Julie Taymor on Directing The Lion King Part 7
Julie Taymor, director and designer of the Broadway production of The Lion King, gives the following account of casting procedure and rehearsals for that production.
OPENING NIGHT
We were ready to open. That’s a rare statement for me. This was the first time I truly felt that, even if every little detail wasn’t perfect, the company, the crew, and myself had rehearsed enough. Under our belts were a month of preview performances and endless hours of rehearsals. There is a point where the exhaustion starts to set in and it can be dangerous to the health of the performers. We had experience the trauma and excitement of understudies suddenly having to go on for injured dancers. Spirits remained high. Costumes were finally finished, makeup designs finalized, and the set was behaving well. The show was running smoothly and we could all breath a little bit easier.
July 31, 1997. Minneapolis. Opening night. Glorious.
OFF TO BROADWAY
At the end of August we will close the show in Minneapolis and set our sights to the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street. The cast is chomping at the bit to go home and looking forward to the three-week hiatus while the set is being loaded into the theater. There’s a big production meeting to finalize the changes in the set, script, music, and choreography. I don’t believe there will be many changes but there are definite ideas that need to wait for New York to be re-rehearsed. The first order of business on the regathering of the troupe will be the cast album. Then we’ll have a few days in the rehearsal rooms to review and make any acting and dancing alterations. Then back into tech with a whole new backstage crew. And this time the backstage is even smaller. Much smaller. A number of adjustments will have to be made, and the crew and cast will get to know each other really well.
As I come to the end of this often technical account of the making of The Lion King I want to add a few words about the company. In a collaboration as immense as this one, it is rare to have a unity that sizzles with such support, enthusiasm, and spirit. As hard as the work was, and will continue to be, it has been one of the most thoroughly gratifying experiences for all of us. The South African contingent of our performing cast, led by Lebo M, has made our piece an international, cross-cultural collaboration. Through their passion, talent, and unique artistic contributions, they have brougth the work to another level that has widened all of our horizons.
From my direction of Shakespeare plays to international opera productions in multiple languages, to my five years in Indonesia and the Far East, I have spent my theatrical life devoted to theater that crosses age, race, class, and cultural boundaries. The Lion King, as a story, is archetypal, and as a production includes techniques and inspirations drawn from the world theater. It aspires to speak to the experience of anyone, any family, or any tribe.
Excerpt from The Lion King: Pride Rock on Broadway, by Julie Taymor. Copyright 1997 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Published by Hyperion.
Julie Taymor went on to win 2 Tony Awards for her work on The Lion King (Best Direction of a Musical & Best Costume Design for a Musical)
Provided By:
Holly Mann
Executive Assistant
Broadway/San Diego - A Nederlander Presentation