It’s been nearly 20 years since we first fell in love with The Lion King, and Disney fans still can’t get enough of this Shakespearean tale adapted to the African jungle. While the animation of the original 1994 cartoon feature was stunning, let’s be honest, the music and the emotional storyline is what truly made The Lion King special.

You might even say that The Lion King is simply too good to waste on direct to video animation–as the disappointing follow ups The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride and The Lion King 1 1/2 showed us. No wonder then that Disney allowed their best fairy tale to be adapted into a stage musical on Broadway!

Everything you loved about the original Lion King mythology is recreated for the stage show. The classic songs, with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, are back along with some additional music by South African composter Lebo M. If you loved the epic nature of “The Circle of Life” then you are sure to love the Lebo M’s masterworks like “He Lives In You” and “The Lioness Haunt.” The storyline remains true to the original work, recreating the three act-formula of the movie without much leeway for change. However, there are some interesting details in the new script; Rafiki the baboon is now a female monkey, and there is also a lengthy subplot involving the evil Scar and Nala, Simba’s love interest.

Wait a minute…how does the stage production of The Lion King manage to create animated characters in a real world minimalistic setting? Well, it’s not really minimalistic…the sets and the costumes are truly out of this world, as they blend together actors in animal costumes as well as giant puppetry devices. It’s an amazing vision of The Lion King and one of the most imaginative productions you will ever see.

This is truly one production where lead billing doesn’t matter, as it is fairly difficult to mess up such an archetypical role as a good lion and an evil lion. The choreography is truly the standout, just as Disney once transcended animation with the original film. This Tony Award-winning musical is appropriate for all ages and is just as entertaining for children as it is for adults.

Get your Lion King Musical tickets at StubPass.com today.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 28th, 2011 at 1:01 pm and is filed under Musical. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.