The Lion King

To start off with, this musical is amazing. Right from the stage that chops and changes in the blink of an eye to the breathtaking costumes everything was flawlessly executed and professionally acted. The choreography, also, was incredible, making dancing lions look completely natural. 

The acting was also wonderful. Nick Afoa playing Simba was a perfect match for Janique Charles as Nala, both having The Lion King as their West End debut. Every movement the actors made (main leads and the backing ensemble) was completely in character, doing credit to Julie Taymor, the producer of this stunning musical. The singing, especially the singing by Simba and Nala is also amazing, it's awe-inspiring how they can sing so strongly and dance around the stage at the same time. 

Following the original story-line almost to a letter there were only a few added scenes to this live action performance of an old Disney favorite, and having watched The Lion King many times, I was very glad to find that they took nothing away from this tried and true classic. The scenes that they did add on, merely added to the atmosphere and in no way made the story-line less appealing. 

In terms of the technicality of the performance, such as lighting, music, scene changes etc. the musical just continues to impress. Lighting is spectacular, with spotlights following lead characters, and star effects for the night scenes as well as different colored lighting for dramatic scenes. The music is amazing too, being played live by an orchestra under the stage. It captures the wild African feel perfectly with drums and woodwind as well as strings and piano - the list goes on. The music and the acting work together so well, one of the many benefits of live music. As for scene changes... well, let's just say that Pride Rock rises up from the floor, an elephant's graveyard appears on stage in a matter of seconds where there was flat savanna moments before, a group of singers materialize on stage leaving you wondering how long they have been standing there, waiting for their cue - it's simply fantastic in every way. 

And just in case you aren't impressed enough, the cast makes use of the auditorium as well, with animals appearing through the audience in the opening piece and several other junctions in the performance! 

And the costumes... incredibly effective down to the baby elephant and the hyenas who are almost disturbingly realistic. Every single costume fits the actor perfectly, and the masks that the lions wear work so well! Before I saw the musical, I was wondering how the masks worked, as they are on top of the actors face, however, seeing it in theater they worked superbly! 

All in all, this is the musical to watch - it's amazing in every way, worth every penny it takes to get there. If I had the chance, I would gladly go again as it is simply fabulous. I strongly recommend this production!