hamburg & Tokyo & (coming in 2010) Singapore.
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