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That iconic Zulu chant to open “The Circle of Life” means The Lion King Broadway musical has arrived in the Borderland. The Disney musical based on the 1994 film premiered in 1997 and is the highest grossing production and third-longest running show in Broadway history.
Actor Mark Campbell performs in the musical’s North American Tour and plays the villainous role of Scar. Campbell said he’s been acting since he was just a cub in community theater and gave up studying pre-med in college to follow his dream of acting full-time.
“Actually, one of my best friends was playing Timon in the Lion King in Las Vegas and that was the first time I ever saw the show and I remember watching the actor playing Scar and thinking ‘Ooh, ooh that’s a really good role,’ and then years later the role opened up and I told my agent ‘Get me seen for this!’ and the rest is history I guess,” Campbell said.
Campbell said doing justice to playing a character like Scar means knowing how to move in the nearly 40-pound costume while operating Scar’s remote-controlled mask, which Campbell can move up, down, and out.
“So, I have a lot of articulation I can do with this mask that adds on to each scene and Julie Taymor who created Lion King talks about the double event where she wants the audience to see the actor and the puppet at the same time but with Scar when the mask is down, I like to think that’s him in animal mode,” Campbell said. “When there’s no, no even hint of humanity, he’s just pure animal. Pure evil in those moments and it doesn’t happen very often in the show but when it does it’s when the wheels are turning and Scar is in full evil mode.”
Puppet master Michael Reilly is in charge of the show’s more than 230 puppets. Reilly does everything from making a horse tail into Simba’s mane to creating hundreds of feathers for Zazu, the show’s only hand-puppet. He said as the audience enjoys the choreography on stage, there’s another performance taking place behind the curtain.
“Things are being lowered and raised and puppets are being taken off hangers and costumes are being put on so there’s this, almost this duality of choreography going on backstage with 100 people which is also pretty fascinating to watch how it mirrors,” Reilly said. “So that’s why I love theater because it’s live and it’s different and every single night it’s different and it really keeps us on our toes.”
Reilly also said he’s prepared for any technical difficulties that might pop-up during the show.
“If somebody loses a leg or you know Simba hits his mask with one of his swords and breaks off a whole bunch of his little spines, you know we have tricks of the trade,” Reilly said. “So, there’s tape and there’s zip ties and there’s glue. At the end of the day the show is going to keep going. No matter what happens, it’s going to keep going, so you do the best you can and get that puppet back out on stage.”
Organizers said between cast and crew there are nearly 120 people who keep the show going. The production hires 16 people in every city it visits to dress nearly 50 actors in roughly 250 costumes. Campbell said the musical is deeper and richer than the movie.
“The music has an authenticity and a grit to it. We have four percussionists in our orchestra which is unheard of. So, the music just hits you on a level, and a lot of the characters have a lot more depth in the stage version. Scar has a little bit more, which is good for me,” Campbell said. “But Julie Taymor wanted the female characters to have a stronger presence so Nala is a much stronger character and Rafiki who in the movie is the wise shaman is a male character and in the musical is a female character and she’s sort of the narrator who relates to the audience, who takes them on this journey.”
Reilly said he can feel the love the night after every performance.
“I love going out after the show and just mingling with the audience and just hearing the reactions. That is gold to me because you hear kids saying their favorite character is Scar and you’re wondering what those parents are going to have to deal with later in life or whatever it is but it really is so rewarding to be able to have that interaction,” Reilly said.
Whether someone likes or dislikes musical theater, Campbell said they’ll love the Lion King.
“It transcends all cultures, it transcends all countries,” Campbell said. “Everybody understands this story and it hits you where you are. Some people saw the show 15 years ago and it meant something to them then when they were a kid and now seeing it as an adult 15 years later it means something completely different but it always finds you where you are.”
Tickets are nearly sold out so Lion King fans need to Mufasa to get seats to this Broadway spectacular.
