Lion King on Broadway Musical - Behind the Curtain part 2

[KingdomHeartsFan3211]

THE LION KING actually won 6 1998 Tony Awards.

Best Musical of 1998

Best Director: Julie Taymor

Best Costume Design: Julie Taymor

Best Scenic Design: Richard Hudson

Best Lighting Design: Donald Holder

Best Choreography: Garth Fagan

[valeriemd2b]

Is it just me or does Mufasa (Rufus Bonds Jr.) look like Conrad Murray?

[Wolfy934]

OMG yay first an amazing movie then a beautiful broadway musical and now in 3D MY HEAD IS GONNA EXPLODE...(in a good way) :D

[tarotjd]

That would be funny,loveskuls....But..bad for Simba.

[Bag2218]

HOLY SHIT! That Scar mask scared the hell out of me when it lunged forward

[DomRusky]

interesting stuff (: went to London to see it today with school, brilliant musical - a must see.

[736berkshire]

I love the music at 2:13 6:06 and 9:19

[XxXTAYTAYXxX96]

i saw this play it was really good!!!!!! =)

[oscarwinner365]

seeing this for the second time on sunday. omg soooooooooo good!

[AssNutt]

LUCKY

[treehamallama]

i saw it 3 times! i love it!

[MaryLizHicks]

@treehamallama Can you lend me one of those times? ;A;

[loveskuls11223344]

what happens if scar presses the button at the wrong time? so ranomly it like " a monkeys uncel" and then BAM!!!!!!!!!! his head goes out and he knocks out simba

[lionking300]

Actually only one of them is also in Lion King II - "He Lives in You." Additionally, 3 songs from the album "Rhythm of the Pride Lands" were rearranged and given lyrics to fit into the musical - "Lea Halalela" became Shadowland, and "Lala" became Endless Night, along with HLIY - to which the lyrics were changed slightly.

Since the Broadway Musical (1997) came before TLK II (1998) the producers thought that HLIY would make a great opening for the movie, and it did :)

[ackb118]

i went behind stage of this

[TwilightIsLIfe4493]

god i love this show

[theaterlover20]

I think Scar may have been type cast. lol

[phatchrulesforever]

What do you mean? :)

[Mungojerriestar]

Ta'Rea Campbell even looks a little like a lioness. I mean that as a compliment..

[holla06]

omg...at 8:23 when scar's head moves...it seems so real and amazing!!!

[TshidiManye]

whos playing rafiki at he end

[poohbearw]

What does young simba and nala look like

[togio100]

rufus bonds sounds a LOT like Lawrence Fisburne

[gleasygirll]

ok why is timon's like guy green??

[prongsmwpp]

Because a lot of his scenes are against a jungle background, so it helps him blend in so all you see is the puppet.

[gleasygirll]

oh. well why didnt it make him blend in with the puppet

[prongsmwpp]

because then the actor himself would have been more obvious, and they want the focus on the puppet. plus it would have made Timon look big and lumpy, like he had a human growing out of his back.

[gleasygirll]

ohhhh hahaha that makes a lot of sense! thanks for clearing that up for me!

[prongsmwpp]

No problem =]

[smellmytoe132]

the scar mask fell into the audience?, right, so it flew from wherever scar was standing, OVER THE OCHESTRA PIT, which is usually pretty big, and into the audinece. i think it must have uncliped itself from under the wig and disconect from 4 wires strapped to his back. and under his costume, and the wires must have pulled out from the back so it just fell off. im sure your telling the truth...

[finallymaybe]

I'm pretty sure that in the Sydney version of the Lion King, that the actor who played Simba was Maori.

[lionking300]

You're right! His name is Turanga Merito (born in Rotorua, New Zealand) and he performed the role in Sydney, then later in Melbourne and finally in Shanghai, China for 100 shows before the Australian company parted ways. I got to meet and interview Turanga after one of his performances in Shanghai - he's really a genuinely nice, humble person with a great personality. Last I heard he was studying theater in New York somewhere.

[tonyashlin]

I'm using my husband's id on this but yes, Simba is always casted as an African American. There are some other parts that can be casted either way but majority of the cast is African American.

[barnardoo98]

Do you have to be african american to play Simba?

[lionking300]

I'm very happy to report that Wallace Smith (the Simba in this clip) has recently taken over the role on Broadway! I've seen him perform twice in 2 different cities - he's one of the most talented, vibrant actors I've ever seen. He clearly deserved the opportunity. I also had the pleasure of meeting him briefly in San Jose in 2006 - Wallace is an incredibly humble, nice man even with all his success. Hopefully his reign as the Lion King on Broadway will last a long time.

[TLKthing]

He isn't on the broadway website... =S

You sure?

[kafferz]

LOL, the bad guy is the white guy.

[ikissedck88]

i know that what i said! i never knew he was painted so good

[holla06]

rofl!

[bubblegummel]

Larry Yamdo is my fav, prob cos Scar is my fav character. and i lvoe the guy that does his voice in the movie is well!!! x

[missluu962]

that is pretty cool now that costumes work and all

[piazzalover]

48 extra pounds with the Scar gear! No wonder John Vickery had back surgery due to this! Rufus' is my most favorite Mufasa! I've seen him do this role over 75x! Mufasa wears a head piece in the tour. LOVE this show so much!

[barnardoo98]

Oh No !!! No I am afraid of trying out for Scar when I become a professional actor.

[hideXfreak]

I've seen it a few times in London now...and it amazed me every single time...

there's just this power that seems to radiate from each actor...

[nala92]

that is so cool i saw it in december in la and it was amazing i was so amazed cause i have acted in my theater but i have never seen something like this before

[directorguy1]

Mufasa takes off his head piece during They live in you. i went to go see this show in LA and Scar's mask fell off during Be Prepared it was scary, it fell into Audiance (but it did not shatter)

[Ieatmeowmix]

ROTFL...major screw up..it would be funny if someone got it on camera or something

[Rainwhisker167]

I wonder if it did! That would be embarasing

[Ieatmeowmix]

oh yeah...

[Stahi]

A lot of folks don't really notice the meaning behind this. It's a powerful gesture, as it shows Mufasa putting his kingship and royalty aside and instead just being a father to his son.

[holla06]

o wow. that's so cool!

[theOcompany]

Lol, I bet whoever put the mask on Scar's action got fired.

[kitty17794]

The tour-Mufasa doesn't seem to wear the headpiece in his clips. Wonder why...