Review: THE LION KING is the Pride of Broadway Sacramento

Broadway Sacramento is starting off the new year with a legend. The Lion King, winner of six Tony Awards, is back in town after seventeen years. The familiar score by Elton John and Tim Rice has been a favorite since the animated version debuted in 1994. Songs like “Hakuna Matata,” “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” and “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” have helped to catapult The Lion King to the status of highest-grossing Broadway production of all time. This was my first time experiencing the magic, and you shouldn’t wait as many years as I have.

This is a show you don’t want to be late to, as the opening number, “Circle of Life,” is a spectacle of absolute wonder. Julie Taymor brought her vision to life as both director and costume designer, and the results are unmatched. Savannah animals tower over the audience as they move down the aisles in an awe-inspiring parade of grace and beauty. It sets the tone for the rest of the show – the excitement and anticipation carry through each scene as Richard Hudson’s scenic design displays some incredible set pieces like an elephant graveyard staircase, and mask design by Taymor and Michael Curry defy imagination.

Of course, the show couldn’t go on without impeccable performers. The Lion King boasts a plenitude. Peter Hargrave is unforgettable as the lion we love to hate, Scar, while David D’Lancy Wilson is his royal counterpart, Mufasa. Nick Cordileone (Timon) and Danny Grumich (Pumba) are terrific as Simba’s sidekicks. Aaron Chao (at my performance) and Gilbert Domally play Young Simba and Simba, respectively, embodying naïve charm and the eventual transformation to his noble birthright. My favorite of the show might be the ever-watchful (and anxious) Zazu, played by Nick LaMedica. Like a hovering mother hen, he protects Simba (badly) and delivers zingers that should have relegated him to a dinner plate.

Although based on Hamlet, The Lion King offers hope. The circle of life, after all, is the promise that energy never dies. We are all together in an infinite loop of time, and that should offer some degree of comfort as the show nears the end of its third decade. Like us all, The Lion King is eternal.

The Lion King plays at Broadway Sacramento through January 25th. Tickets may be purchased online at BroadwaySacramento.com, by phone at (916) 557-1999, or at the Box Office at 1419 H Street in Sacramento.