Phenominal “The Lion King” at the Bushnell

HARTFORD — Pounding rhythms intertwine with one visual feast after another almost overwhelm the senses in the stunning, awe-inspiring, spectacular multi-award winning production of Disney’s “The Lion King,” returning once again to the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts through Valentine’s Day.
Directed, with costumes, masks and puppets by the inimitable Julie Taymor, the creativity of this film-to-play musical is unsurpassed and is an event that defies superlatives.
The colors and variety of tiny, life-sized, and over-sized animal puppets, flamboyant and gorgeous costumes, and huge, glorious sets, by Richard Hudson, are fantastic and breathtaking.
The story, however, is one of the least compelling aspects of the musical. A spoiler alert — don’t read any further if you want to see the ending for yourself.
A lion cub named Simba is born and the heir apparent as the next king of the jungle, (the young Simba played on alternate nights by Elijah Johnson, Jerome Stevens Jr., and the older played by the energetic Andre Jackson).
Simba’s uncle, Scar, (a fantastic Brent Harris) is not happy about the situation, feeling he should be king, rather than his stronger brother, Mufasa, played by Dionne Randolph.
Scar manipulates the young Simba into dangerous situations, once in the Elephant graveyard where he barely escapes being eaten by the nasty hyenas, who are Scar’s henchmen.
The second time Scar says he has a surprise for Simba that is “to die for,” and places him in the midst of a wildebeest stampede, where he once again escapes with his life, but this time his father, Mufasa, does not.
Simba runs away and hooks up with a couple of kooky characters, Timon the meerkat, played by the fine and funny Tyler Murree, and the flatulent warthog, Pumbaa, played by Ben Lipitz.
Simba grows up and returns to his pride, where the evil Scar has made a royal mess of things. The young lion sets things aright once more, and hence the circle of life continues.
A story like this is only as good as the evil protagonist is bad, and Harris is really, really bad, in a very good way. Hopefully he took it as a compliment when during the curtain call Friday he received some boos along with applause.
Scar’s costume was an exaggerated and uniquely stylized Japanese Kabuki-like outfit with an elaborate rope bodice.
Scar and Mufasu’s remarkable moving lion facemasks are a marvel of engineering and innovative in the way that they drop into full view and then retreat, with masks and puppet design by Taymor and Tim Curry.
Taymor brilliantly blends humans with life sized and larger-than-life puppets, in the tradition of 16th century Bunraku Japanese puppetry, which allow for the facial expressions of the human actors with their puppet counterparts.
She also incorporates the shadow puppet traditions of Indonesia, when showing the creatures moving about in the distance.
Songs by the inimitable Elton John and Tim Rice, such as “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?,” “Circle of Life,” and “Hakuna Matata,” while crowd-pleasers, are a bit cliché at this point. The real appeal is the fabulous African music and dancing.
Rafiki, the terrific baboon shaman, played by the riveting and mesmerizing Phindile Mkhize, opens and closes the show with a voice that is striking, unique, and unforgettable.
The real stunner about “The Lion King” is how Taymor and company are able to pull off the sheer magnitude of this production, with 143 cast and crew members, 25 types of puppet animals (including giraffes, zebras, antelopes elephants and a rhino), and 200 puppets, combined with first rate athleticism and graceful choreography. Garth Fagan is the choreographer.
Also astonishing is how the fragile and delicate costumes and creatures seem, yet how functional and durable they are to withstand constant use and movement.
“The Lion King” is perfect pageantry for all ages and is a phenomenon that exceeds all expectations.

THE LION KING

4 Stars
Theater: The William H. Mortensen Hall at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Location: 166 Capitol Ave. Hartford
Production: Directed by Julie Taymor. Choreography by Garth Fagan. Music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice. Scenic design by Richard Hudson. Allers and Irene Mecchi. Costumes by Julie Taymor. Book by Roger Lighting design by Donald Holder. Masks and puppet design by Julie Taymor and Michael Curry. Sound design by Steve Canyon Kennedy.
Running time: 3 hours including one 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinee performances Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 and 6:30 p.m., through Feb. 14.
Tickets: From $20.50 to $128. Call 860-987-5900 or visit their website at www.bushnell.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Phindile Mkhize … Rafiki
Dionne Randolph … Mufasa
Brent Harris … Scar
Andre Jackson … Simba
Marja Harmon … Nala
LaShanda Reese-Fletcher … Sarubi
Tony Freeman … Zazu
Tyler Murree … Timon
Ben Lipitz … Pumbaa
Elijah Johnson, Jerome Stevens Jr. … Young Simba
Jamariana Tribble, Madai Monica Williams … Young Nala