Despite being 25 years old on Broadway and outlasting the childhoods of my kids, “The Lion King” still manages to amaze adults and children with its level of spectacle.
Ponder that for a moment. That’s not true of much else from the 1990s.
And the packed house Friday night at the Cadillac Palace Theatre for the show’s return to Chicago, after a pandemic-extended five-year gap, is a further reminder of just how much Disney and director Julie Taymor achieved with this show. “The Lion King” had enough indie cred to get great reviews and approval from the cognoscenti; it delivered romantic Elton John ballads for a mainstream family audience comforted by melodrama; and, over time, this multinational masterpiece proved itself to have been way ahead of the cultural curve when it came to environmentalism, diversification and offering opportunities for Black actors from all over the world.
I’ve written a lot over the years about this show, an alchemic triumph, you might say, born of the commercial imperative and the quixotic genius of Taymor, and prima facie evidence of the oft-overlooked truth that great artists obliged by the pull of money to appeal to a mass audience might kvetch and complain to stay cool with their fans, but that doesn’t mean the constraint prevents them from doing their best work.
On the contrary. Just look at Taylor Swift.
On Friday, though, Chicagoans and visitors were looking at the 2022-23 touring cast of the show’s long-lasting North American tour — which you will not be surprised to learn is in excellent shape. The show is unchanged, of course and remains in tiptop form. The same is true of the mostly young performers, some of whom are younger than the show itself now. So impressive is the glistening physique of the athletic ensemble of lions they could change at least one set of lyrics to “Can you see the pecs tonight?” Darian Sanders, who plays the adult Simba, shimmers with muscular musical theater excellence. Talk about Pride Rock.
The famous opening of “The Lion King,” of course, wherein a plethora of puppet versions parade down the aisles, breaks all the usual rules about saving your best for last. (This is not a show to arrive late for, by the way.) It also ensures that kids jump to attention and parents immediately relax, knowing that ticket money has been well spent.
Long ago, Taymor wrote that the most emotional point in the show is “the rising of the sun, the sound of the voice and the visibility of the people in the puppets.” She was right, of course, and the emotional pull of what the audience is seeing, even before any kind of traditional storytelling has begun, is so intense that it sustains the whole night.
Of all the fine performers in this cast, the one who most clearly gets the crucial role of emotion in the show is Gerald Ramsey, who plays the patriarch lion Mustafa and whose performance is a master class in the show’s emotional trajectory: pride, sorrow, struggle, resilience, hope.
In the end, of course, “The Lion King,” which has brought in more money than all the “Star Wars” movies put together and will be bringing some much needed life to the Loop for the next several holiday weeks, is a comforting show.
It speaks, of course, of the circle of life, the idea that we don’t die but merely take an eternal kind of place on the path unwinding, looking down on those we love. Let’s hope.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
Review: “The Lion King” (4 stars)
When: Through Jan. 14, 2023
Where: Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Tickets: $69.50-$195.50 at 800-775-2000 and www.broadwayinchicago.com
