The Lion King
Fox Theatre
through January 28, 2018

You know about The Lion King, or perhaps you live in a cave some place. This is the Disney funded extravaganza and the road company has come to Atlanta many times since 2003. Tickets have been selling quite well, so if interested you need to be a bit flexible in your dates if you want to secure the best seats.

It is true that money doesn’t always equal production of value. Just look at the miserable stuff your favorite cable company is pumping into your home. But in The Lion King what you see is that a bottomless pit of money when married to an inexhaustible supply of talent can really produce something quite impressive. The plot is immaterial so don’t even give it a thought. The music is forceful and sometimes melancholic but you aren’t going to leave the theatre humming most of it. What you are going to see is a theatrical “experience” which is incredibly well staged, lit, choreographed and costumed.

More than the music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice, the real stars of the show are the costumes and direction of Julie Taymor. The show is adapted from the Disney film of the same name and it is pure Disney all the way.

Buyi Zama is a gas as narrator, cum hip mentor of the savannah. And
really knows how to play to an audience. The two scene stealers (when the hyenas aren’t on stage) are Zazu, the avian majordomo to King Mufasa (Gerald Ramsey) and the camped up meerkat fresh from the Borscht Belt, Timon (Nick Cordileone).

What this production is all about is color, movement, sound and pleasing the
senses. From the opening act when the larger than life animals parade all around the stage, you are treated to something that looks like a Las Vegas show staged in a 3-ring tent. So, just be a kid for a while.

The show runs about 2 hours and 45 minutes so plan on a long first act if you have kids with you. Come early as they have a mob scene at the Fox. Not sure what more to tell you. You’ve seen clips on TV, your kids or grandkids have told you about it, you’ve been to Disney World, so just go and enjoy it for what it is. It’s a great theatrical entertainment.