The Lion King, a touring Broadway show re-visited Memphis this February. I was fortunate enough to be able to see the famous show and naturally, my favorite scene was the first scene, the Circle of Life.

The animals of Africa, including numerous gazelles, zebras, various types of birds, a cheetah, an elephant, a rhinoceros, and two impressive giraffes, make their journey through the walkways of the auditorium to the stage.

So if you are attending one of their fabulous performances, make sure you arrive on time! The ushers will not let you in after the show has started because it will disrupt the performance.

The Circle of Life, is the musical number that the The Lion King is most famous for. You’ve probably heard about the producers’ abilities to make the animals really come to life. Well, they weren’t lying.
The giraffes are life sized, complete with extravagant detail. The actors appeared to be leaning over on stilts for both their hands and feet with the giraffes’ upper body stable on their back. In fact, all of the animals in the production were presented in full life scale. Some animals, like the rhinoceros and the elephant, required multiple actors to help bring them to life.

Their consistency of attention to the detail presented in the animated movie was precise enough that I knew who everyone was before the audience was told.

What really made that musical number, as well as the rest of the show, was the music itself. The musical talents that accompanied the performance, including The Lion King Ensemble, are definitely what makes this show so sensational. They were heavily talented and they caused the audience to be filled with love as the animals gathered to welcome a new member into the pride.

Pieces like The Stampede, performed by The Lion King Ensemble, filled the audience with terror, or whatever emotion was being exemplified on stage. The way the actors moved across the stage went was perfectly in-sync with every beat of the music. It filled the room with emotion that was aroused from the beautiful music, and without it the play would have lost its connection with the audience.

Throughout the show, the actors did everything they could to connect with the audience, whether it be through laughter, tears or goosy heart-ache.

A prime example would be the famous imprisonment scene when Zazo is found singing “It’s A Small World.” Expectedly, Scar asks him to sing something else and unexpectedly, Zazo belts out the chorus of “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen.

The producers also edited certain parts of the play to relate directly to the Memphis audience. When Zazo is worrying about being fired after Simba and Nala’s elephant graveyard adventure, he expresses that he will have to go work as a bartender on Beale Street. The actors never failed to make us feel important and special from curtain up to curtain down.

As far as spoilers go, there are many vital scenes and details I have not mentioned that are definitely worth venturing out to see. The performances of the hyenas, Rafika, Mufasa and Scar himself are to die for. The Broadway show, The Lion King, is one that should not be missed.

As I left, one of the usher’s informed me that every show had been a full house, which speaks volumes about how wonderful this production really is.

I highly recommend seeing it, but beware you may find yourself listening to their fantastic album on repeat; I sure did.