'Lion King' hasn't lost its roar

It's been nearly four years since Disney's spectacular musical, "The Lion King," played at the Kentucky Center in Louisville. This past week, a national touring production of the huge Broadway show with Julie Taymor's awe-inspiring creatures returned -- and it's as exciting and spellbinding as the versions I saw on Broadway and in earlier tours.

As my 5-year-old guest exclaimed in her succinct critique: "This is a great show!"

Lexington, Ky., native Timothy Carter portrays Scar, a disgruntled African lion who seizes control of Pride Rock by murdering his older brother, Mufasa (a compelling Dionne Randolph), and hiring a pack of hyenas to kill his nephew, Simba. The Tony Award-winning musical, adapted from the Disney movie, tells the story of Simba's exile in the jungle and his eventual return to claim his rightful place among the pride of lions living on the savannah.

Directed by Taymor with songs by Tim Rice and Elton John, the musical also features African music and vocal arrangements by Lebo M and others. The show with Garth Fagan's fanciful choreograghy is exquisitely theatrical. From the tiny scampering shadow-puppet mice to leaping antelopes to the lumbering fabric elephant and the graceful, towering giraffes (actors on stilts), the show is a visual wonder that tells a Shakespearean tale of regicide and fratricide.

The transformative sets and costumes are breathtaking from both a technical and artistic point of view. My favorites are the African dancers in grass headdresses and swirling, grasslike hoop skirts and the lionesses who dance in golden robes under a lavender sky as they circle for the antelope hunt.

Carter, an experienced Shakespearean actor, imbues Scar with subtle menace and a dry wit. He swivels and tilts his lion mask to effectively punctuate his devious words. One of Carter's best scenes takes place in the elephant graveyard where Scar recruits his hyena thugs with the rousing anthem, "Be Prepared."

As the grown Simba, Dashaun Young is a lithe and handsome lion with a rich voice. His betrothed, the brave lioness Nala, played by Erica Ash, nearly steals the show from Simba and Scar with the moving ballad, "Shadowland," which recounts how Scar's leadership has led to overhunting and starvation.

Other standouts include South African native Phindile Mkhize, as Rafiki, a red-rumped baboon shaman with a playful sense of humor. Her distinctive African singing anchors the exuberant musical. And in Mark Cameron Pow's skillful hands, Zazu, the sardonic hornbill and servant to the Lion King, seems as real as a human being. Pow, who appeared here in the same role in 2003, hasn't lost any of his energy. If anything, he is better than ever as he manipulates Zazu's beak, neck and legs.

In Sunday's matinee, the trio of hyenas named Shenzi, Banzai and Ed were as obnoxiously entertaining as ever. The actors -- Maia A. Moss, Randy Donaldson and Michael Nathanson -- dance and sing, crouch and cavort while wearing 35-pound costumes and manipulating hyena masks. They were funny and fascinating, and I suspect they were dog-tired by the end of the show.

A cockeyed sun in the "Circle of Life" finale was the only detectable technical glitch in Sunday's effusive matinee. The musical is nearly three hours long, but the splendid ensemble -- from the opening parade of animals to the closing "King of Pride Rock"/"Circle of Life" song -- stays on its animal kingdom toes. Even the fourth time seeing "The Lion King" is a charm.

by:www.courier-journal.com