| The Lion King is a
newer musical, but there has never been a musical like this ever before.
Based on the Disney movie the director, Julie Taymor, combined masks and
puppets with live singers. She also turned the stage into an African
Savannah, using many special effects. All of the songs from the movie the
movie are in it, plus more that were written for the show. |
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The music and lyrics
were written by Elton John and Tim Rice. Additional music and lyrics were
written by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, and Hans
Zimmer. Julie Taymor was also the director, costume designer, and mask and
puppet co-designer. The Lion King book was by Roger Allers and Irene
Mecchi. |
| The Lion King first
premiered at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on July
31,1997. After an eight week run there, the show went to Broadway. Still
performing on Broadway, the show also travels around the world dazzling
audiences everywhere. |
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Even though it hasn't
been around very long, The Lion King has won many, many awards. Such as,
the 1998 Tony Awards for numerous things, Drama Desk Awards, Grammy Awards
Astaire Award, Outer Critics Circle Awards, New York Drama Critics Awards,
and Drama Leager Awards, just to name a few. |
| The show has received
many awards for the costumes. The costumes and props used were some
of the most amazing seen in a musical, ever. There were more than 232
puppets in the show. It took 37,000 hours to build all the masks and
puppets. |
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The masks were quite complex
with a lot of detail. They were constructed using carbon graphite, which is a tough, lightweight material. There was also 750
pounds of silicone rubber that was also used to make the masks. Mufasa's
mask only weighed 11ounces, and Scar's weighed 9 ounces. |
| There were 25 kinds
of animals, fish, and bugs represented in the show. The Timon puppet
weighs 15 pounds. There were 106 ants on the
Ant-Hill Lady. 60 pounds of grass were used on the grassland headdresses.
There were 27 kite birds. |
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There were all
different sizes of animals in the show. The giraffes were the tallest
animals standing at 18 feet tall. The smallest animal was a trick mouse
that was only 5 inches. The elephant was the biggest and longest animal,
it was 11feet 3inches high, and the ears were 9 feet wide. It could also collapse
to 34 inches to go down the theatre aisles. When the show came to the
Benedum Center, here in Pittsburgh, they had to get permission to widen
the doors so the elephant could get though. |
| This is a truly
amazing show. It is perfect for the whole family. So, if you ever get the
chance you should definitely is the show. You will be taken in by the
magic of The Lion King. |
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