The Lion King — Attraction in New York

We viewed this black centric play on Friday, August 12, 2022 at The Minskoff Theatre. This play is held at the Minskoff Theatre and appears to have shows daily and weekly. We knew we were there, when we saw the big bright yellow The Lion King sign and sprinkling bright lights. Upon arrival outside, we were able to view the portraits of famous cast members including: Rafiki, Nala, and Simba. I purchased tickets at the box office the same evening. The playhouse is decorated very well with African themed elements. The theater was definitely clean, well-maintained, and tastefully decorated to incorporate The Lion King theme. Masks are not required at this theater, but are encouraged. They did have really nice gift shops inside which featured Lion King souvenirs. We did purchase a hoodie, T-shirt, bracelets, and keychains. There’s also a couple of nice bars which serve snacks, alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic beverages. We did purchase pretzels, the orange Creamsicle slushy, and the mango slushy. The orange Creamsicle slushy was really refreshing, sweet, and delicious. Once we purchased our drinks, we made our way down to the orchestra section where we were assisted by staff who showed us to our seats. We got excellent seats with a great view of the stage. The seating is all one level, so you have to look over the person’s head in front of you to see. The show did start on time and the big opening act was simply spectacular. All of the costume and set designs were simply breathtaking and amazing. The set was extremely colorful, bright, and engaging. The musical sets were simply amazing and all of the actors did a spectacular job portraying the story of The Lion King. They also informed us before the start of the show, that there was no video or photography permitted. I had respect for the cast, crew, The Lion King, and Minskoff Theater. I did not take any photography or videos during the play. It appeared that the majority of other people did not do so either. This is definitely a family friendly event and great for children and adults. After the opening of Act One, we were able to see very notable characters including: Simba, Nala, Mufasa, Scar, and Rafiki. I love that this play looked very similar to the Disney movie original storyline. This was our first time on Broadway and we greatly enjoyed the amazing performance of the most talented actors and actresses. It was also amazing to see the hyenas at the elephant boneyard, along with other notable scenes that we remember from our childhood watching this movie. Once Act Two came, the tragedy of the play occurred in the same way it was portrayed in the movie. This included the fall scenes with wire, which was very accurate and felt believable. All of the special effects in this play were also pretty amazing. They left me wondering how they were going to act out and adequately portray certain scenes, but they did so with ease. This included the stampede that occurred in Act Two. Even the way the actors portrayed the animals was spot on and easily recognizable. This included featured animals like birds, giraffes, and others. My favorite scenes were definitely in Act Two with Pumba, Timon, and Simba. It was beautiful watching Simba grow up with ease and having a carefree life with some of his best friends. Before Act Three, we had a 15 minute intermission where we were allowed to leave our seats and go purchase snacks and other souvenirs. Once Act Three came, we were able to see the amazing finale of Simba defeating Scar and taking his rightful place as King of Pride Rock. The story and play was simply amazing and more than we hoped for. It definitely exceeded our expectations. The beginning of the story was how the end of story was. The restoration of Pride Rock back to its original landscaping and with its rightful heir was the moment of this play. I do highly recommend that everyone in New York go see a Broadway play. If you can make it to The Lion King musical, you will immerse yourself in a world of African excellence and witness such amazing black...

As a family, we bought tickets to see this show through ticketmaster. Prior to buying tickets, broadway.org which claims to be a reputable broadway source states that:

“Effective at all times, guests under 5, when accompanied by a fully vaccinated adult may enter the theatre with ONE of the following: A negative COVID-19 PCR test performed by a medical provider within 72 hours of the performance start time. The test results must clearly show the date and time of the test; OR A negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the performance start time. The test results must clearly show the date and time of the test.”

Upon driving an hour to the theatre, paying gas, tolls and parking, we were told those are in fact not the rules and children under 5 are not permitted to enter any broadway theater and they have never even heard of broadway.org. We were told that if we bought tickets at their box office, we would have been made aware of the rule. However, another family who bought tickets at the box office and specifically asked to make sure their 4 year old grandson would be allowed in, was in the SAME SITUATION AS US. The theater does NOT require children to have any ID and therefore they cannot prove a “vaccine card” actually belongs to said child. It was a safety concern for a 4 and a half year old child with a NEGATIVE PCR test to enter a theater. We were turned away due to apparently inaccurate information posted on a website and so were a few other families. It is completely absurd and to turn away disappointed and crying children who cannot understand why they cannot enter a show they were looking forward to. We will be making complaints towards broadway.org for their apparent false advertisement, as well as corporate of broadway which the “safety” manager kindly gave us after looking at children and telling them they...

Seth Rogen would make a better Pumbaa. From a physical performance and choreographed perspective, the Lion King on Broadway is one of the most amazing works on Broadway. What is lacking is an over reliance on lip syncing, acting and originality.

Sound: The choice of voices used for the characters is Timon with a strong New York Accent, Simba as an over excited 12 year old and an underwhelming Mufasa. With the majority if not all of the performance lip synced, I feel they truly lost the audience in creating a true Broadway experience that highlights the strengths of the performers voices.

Story Line: Not much originality here outside of just a few jokes. This was a complete copy of the Disney Cartoon Movie. There was so much here that could be improved on, from better jokes from Pumbaa to a better connection with Simba and Mufasa. The front top left speaker was also broken and could be heard when the volume increased.

Acting: The best performers of the night were the young Simba, Nala and Timon. The rest felt as if they were not truly engaged in their characters. The head movements of the teenage Simba were very hard to watch for over an hour. We get it, he's young and curious. Not sure on the decision for that move. One of the greatest strengths of the digital remake of the Lion King movie was Pumbaa voiced by Seth Rogen. He brought uniqueness and humor into a movie that most of us know too well. That originality and laughter were much needed. The cast looked tired of repeating the same story that has been told since 1994.

Set design, choreography and visuals. This is by far the only true strength to the play. The transitions were remarkable, the layout and lighting truly breathtaking. The giraffes walking on leg and hand stilts takes so much strength and expertise. Without these, the play has very little to...