(Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts; Orlando FL) Disney's "The Lion King" musical arrived into central Florida to begin its near 4-week residency at the beautiful Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. I have watched this musical previously and absolutely loved the performance back then; however, the performance I watched this week fell just a little flat for me.
Costumes and Sets: A+
The costumes are one of the most distinguishable features of this musical that make it stand out from all other shows. The level of detail is that exquisite, and vivid in color, that one could feasibly attend the performance for the costumes alone. The sets were highly imaginative. There was so much movement, and the scenes were not solely contained to just paint and wood. The show does an excellent job of incorporating its cast into the sets: for me one beautiful example of this was early on in the show when the cast basically portrayed 'tall grass' moving on the stage. It was creative and very well done. The 'elephant graveyard' was probably my favorite during this show as it was creative and visually different than what I was normally
Usage of stage and theatre space: A+
This is a very large production, so much so, it was actually the first time I questioned if all of the cast and props were going to fit onstage. Without giving too much away, we'll just recommend that if you have an aisle seat, you will want to keep your feet and legs out of the aisle as that space will be used. I loved that percussionists could be seen on either side of the stage, and was in awe whenever I looked up and saw some of the production up in the balcony spaces.
Ensemble: A+
The ensemble had BEAUTIFUL voices. They were expressive, and their harmonies were poetic and borderline angelic. I'm doubtful every cast member was from Africa, but boy did it sound authentic. It was rhythmic, emotional, and even felt spiritual at times. The voices were powerful, yet warm and inviting. I loved how beautiful the ensemble's voices were.
Solo Performances: B-
And this is where we fell flat. There were ample opportunities for the cast to shine during their solos, and I didn't feel moved by any of them. "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" is an extremely familiar song to many. During this portion of the show, this is one of the most moments that you wait for for weeks, and when you hear it, you should feel this rush of 'ahhh, finally, now I feel complete.' However, I felt very incomplete. In particular, I felt a lack of emotion and lack of volume during this, what should have been, romantic duet. The 'volume' piece bothers me because at other points later in the show, it is very clear that both actors were capable of producing significant volume with their voices. So for whatever reason they elected not to showcase and highlight, arguably, the musical's most recognized song, I did not like it. Additionally, Pumba and the hyenas, and even Scar, had opportunities to be loose and almost reckless onstage, but they remained conservative and almost too calculated in their deliveries and portrayals. I wasn't moved by Scar's solo during 'Be Prepared', and despite Mufasa's wonderful vocal tone, his solo also didn't connect with me emotionally.
Standout Performances: (A's)
Timon (Nick Cordileone) was the hidden gem in this production. He was funny, and delivered his jokes with excellent comedic timing. He paused when he needed to let certain lines sink in with the audience. Cordileone brought the 4-foot stage puppet to life, and I found myself forgetting that there was an actor behind my brought-to-life Timone character onstage.
Rafiki (Mukelisiwe Goba) was fun and lively. Her voice was bright and colorful and expressive. She was cracking jokes, and played the role of 'advisor' very well.
Zazu (Drew Hirshfield) was also very good. He actually sounded like the original movie version of the character, but delivered the lines regardless of that connection and served as a very good comic relief onstage.
Overall: I would still recommend that everyone check this show out as the costuming, set design, and ensemble are excellent. I'm hoping that the rest of my critique here is due to potential 'nerves' of this being at the very front end of the 3.5-week residency here in Orlando and that these jitters and butterflies get worked out. There is an immense level of talent in this cast, and I'm hoping that it comes out for everyone able to catch a performance.
--Bailey Guinigundo
Costumes and Sets: A+
The costumes are one of the most distinguishable features of this musical that make it stand out from all other shows. The level of detail is that exquisite, and vivid in color, that one could feasibly attend the performance for the costumes alone. The sets were highly imaginative. There was so much movement, and the scenes were not solely contained to just paint and wood. The show does an excellent job of incorporating its cast into the sets: for me one beautiful example of this was early on in the show when the cast basically portrayed 'tall grass' moving on the stage. It was creative and very well done. The 'elephant graveyard' was probably my favorite during this show as it was creative and visually different than what I was normally
Usage of stage and theatre space: A+
This is a very large production, so much so, it was actually the first time I questioned if all of the cast and props were going to fit onstage. Without giving too much away, we'll just recommend that if you have an aisle seat, you will want to keep your feet and legs out of the aisle as that space will be used. I loved that percussionists could be seen on either side of the stage, and was in awe whenever I looked up and saw some of the production up in the balcony spaces.
Ensemble: A+
The ensemble had BEAUTIFUL voices. They were expressive, and their harmonies were poetic and borderline angelic. I'm doubtful every cast member was from Africa, but boy did it sound authentic. It was rhythmic, emotional, and even felt spiritual at times. The voices were powerful, yet warm and inviting. I loved how beautiful the ensemble's voices were.
Solo Performances: B-
And this is where we fell flat. There were ample opportunities for the cast to shine during their solos, and I didn't feel moved by any of them. "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" is an extremely familiar song to many. During this portion of the show, this is one of the most moments that you wait for for weeks, and when you hear it, you should feel this rush of 'ahhh, finally, now I feel complete.' However, I felt very incomplete. In particular, I felt a lack of emotion and lack of volume during this, what should have been, romantic duet. The 'volume' piece bothers me because at other points later in the show, it is very clear that both actors were capable of producing significant volume with their voices. So for whatever reason they elected not to showcase and highlight, arguably, the musical's most recognized song, I did not like it. Additionally, Pumba and the hyenas, and even Scar, had opportunities to be loose and almost reckless onstage, but they remained conservative and almost too calculated in their deliveries and portrayals. I wasn't moved by Scar's solo during 'Be Prepared', and despite Mufasa's wonderful vocal tone, his solo also didn't connect with me emotionally.
Standout Performances: (A's)
Timon (Nick Cordileone) was the hidden gem in this production. He was funny, and delivered his jokes with excellent comedic timing. He paused when he needed to let certain lines sink in with the audience. Cordileone brought the 4-foot stage puppet to life, and I found myself forgetting that there was an actor behind my brought-to-life Timone character onstage.
Rafiki (Mukelisiwe Goba) was fun and lively. Her voice was bright and colorful and expressive. She was cracking jokes, and played the role of 'advisor' very well.
Zazu (Drew Hirshfield) was also very good. He actually sounded like the original movie version of the character, but delivered the lines regardless of that connection and served as a very good comic relief onstage.
Overall: I would still recommend that everyone check this show out as the costuming, set design, and ensemble are excellent. I'm hoping that the rest of my critique here is due to potential 'nerves' of this being at the very front end of the 3.5-week residency here in Orlando and that these jitters and butterflies get worked out. There is an immense level of talent in this cast, and I'm hoping that it comes out for everyone able to catch a performance.
--Bailey Guinigundo
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