Puppet Masters: ‘Lion King’ designers, actors give breathtaking performance

Like Disney’s 1994 animated feature film, the musical stage version of “The Lion King” begins with the sun rising on the Pride Lands as animals indigenous to Africa gather for the presentation of the lion cub Simba, the son of King Mufasa and Sarabi.

But add a touch of Julie Taymor and Michael Curry’s puppet wizardry, and audience members may feel they have been transported to the very foot of Pride Rock, surrounded by actors beautifully disguised as giraffes, gazelles, zebras, leopards, birds and elephants and all filing in the doors viewers themselves entered only moments before. The effect is stunning, and patrons of the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines erupted in applause Friday night mid-way through the opening number, which begins with the wonderfully familiar cry that has become synonymous with “The Lion King” sensation: “Nants ingonyama bakithi baba ...”

Now in its second sold-out decade in New York, “The Lion King” is the winner of more than 70 major awards worldwide, including the 1998 Tony Award and NY Drama Critics Award for Best Musical, the 1999 Grammy for Best Musical Show Album and the 1999 Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Choreography and Best Costume Design. The musical — the ninth longest-running show in Broadway history — has been seen by over 50 million people in 13 different countries, and it’s not difficult to understand why.

Beginning with the birth of a prince of the animal kingdom, “The Lion King” follows the life of Simba, played in the touring production by 9-year-old Jerome Stephens Jr., a young lion who “Just Can’t Wait to Be King” but often finds himself, along with his pal Nala (11-year-old Sadé Louann Murray), in need of rescue by his stern and loving father, King Mufasa (Dionne Randolph). Mufasa strives to prepare Simba for the day he will become king, but when the lion cub finds himself at the center of a stampede — and Mufasa is killed, Simba believes, trying to save him — Simba flees the Pride Lands at the bidding of his envious and evil Uncle Scar (Brent Harris), who secretly has engineered the events in order to take the throne with the help of his hyena sidekicks.

With André Jackson taking over the role of older Simba, the displaced prince enjoys the “Hakuna Matata” lifestyle in the jungle with his carefree friends, Pumbaa (Ben Lipitz) and Timon (Tyler Murree). But when grown-up Nala (Marja Harmon) also flees the Pride Lands to escape marriage to Scar, she is reunited with Simba, and with a little encouragement from Nala, the wise baboon shaman Rafiki (Phindile Mkhize) and Mufasa, who appears in a heavenly vision, Simba returns home to battle his uncle for the throne.

Visually and vocally enrapturing, the stage production of “The Lion King” features songs not included in the original cartoon version, such as “The Morning Report” and the stirring number “Shadowland,” and more than 200 intricately-designed puppets, from a tiny mouse and a pack of 39 wild hyenas to a 13-foot-long elephant and 18-foot tall giraffes. Mastering animal- and plant-like movements to complete the effects, the actors themselves are not overshadowed by the set and costumes, with the youthful talent of Stephens and Murray creating an adorable chemistry between the lion cubs and the voices of Jackson, Randolph and Harmon revealing the power and yet vulnerability of the lion leaders.

"The Lion King" runs through Jan. 24, and tickets range in price from $22.50 to $130 and are available at the Civic Center ticket office, all Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.civiccenter.org. To charge tickets, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.