I was shocked to look at our site and see that the first, and only other time I’ve seen The Lion King, was 10 years ago. I could have sworn it was only about 4 or 5 because my memories of the show were still so embedded in my mind, it felt very fresh. Reading over my review from 2015, it’s interesting for me to see what has changed in my perceptions and what hasn’t. Let’s take a look.
Comparing 2015 thoughts about The Lion King to 2025:
2015: I’m one of those people who loves to understand HOW things are done. I love behind-the-scenes stuff which, while interesting, means it’s often hard for me to just take something in for the spectacle that it is, at face value. Because of how it is stylized, I spent the first half of The Lion King being at once impressed and bothered by the disjointedness of the characters’ painted faces with separate masks. I think I missed entire conversations between Scar and Mufasa because I was so busy looking between the actors’ faces and their masks. Faces, masks, faces, masks. And the hyenas! I was obsessed with trying to imagine what it must have been like to be those actors manipulating the animal’s front legs with one hand while handling the hyena’s head with the other. And the giraffes! I can’t fathom being stooped over, on stilts, hands AND feet, wearing a head-dress! Unbelievable. It wasn’t until the second half that I got past the wondering how to just enjoying it all. I’m sure most audience members are better able to just take it all in and enjoy the show from the first moments. I envy them.
2025: Well, I guess I haven’t changed that much in 10 years. I totally agree with this. Couldn’t have said it better myself. In fact, myself did.
******
2015: I had to wonder about the kids in the audience, who, like my children, were so very familiar with the familiar animated scenes of lions looking pretty much like lions and meerkats looking like meerkats. Was this stylistic, modern production just too foreign to enjoy? Apparently not. I looked around and all children were transfixed. Except for being really tired after the two-hour show, they all seemed to have really enjoyed it.
2025: Back then, my kids weren’t that far away from the years in which they’d watch the animated version (the OG) of The Lion King over and over and over again. And that meant I’d seen it so many times that I’d practically memorized the lines. This time, I have to say, the “extra” scenes, created for the Broadway show, seemed unnecessary and not especially beneficial to the plot or character development. But the kids in the 2025 audience loved it, start to finish.
******
2015: Even if you are weird like me and have to dissect how they do things and why it’s so different from the animated movie, this production is an absolute wonder. The opening of the show is surprising and completely beautiful and moving. Immediately, you know you are in for something very unique.
2025: I felt like a child again, looking over my shoulder, as the 7:30pm mark approached, because I knew what was going to come out from behind the curtains and make its way down the aisles and up the stairs to the stage. For those who haven’t seen the show yet and haven’t watched videos of the opening, I wouldn’t dream of taking that breathtaking moment away! It’s SO wonderful, joyful, amazing and fun. I’m not getting choked up, you’re getting choked up!
And if you’ve seen the show before, believe me, it’s just as wonderful as the first time.
NOTE: This is another one of those times when it’s actually beneficial to be in seats that are farther back from the main aisle that divides the two sections of the Buell Theatre. Or, to even be in the balcony. Either way, you get to take in the wonder and majesty from the moment it begins as opposed to having to turn to see it if you’re in the more expensive seats up front.
Some fun facts to keep in mind: the elephant in the show is 13-feet-long, 12-feet-high, 9-feet-wide and requires four actors to keep her upright and moving. When not in use, she collapses flat – like one of those laundry baskets – for easy storage! That makes the opening scene all the more delightful to me.
******
2015: I was pleasantly surprised at how the show was firmly planted in African heritage from the Zulu language to the beautiful African fabrics in the scenery and on the cast members. Scar wore pants that appeared to be made of woven leather and were shaped like Jodhpurs. Mufasa had patterns up and down his muscular arms. And Nala’s corset-like body armor had tribal patterns that also reminded me of Elizabethan tapestry and lace. There are also elements in the music of Latin sounds too and hints of Japanese puppet theater. It’s all very international and crosses eras.
2025: Ya, I don’t know about the Jodhpurs and Elizabethan take anymore (I was watching a lot of Jane Austen movies then) but, it turns out, the connection to African culture goes deeper than I thought. There are actually five indigenous African languages spoken in The Lion King: Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho, Setswana and Swahili. Further, it has been performed in nine languages: English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese.
And, according to the program, “To capture the intangible spirit and sound of the savannah, South African performers are cast members of every production around the world except Japan, where the local artists mastered the pronunciation of the five different African languages used in the show.”
******
2015: Brilliantly conceived and implemented sets and props suggest loping animals, rushing wildebeests and swaying grasses. My favorite was the large circle of silky fabric that gets pulled slowly, slowly down through a small hole in the floor to show the watering hole drying up as the Pridelands falls to ruin under Scar’s poor leadership.
2025: Although the way they create, handle and move the animals is brilliant, this time around, I was much more focused on the costumes. I don’t remember them being quite so detailed and involved. I’m referring mostly to the outfits the ensemble wears, representing plants and flowers. I wish some of them had been on stage longer so that I could have better absorbed what I was seeing. They were gorgeous! And it wasn’t just the way they looked but also the way they moved, which was completely intentional. Watch for this when you go – trust me!
******
2015: As a fan of The Lion King movies, I appreciated the extent to which they kept to the original story and songs for recognition and loyalty. But I admired the extension of the themes, adding so many artistic elements. They took creative license to a whole new level.
2025: As mentioned above, some of those extensions of the storyline felt unnecessary. Maybe I’m just getting cranky. After all, those scenes contained some of the most beautiful costumes so…
Does Lion King hold up after all these years? Absolutely.
Is it worth seeing if you’ve seen it before? For sure.
Should you leave the animated version out of your head so as not to attend the touring Broadway show with expectations? Probably a good idea.
Should you try to relinquish reason and just give over to the creativity, playfulness and wonder of it all? Definitely. In 10 years’ time, I still got that fact right.
Disney’s THE LION KING plays at the Buell Theatre in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts through November 16, 2025. Only get your tickets from their website because those are the only ones you can trust.
-By Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher & Managing Editor, In Good Taste Denver
Comments are closed.