An Ode to The Lion King Musical
It’s always been a life goal of mine to catch Lion King at Broadway because it’s the Lion King. And Broadway is Broadway. A few weeks ago, I caught the Lion King musical at Marina Bay Sands. All the constant advertising for the show and my sister’s constant “What are you doing? Who knows when you can get to New York? Just watch it already!” just made me cave in and buy the tickets.
Fast forward to the day I’m going to watch the musical. I am just shaking with excitement (and a little bit from too much coffee). I contemplated watching the movie for the third time to prepare for the musical. I’ve only watched it twice so far – once when I was too young to understand what was happening and once when I was 20 and old enough to get emotionally attached to the movie. Lion King is peak 90s. Everyone from that era knows what the film is about, and if like me, they were too much of an emotional mess to watch it, they at least know what the plot is. We all know “The Circle of Life” and we all know “Hakuna Matata”. Lion King was as part of the 90s as… Space Jam. Anyway, back to the day of the musical. I decided against watching the movie in the end because 1. I didn’t think I could handle the emotions that the movie AND the musical will create 2. I wanted to watch the musical with a fresh set of eyes.
The Lion King is the first musical I’ve ever watched and you guys, I’m SO glad I didn’t miss it. Once we were ushered to our seats, I could no longer contain my excitement. I barely managed to stop myself from bouncing on the seats like a four-year-old and did a “Oh! Look at That!!” and “Look at this!!!” to my friend. God bless her for being so patient with me. The lights dimmed, and I was grinning from anticipation when at the crescendo of it, the doors suddenly opened. And Bam! There was an elephant that was singing! Prop elephant, there were people in there. And then there more “animals” making down their way down the aisle next to me. I very nearly reached out to touch and feel the props. They started singing “The Circle of Life” with a slow walk to get on stage. Their voices were so powerful that passion seemed to reverberate off the walls. I was so fascinated, craning my neck this way and that to look at all the animals that were cropping up from all the different entrances and on stage. By the time the song was finishing, tears were streaming down my face. Not because of emotions, but from an involuntary reaction like when you see something so truly beautiful – like the sunset. I felt like I was part of something much, much bigger than me and decided right away that I was so glad I caught the musical.
Throughout the next 150 minutes, I was on an emotional roller coaster. I gasped in horror as Scar pushed Mufasa off the cliff as though I’ve never watched the scene before. I laugh-cried my way through the scenes with Timon and Pumba that had been adapted to the local scene. I was a weeping mess during “He Lives in You” – anything with a father and son theme always sets me off.
Even after the musical had long ended, all the puppetry and the actors’ voices continued to swirl in my head. I couldn’t get it out. What is this hold that musicals and films have over us?
Here’s the thing that confuses me even more. I knew what was going to happen because I have watched the movie. And even though it was only twice, it left me so Scarred(ha) that the images are still fresh in my mind. But for some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off the stage. I was so enchanted by the actors and their booming voices. I felt so mesmerized by all the props and movement. There just seemed to be so much magic on stage and everything felt so alive.
I think the musical left such a lasting impression on me because it was more powerful to see real people portray the cartoon story, especially Scar. To push your own brother over a cliff, for the throne! That’s some dark things right there. I have always had a soft spot for the person who plays the “bad guy” because I feel it’s so much harder to be in touch with and pull off your inhumane side in a manner so convincing that people hate you. And the actor who played Scar both repulsed and fascinated me for those reasons.
It was also powerful to see Lion King in an ethnically appropriate way. The Savannah felt like a true African savannah, they added a hunting scene with the lionesses, because as we all know, lionesses are the ones that hunt. And for some reason, hearing the songs and some of the dialogues in so many different African languages made the musical that much more relevant, and as work from the heart of the actors performing it.
There’s so much about family, love, loss, pain, running from your past and then facing it head-on. Things we all struggle with. And that’s the power musicals, and even films and shows have on us. We know those events, maybe some of us are struggling to cope with those events, and for some of us, musicals are a form of therapy to make peace with those events. They are the perfect escapism, and the Lion King musical, despite the dark themes in the plot, imparts so much feel-good vibes and positivity in you.
*image courtesy of https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/lionking0918
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