“The Lion King” has returned home, for the fifth time.
A touring version of the blockbuster musical adaptation of Disney’s 1994 animated film is back for a five-week run at Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre, where the show famously debuted in July 1997. It has since visited town in 2005, 2007 and 2012, while it’s still going strong on Broadway, where it stands as the third longest-running show. It’s also the highest-grossing Broadway production ever, having taken in more than $1 billion.
How has it maintained such a strong following, nearly two decades running? I caught one obvious reason after Thursday’s performance. In a shared parking garage elevator, I heard a young boy quiz his parents on how long “The Lion King” would be here. With wide eyes, he asked them: “When are we going to see it again?”
Of course, much of Disney’s success lies in the fact many of its most-cherished tales are passed down from generation to generation, and there’s a new audience born every year. But “The Lion King” stands apart from other successful Disney Broadway musicals, like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid.” It doesn’t merely translate a familiar film for the stage, it transforms it into something inspiring and new.
Thank original director Julie Taymor, who Disney allowed the creative freedom to veer from the film. She envisioned the groundbreaking blend of live actors, puppetry and intricate masks that makes “The Lion King” musical its own unique experience. Not only is it possible to watch the show without prior knowledge of the story, it still works if one doesn’t even bother paying much attention to the plot. The stunning, lush visuals are a treat on their own. (The sustained good will audiences have toward the production also helps lessen the pain of Taymor’s disastrous 2011 flop “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” which put its actors in actual physical danger.)
The true strength of “The Lion King” is apparent from early on, when an entire jungle’s worth of creatures take the stage, from the wings as well as from the aisles. In addition to the lions central to the plot, the show offers leaping gazelles, majestic giraffes, a prowling cheetah, lumbering elephant and flocks of colorful birds. There’s joy in figuring out how they pulled it all off, or in merely luxuriating in the gorgeous spectacle.
The show itself and this touring version suffer from some flaws. It feels jarring, at times, to see the comic-relief characters — the hornbill Zazu, meerkat Timon and warthog Pumbaa — bump up against the rest of the more serious, stately cast. Poor sound, particularly in the first act, made it difficult to catch many of the lines, particularly from Zazu, who tended to steal scenes, and not in a good way. The sometimes awkward second act also manages to feel like it’s packing in too much story, while still coming across as slow-moving.
But time has proven that audiences are more than willing to overlook some questionable decisions and enjoy “The Lion King” for its many obvious strengths.
In what the Hennepin Theatre Trust is calling a first for a touring Broadway show in Minnesota, it will offer a sensory-friendly performance of “The Lion King” at 2 p.m. July 30. Aimed at those with social and learning disabilities, it features fewer jarring sounds and strobe lights as well as quiet spaces in the lobby and trained staff and volunteers on hand to help make the theatrical experience a warm and welcoming one.
IF YOU GO
What: Disney’s “The Lion King”
When: Through Aug. 7
Where: Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis
Tickets: $154-$49
Information: 800-982-2787 or hennepintheatretrust.org
Capsule: Nearly 20 years into its run, “The Lion King” still dazzles.
