How ‘The Lion King’ Made It To Broadway And Reigned For 25 Years (So Far)

Timur had other concerns, too, and here they prevailed. She wanted a stronger African look and sound, and found a vocal springboard in “The Pride Lands Rhythm”. And it insisted on stronger female characters: Rafiki, in the film a male mandrill (often referred to as a baboon), becomes female in the theatrical version; Nala, a childhood friend of Simba’s, becomes more powerful, and the power and centrality of the lionesses is emphasized in the pride.

Timor There weren’t enough female characters. I knew I would make Nala stronger. This is the thing I’ve always had to grapple with, that female lions are the kings of lions. Male lions do not hunt. They are asleep. They are not the kings of the jungle – this is a parental concept. But you know, there’s a lot you’re going to be dealing with. But our female character can never be as strong as we want her to be. She shames Simba in the second act, helps him find his strength, and this, then, gives their relationship depth.

HEATHER HEADLEY (Nala) It occurred to me later that I thought Nala was her little girl, like “How can I make Nala almost like the Lion Queen.” She wanted to be strong, she wanted to be fierce, and Nala was going to change the way Simba looked at things. And Julie was a great force for that with me. Sometimes we would butt heads, but as I got older in the part, and grew up as a performer, I saw that this was Julie saying, “You act all these little girls. All these women.” And I really appreciate that now.

Timor So I’m on the phone with Thuli Dumakude, who’s an amazing South African actress and singer, and the light bulb goes off. I was thinking, “Who is my mate? Is he just the butler? No, the butler is Zazu. My mate could stand out of the story.” and “Who Will Sing” The Circle of Life? “In the movie is an abstract female voice. It’s not a character. So I asked her about the shaman. I said, ‘Tulli, are there any women shamans in South Africa?’” Are you crazy? Of course!” And she explains how they are the strongest; they are called sangoma. I called Tom, and told him the idea: that my mate would have to be female, and also that she would be the one singing “Circle of Life,” so it was rooted in personality, and that she would be able to address an audience.

Eisner Since it was a monkey, it didn’t matter to me.

What would the “Lion King” look like? Taimoor, inspired by a four-year journey of studying and making theater in Asia, came up with a design approach in which patrons could see both the puppet and the puppeteer. Sunrise as well as silk on bamboo sticks.

Timor I had just started doing movies, so I said, “If you go back and do some big theatrical work, it should do what theater does better than movies.” The power of live theater is the suspension of disbelief. This is the principle of The Lion King: that the soul and soul are in the visuals of how it’s done. There’s the story, there’s how the story is told, and I think the success of “The Lion King” is that double event.