The Lion King - Critical Essay

Introduction

The musical play The Lion King is a story with the theme of love and redemption with the main character being a young lion prince, Simba, who is born in African Pride Lands with his father being Mufasa. Mufasa is killed by Simba's uncle, Scar, forcing Simba to flee the nice Pride Lands. In the end, Simba is accompanied by his two friends and starts afresh. The devastated Pride Lands state forces him to battle his evil uncle to become the king thus fulfilling his destiny.

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The Lion King has been running in the Broadway for almost twenty-one years, that is, since November 13th, 1997. It has hit more than eight thousand five hundred performances, with more than ninety million people viewing it hence it shows that it has been on the right receiving end and it was received well by the viewers. Broadway tickets are sold to kids from six years old hence fits to be a family play though some scenes can be discomfiting for young viewers like Mufasa's death; however they can enjoy most of the play due to the merchandise.

The play uniqueness from other plays in the Broadways is mainly its pop culture phenomenon with its political fixture characteristic also being a significant contributor to its uniqueness. Bill Clinton once saw the show in 1998 while he was the United States president together with the first lady and the vice president adding up to its popularity and use in politics. The Lion King actors use puppets, stilts, and masks to tell the story through animal and also the play employs separate singing and musical skills of yesteryears rooted in Africa hence use of little vibratos increasing its uniqueness on the Broadway.

Julie Taymor who was the creative impetus behind the Broadway's The Lion King (Biography.com Editors, 2014, para. 1); once joined Sir Elton, the play's songwriter, on stage during one of the play to sing the Circle of Life song. Sir Elton is one of the most famous late 20th century entertainers winning many awards, honors and scholarships, for example, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2004 and knighting by Queen Elizabeth II. Julie, on the other hand, has displayed immense talents in theatrical arts including working on the musical adaptation of the Spider-Man. Julie has directed many films and won several awards including the Tony Awards 1998 with the Lion King. This year Julie has been honored with the" Mr. Abbott" Award.

Conclusion

Given an opportunity to watch a Broadway play I definitely could choose to go to watch The Lion King; this is because there is a strong message of friendship behind the story which would remind me of sticking with my friends. Also apart from the story's theme and moral mentioned above all the play contains a reality which everyone may face in life and even the musical part like the Circle of Life song is educating and helps understand the fact that no matter how hard our life may seem due to occurrence of changes we can never run from our responsibilities forever. The characters of the play also seem to be very exciting to watch especially when in their costumes and expertly displaying the animals' habits therefore by watching it can enjoy and relax my mind.

Reference

Biography.com Editors. (2014). Julie Taymor Biography. Biography. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/julie-taymor-320722