As a child and even up to now I am always been a fan of disney and animated movies. One of my favorites is The Lion King movie which was shown in the late '90s. We watched it with the whole family together with our only and eldest nephew at that time. Now that child has grown into a big man. It was almost 3 decades since then and now the whole family is thrilled and excited to watch this classical disney animation.
This time in a musical play.
The venue of the musical play is at The Theatre, Solaire and Casino Hotel in Pasay City. A good venue for a very good musical play.
Michael Cassel Group in association with Disney Theatrical Productions is the group responsible for the international tour of the world’s No.1 musical, Disney’s THE LION KING, that premiere in Manila in March 2018.
The international tour, which was performed in English, was launched in celebration of THE LION KING’s 20th anniversary on stage.
It is the stage adaptation of the 1994 Disney film of the same name. The original staging of the musical won six Tony Awards back in 1998, including Best Musical, Best Choreography, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Lighting Design.
Directed by Julie Taymor. A well-known Tony awardee who had directed several broadway musicals. She did not only directed the musical but was also responsible for the superb props, stand alone masks, puppets, colorful costumes and additional lyrics.
The story is about Simba, a young lion born into the royal family, who flees their land after his father Mufasa is killed by his uncle, Scar. When he grew up, he hears the voice of King Mufasa to save his kingdom from the wrath of Scar. The unexpected meeting of Simba and Nala also opens the ears of Simba from the plea of the inhabitants of his land, thus begins his mission of taking back the kingdom once snatched by Scar. And later on fulfills his destiny to be a king.
Adding to our interest in the animated play is the inclusion of Filipino child performers whose performances are at par to their foreign counterparts. It is good to note that Filipino performers were given equal chance to showcase their talents.
Sharing the role of Young Simba are Julien Joshua M. Dolor Jr., Gabriel P. Tiongson, and Omar Sharief L. Uddin; sharing the role of Young Nala are Sheena Kirtsten Bentoy, Uma Naomi Martin, and Felicity Kyle Napuli.
Also, the music of Grammy awardee Elton John's "Can you Feel the Love Tonight" turns the whole evening into a romantic and enchanting night. While "Circle of Life" gave me a goosebump and chill. I am super impressed by the voice of the woman who sung the song. She really has a powerful voice. The song also gave the audience a first-hand treat of an Africa music.
It was truly, a musical play worth to watch! We went home filled our hearts of the inspiring story of Simba, a young successor to the thrown who despite all the evil and darkness encountered in life has stand-up to fight for the freedom of his beloved people.
The message is clear: Pureness and goodness of one's heart cannot be defeated no matter how powerful your enemy is.
Kudos to the whole cast of this broadway musical play. It brings us all back to our childhood.
I hope this won't be the last but just the beginning of series of musical adaptations for this beautiful disney story.
Have you watched this musical? Please share us with us your favorite part of the play by commenting on below.
Happy reading !
