“Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba
Sithi uhm ingonyama

Nants ingonyama bagithi baba
Sithi uhhmm ingonyama
Ingonyama”*

More commonly sung as “NAAAAAAAA TSEVENYAAAAAA MAMADISIBABA,” these are the unmistakable opening lyrics of The Lion King. Hearing these tribal words echo through the Milwaukee Theatre and watching countless actors in elaborately crafted animal costumes stride across the stage makes for a jaw-dropping beginning to an amazing production.

The Circle of Life, one of the most famous songs, begins, and the audience gets to see all of the ostentatious animal costumes, including 14-foot-tall giraffes played by professional stilt walkers. Sarah Hilby, senior, stated, “…the first scene took my breath away. I was blown away by the magnitude of everything transpiring all at once as set pieces moved, dancers leapt across the stage, and intricate animal costumes were displayed for the first time.”

After 18 years and eight language translations, The Lion King now makes its appearance on Broadway, London’s West End, Hamburg, Tokyo, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Australia and on tour across North America, the U.K., and Japan.

The directors of this musical made the conscious decision to portray the characters as human and animal simultaneously. **Taymar said, “Disney animated characters are so expressive – they’re animals, but they’re very human animals. I had to play with keeping some of the ‘character’ of the Disney characters, so that they’re recognizable, But then, I was also very much inspired by African masks, which are much more abstract, much more stylized, much more essential, less soft and round.”

Taymar continued, “Because we’re doing three-dimensional theater, I didn’t want the faces to look flat, I wanted them to have a kind of depth, like wood has. So I used texture and organic materials, fibers, wood — things that would make it less cartoon like.” And far from cartoon-like it was, with each actor encompassing their own traits and really getting into their character. It is important to mention that Taymor and Michael Curry, one of the country’s leading puppet experts, studied the different theatrical forms that inspired their choices for years, and used the raw knowledge they had gained to create the new forms of The Lion King.

Selena Moshell, a dancer in the ensemble, has performed with the Pittsburgh CLO, Orlando City Ballet, Royal Caribbean, and Walt Disney World as an aerialist at Festival of the Lion King. She states, “No one had seen anything like [the African masks] on Broadway.”

Hilby described the feeling of euphoria upon viewing the incredible talent in the entire production. “The passion and choreography of the dancers left me in awe after the song ‘He Lives in You,” she said. The culturally based tribal undertones maintain the integrity of an authentic African setting. Although families filled the theatre, there’s a tangible aspect of real life danger.

All in all, the show incorporates themes of family love, cooperation in a community, and vital platonic relationships that embody the true meaning of a Disney movie.

According to Paul Mathews, President and CEO of the Marcus Center, “Thus far sales have exceeded our expectations for the return of Lion King in Milwaukee, but there are still great seats available.” Tickets to The Lion King are available at the Marcus Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets, or via MarcusCenter.org.

*Official Lyrics to The Circle of Life here

**Quotes provided by The Lion King Staff

Fun Facts :

• The department of skilled mask makers, sculptors, puppeteers and artisans spent 17,000 hours building the anthropomorphic animal characters for the original Broadway production.
• Over 750 pounds of silicone rubber was used to make the masks
• The tallest animals in the show are four 18-foot giraffes from “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.”
• Two actors trained in stilt-walking had to climb 6-foot ladders to fit inside the puppets, mount stilts and enter stage left to cross the stage.
• Worn like a backpack, Pumbaa the Warthog is the heaviest costume weighing in at 45 pounds.
• Lighting Designer Donald Holder used nearly 700 lighting instruments to create the show’s lighting plot.
• There are six indigenous African languages spoken in the show:
  Swahili
  Zulu
  Xhosa
  Sotho
  Tswana
  Congolese
• On tour, there are 134 people directly involved with the daily production of the show:
  49 cast members
  19 wardrobe staff
  18 musicians
  11 carpenters
  10 electricians
  5 hair/make-up artists
  4 props people
  4 stage managers
  3 puppet craftspeople
  3 soundpeople
  2 creative associates
  2 company managers
  2 merchandise associates
  1 child guardian
  1 physical therapist