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'The Lion King' Music and Stagecraft | The BSB Podcast · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  Welcome back theater lovers.
• 0:02
  We just can't wait to be king and talk about Disney's The Lion King.
• 0:05
  But before we jump into it,
• 0:07
  like, follow, and subscribe to us @Bsb.insider on all social media platforms.
• 0:12
  Spoiler warning, we are discussing the music and stagecraft of The Lion King.
• 0:15
  So if you've not seen this show, pause this episode and come back once you've saved the Pride Lands.
• 0:20
  RJ on the last episode, we talked about the story and the characters.
• 0:22
  And we got a little bit into some of the stuff that we're talking about today.
• 0:25
  We talked a little bit about the costumes, which is...
• 0:27
  quite possibly the coolest part of show.
• 0:31
  But again, we talked about the themes and the story and the characters and who stood out and again, mad props to all of the ensemble members.
• 0:40
  I think that that's a great place to start here.
• 0:42
  The ensemble really was such a great part of this.
• 0:46
  But now we're jumping into the music.
• 0:49
  And RJ, you watched The Lion King growing up, right?
• 0:51
  I know you had like four VHSs that you were allowed to watch at your grandma's house, but like...
• 0:55
  The Lion King was one you were allowed to watch, correct?
• 0:59
  Yes.
• 1:00
  It wasn't no spirit, I know, but like, it was, it's just as good.
• 1:06
  It's an OG classic.
• 1:08
  It is an OG classic.
• 1:09
  And I think the thing about Disney Broadway is that they hit all the songs that everybody wants.
• 1:16
  You know, we're going to have the circle of life.
• 1:19
  We're going to have, just can't wait to be king.
• 1:21
  We're going to have be prepared.
• 1:22
  Like, oh, Kuna Matata.
• 1:23
  Like you have all of these classic songs, but Disney always likes to buffer their musicals.
• 1:30
  Obviously you're taking an hour and a half film and you're turning it into a two and a half hour show.
• 1:36
  What are your kind of...
• 1:38
  general thoughts on the music of the Lion King from like Broadway or like, you know, the touring production.
• 1:46
  Yeah, I mean, I love all of it.
• 1:51
  Of course, yeah, we have the classics, but the...
• 1:57
  No, there's something about...
• 1:59
  the authentic
• 2:03
  music um that they add that speaks to African culture and sometimes in African dialects um that I just absolutely like that's actually the most
• 2:20
  emotional part of this show for me.
• 2:24
  um Because like I can expect the line, like I know the story, I know it's gonna happen, I know like, and that the story is still great, it's still, we love, we love.
• 2:37
  But adding like uh Grasslands chant is actually one of my
• 2:45
  favorite added uh pieces.
• 2:50
  uh
• 2:52
  just because it's so delicately done.
• 2:57
  It just feels incredibly respectful.
• 3:00
  And so I think I like it because like LOL, my day job involves culture.
• 3:06
  ah And so I just am so intrigued and always wanting to learn, especially when my two worlds collide, like my history with music.
• 3:20
  and studying music, and then now this chapter two of my life in regards to culture.
• 3:28
  And so this show explicitly kind of dives into that uh on a deep level.
• 3:37
  uh Does it add anything to the show itself?
• 3:42
  No.
• 3:44
  And by that, I mean, like, does it add anything to the script?
• 3:48
  Not really.
• 3:49
  But I think it's almost like watching a show within a show is kind of how I envision the thing.
• 3:56
  I'm not sure that it adds or takes away from the main plot or the story.
• 4:02
  It does a little bit in regards to kind of what we talked about in part one with legacy and heritage, but, um yeah, I don't know.
• 4:11
  I'm a fan.
• 4:12
  but I can 1000 % see how some people would kind of be like, what's happening?
• 4:20
  So I think...
• 4:22
  have a lot of thoughts.
• 4:23
  And I'm gonna start with the Grassland Chants because I think that this is very interesting thing.
• 4:28
  They have this listed as a song on the set list.
• 4:32
  Grassland Chant almost felt like an interlude to me.
• 4:35
  And there's quite a few pieces here that felt like interludes that didn't necessarily, when I talk about the songs in just a minute, I'm not gonna include those.
• 4:42
  This felt more like an interpretive dance, like echo and calling.
• 4:46
  This was more of, it felt like it was honoring the heritage.
• 4:50
  And so like that part or like the part where Rafiki mourns, which again is more of a, doesn't feel like it's music.
• 4:57
  feels more like it's a, it's like a, it's like a, it's like a scene in between a scene to add more context to the company or like one by one.
• 5:08
  When we start off act one, where it's a lot of the birds coming in and it's like, they're not exactly, it's not exactly musical, but it's musical.
• 5:16
  Like, like they're not like singing a song, but they're like singing
• 5:20
  They're like making sounds that sound like birds that are musically inclined.
• 5:25
  And so in my head, those aren't.
• 5:27
  like the music that I'm talking about when they've added music here.
• 5:31
  So that's my first thought.
• 5:33
  The music that they added to the Lion King.
• 5:36
  In this dissertation, no, I think that Disney has this problem with all their shows where they take the original identity of the show and they say, let's expand on it, which is
• 5:50
  fine, that's normal.
• 5:51
  But then the pieces never truly feel like they fit.
• 5:56
  or like they don't add what I want to it.
• 5:58
  So the first song that comes to mind is They Live in You, which is actually, think, the best form of fitting here, where it's a song that was written for Mufasa and it was
• 6:08
  written by a whole bunch of people who were not Elton John and Tim Rice, who wrote the original music of The Lion King.
• 6:14
  And it does not feel like it meets or matches the energy or the contextualization of the story.
• 6:22
  It doesn't flow the right way.
• 6:24
  It feels like it's a moment where we're like, it's flowing, it's flowing, it's flowing.
• 6:28
  And we're stopping right here to talk about this one song.
• 6:31
  And then we're flowing again, because like the story that the Lion King, the movie had originally put out was a whole contextual piece.
• 6:40
  It was a full story.
• 6:42
  And so this moment, when you have somebody else stepping in to say like, let's add this piece and it's not the original composer or writer, it's something just feels off.
• 6:49
  And I felt this with Frozen.
• 6:52
  I felt this with Beauty and the Beast and you know me, I love Beauty and the Beast more than anything.
• 6:56
  I would die on the hill, that's one of the best Disney films ever.
• 7:01
  This is the part with The Lion King that I just loved The Lion King.
• 7:06
  This felt like there was just something missing here.
• 7:08
  Interesting.
• 7:10
  Are you referring to...
• 7:12
  Just for clarification, they live in you or he lives in you?
• 7:17
  Um, both.
• 7:19
  apparently they're, I mean, so it happens twice.
• 7:22
  Yes, it's a callback.
• 7:24
  It's an homage.
• 7:27
  I would say both.
• 7:27
  titled differently.
• 7:29
  ah I think that both of those songs they feel like they do not fit I feel the same thing with endless night and shadowland with one was not like one Simba They don't feel like
• 7:38
  they fit into there the madness of scar also Like if that's written by Elton John But I don't remember it in the context like I felt like a weird place to kind of start the act
• 7:48
  there was a few pieces here I was just like the some of these songs just feel like I Get what you're doing, but I just don't understand
• 7:55
  Interesting.
• 7:56
  ah
• 7:59
  I know, can feel the pitch forks already.
• 8:00
  People are sharpening them.
• 8:02
  I am on the flip side, I think, for this.
• 8:05
  Aside from Chow Down, I don't need it.
• 8:11
  Don't need it.
• 8:12
  Don't need it there.
• 8:13
  um He lives in you is my shit.
• 8:21
  I sobbed.
• 8:23
  Don't know if you saw.
• 8:24
  Probably didn't.
• 8:25
  I try to keep quiet.
• 8:26
  um
• 8:28
  That makes one of us.
• 8:29
  actual tears, which I thought was gonna happen during Circle of Life.
• 8:32
  There was only like one tear during Circle of Life.
• 8:35
  During He Lives in You, I was like actually crying.
• 8:38
  um
• 8:40
  Interesting.
• 8:42
  not only because of the music, but also because of what was happening on stage.
• 8:46
  But I think in my, in how I envision it is this is a callback or a draw from all the theme of legacy and heritage and.
• 8:59
  The real, this is like the realization piece to me where he's coming to the, like coming to the actual idea of who he is and where he has gained that from.
• 9:15
  um And then obviously calling back to Mufasa and all of the kings before, right?
• 9:24
  In the animated film, I think of.
• 9:26
  at the same thing, right?
• 9:27
  We're by the water and you see Fossa in the sky and stuff.
• 9:30
  um I think the song is way more powerful than just having that scene.
• 9:36
  Sure.
• 9:37
  Okay.
• 9:38
  am a musically inclined human.
• 9:40
  So I would prefer music to everything comparatively.
• 9:45
  He actually, you don't know this everybody, but he has a soundtrack for when he's walking through life.
• 9:50
  It's playing at all times.
• 9:52
  Yeah, I just press play and...
• 9:54
  I will say this, I will say this.
• 9:56
  I think that what I maybe liked the most of He Lives In You was what was happening on stage.
• 10:04
  The really cool technical pieces of it that maybe, like I think that might be one of the best ones that it is.
• 10:11
  I think that they did add a lot to the show though that just felt like they didn't, it wasn't necessary.
• 10:18
  but also that you want a full show.
• 10:19
  think that what it did, it aged the show and identity quite a bit.
• 10:22
  this is, again, this is no longer like a kid's show.
• 10:24
  This is for like people who grew up on The Lion King and this is a more mature show now, which I think when I was going into it, was expecting the children's The Lion King.
• 10:33
  Yes.
• 10:34
  And I think so this is I would I agree.
• 10:37
  I would say this is like the adult Lion King.
• 10:40
  uh We get like the puppetry is like the childhood aspect, I would say, like that's speaking to children a lot.
• 10:48
  It's speaking to adults, too.
• 10:49
  But like, we're still getting that cartoony version because of the puppets.
• 10:55
  But we're getting this other subtle messaging and the cultural and heritage pieces.
• 11:00
  um
• 11:03
  through somewhat through song, which I think the way that I justify it in my mind, because you're right, it doesn't, for sure it's not like adding anything particularly when, not
• 11:16
  that it doesn't add to the show, but it doesn't add to the story.
• 11:21
  I envision, I almost separate that, those two pieces and I see it as the culture is telling us the story of the Lion King.
• 11:33
  Sure.
• 11:33
  That makes sense.
• 11:36
  it.
• 11:36
  So it's almost like I'm going scene, like sometimes every other scene or every couple of scenes where it's like, okay, I'm back.
• 11:44
  I'm back.
• 11:44
  It's almost like being in an African village.
• 11:47
  And then I just, for whatever reason, I'm envisioning myself like sitting around a fire and hearing the story of the Lion King through puppets and like watching that.
• 11:59
  And that's what I'm watching.
• 12:00
  take place on stage.
• 12:01
  I'm watching people imitate a story to me from the lens of sitting in a village.
• 12:10
  Which would make sense if you're factoring some of the other components of this, which I'll kind of jump into.
• 12:15
  I'm going to talk about like the costuming and like the, some of the theatrical pieces together, some of the movement.
• 12:22
  There are pieces where you actually have some of the ensemble in like traditional African garb, which they were playing humans in that.
• 12:32
  And so in my head I was thinking, was like, this isn't exactly like a, you are not.
• 12:38
  Mufasa, you are somebody playing Mufasa.
• 12:41
  Like you are clearly like, and there was like a level of moving from it, kind like you said, like you're gathered around and you're talking about it, like you're sharing the
• 12:47
  story, you're passing it down from generation to generation.
• 12:51
  But there was clear moments where these were humans and not animals.
• 12:56
  Yes.
• 12:57
  Yeah.
• 12:57
  I, again, I think this would be a fascinating conversation to have with anyone at Disney that works on this project because
• 13:05
  While I have my interpretation of that, I would love to know like what they were hoping people would interpret from it or how it would be perceived originally.
• 13:16
  absolutely, because if you're right, if it truly is that piece, that makes a lot more sense.
• 13:21
  And so some of the songs then would fit a little bit better and make a little more of like the integral piece of the puzzle.
• 13:29
  And it also factors in when you think of things like the set, like I heard some people who have seen the show say they were not as impressed with Pride Rock, but if you take in the
• 13:38
  fact of like somebody's telling the story and passing it down.
• 13:42
  they're using what's around them.
• 13:43
  And so like, it's still impressive.
• 13:45
  I thought it was impressive, like the way comes on and off, but it doesn't, it isn't Pride Rock, because it's not supposed to be Pride Rock, but you're using as a representation of
• 13:52
  what Pride Rock is.
• 13:54
  like a level of meta, like a level of removing yourself from the being of the story.
• 14:01
  Yeah.
• 14:01
  um
• 14:03
  Well, and just in like high scale, high level research.
• 14:08
  um I mean, yeah, they integrating.
• 14:16
  is Zulu and Swahili and then um their specific like call and response type musicality, which like there's no good way, like you can't just like add that to the Lion King, right?
• 14:32
  Like in a respectful way.
• 14:36
  And I think that was why this was woven in the way that it was is because
• 14:43
  They still wanted to remain.
• 14:46
  respectful and true, um but not make it seem like cartoonish.
• 14:53
  Not that cartoons are like bad, but I don't know.
• 14:56
  Like there's, there's a relevance, which I think this is one of the few shows and Disney is getting better at this, but there were even some instances in this show that they
• 15:07
  changed to be culturally sensitive.
• 15:10
  um And I really appr-
• 15:16
  the intentionality behind what's happening.
• 15:19
  I think one of those moments that really stood out to me was how they portrayed Rafiki, where in the movie Rafiki is very much like kind of like a crazy old man who says some
• 15:31
  really funny stuff, but it almost felt more like a, and this was a character that used a lot more like clicks and stuff like that and like was using clearly a language that a lot
• 15:43
  of us didn't understand for parts of it, but it felt again like you're not crazy.
• 15:49
  you're insightful, you're pure knowledge.
• 15:51
  Like you're not like knowledgeable and crazy.
• 15:55
  I feel like they played that down a lot.
• 15:57
  I think that was needed for a role, especially if you were gonna use it like that.
• 16:00
  So people didn't interpret the character wrong.
• 16:05
  Yes, and.
• 16:07
  I just, interestingly, I had just seen a video of the Broadway um Rafiki who has been doing this for ever.
• 16:18
  mean, ever.
• 16:23
  And I actually thought of that when our Rafiki came on stage because I just like, again, that is an iconic role and it's on a completely new way.
• 16:33
  Maybe not completely new.
• 16:35
  but in a very...
• 16:38
  There's just so many things to break down about that role and every, costumes, the props, the movement, the way in which they're weaved throughout the story.
• 16:47
  Like there's it's again, intention is everything.
• 16:53
  And I think that's what people feel when they see even in the moments where like they are being funny, right?
• 17:01
  There's definitely some like laugh moments that you expect from that character, but
• 17:06
  still in a way that makes you hold them with a high respect.
• 17:13
  Speaking of the costumes, I think this goes with the puppetry as well, so we'll include it all together.
• 17:19
  But I thought it was so cool how they did interweave culture into some of these things.
• 17:26
  take Zazu for a moment.
• 17:29
  He is a British bird, and that was a British costume that was then had African elements infused in it.
• 17:37
  You had Rafiki wearing specific garb that you see.
• 17:43
  You know, like there's a lot of culture put into this and like everything felt, everything was intentional.
• 17:50
  The shields that the uh Mufasa's head became and like the swords that were like it's his tail, but also were very traditional swords.
• 18:00
  like, it was so, I was completely flabbergasted I think by the costuming and the puppetry that I almost didn't absorb everything else because I was so-
• 18:12
  infatuated with trying to just see every aspect of these costumes.
• 18:18
  They're just so incredible.
• 18:20
  Yeah.
• 18:20
  Well, and it's interesting.
• 18:21
  like Zazu is like almost feels like the exception to the rule, right?
• 18:26
  I think to kind of stay true to a little bit to the movie, but also to the storyline too, you have a-
• 18:35
  secondhand man who is like kind of stingy and like, guess, like very like British Butler, right?
• 18:46
  And.
• 18:49
  That is who Mufasa needed at that, basically to run his shit.
• 18:53
  Um, but is uh a mass differential from, I'll say mostly for act one because it's primarily African culture.
• 19:07
  And then as we get to end of act one and into act two, obviously we're introduced to Simone and, Simone.
• 19:15
  Yes.
• 19:16
  Um,
• 19:18
  which breaks us out of that a little bit more.
• 19:21
  Those three, I would say are kind of like.
• 19:24
  I don't know, the exceptions to all of the seemingly other roles of the show, um but they are also the comic relief, which is why I think their costumes also are way more modern,
• 19:41
  way more sleek, and play less into the heritage piece of the show.
• 19:50
  Yeah.
• 19:50
  And then we factor things like when you looked at the animals and the way that the animals were designed and the materials that were being used.
• 19:57
  And granted, could be materials that were just made to look like they were like different, like leaves and straw and wood, but it truly gave that effect of like, again, like you
• 20:07
  said, if these are people telling a story, these are the kinds of things that they've used to make those costumes.
• 20:12
  But also just crazy.
• 20:15
  These puppet costumes.
• 20:17
  I think about the little elephant.
• 20:19
  First off, that girl was having the time of her life.
• 20:21
  But it was so cool to see that little elephant.
• 20:24
  And it was an elephant.
• 20:25
  It was absolutely an elephant.
• 20:27
  And I think that if ever a reason to see the show besides just the fact that it's the Lion King is for the costume, for the puppetry.
• 20:37
  Even watching Zazu, the way he was moving his fingers and stuff, I thought it was so cool how he would put it on his hat.
• 20:44
  And the way he did it was just so smooth.
• 20:46
  There were so many pieces to hear that.
• 20:48
  Everything was just so thought out when it came to the costuming and the design and the puppets that like What a reason to see this show just for the circle of life was worth any
• 20:57
  amount of money
• 20:58
  Correct.
• 20:59
  um Well, and yeah, at any time, that's why they press the, like telling people about the holds.
• 21:07
  um Because if you miss that, I mean, you are doing yourself a disservice.
• 21:15
  It's literally like the price of admission is to see the third world life.
• 21:19
  um
• 21:21
  That was the piece that you were like you had been building up for me for months for years even of us doing this you're like the Lion King the like that first part you really want
• 21:32
  to spoil it you wanted me to experience it
• 21:36
  Yeah, there's just, I mean, so many shows.
• 21:39
  Obviously every show is different, but so many shows can feel the same.
• 21:42
  This is a show that I don't, there is not another show.
• 21:48
  that I feel so immersed and in the middle, literally, of, because I don't think there is one right now.
• 21:57
  I mean, we have shows where people have run up and down the aisles, right?
• 22:00
  You are more like Phantom where the voicing sounds like it's coming from behind you, like in the chandelier.
• 22:08
  But this is just, um as someone else in my life put it, majestic.
• 22:18
  Uh, and I would say it's a spectacle of itself, in a human way.
• 22:27
  It's because I think it's also just a real, we're like, Oh, those people and, and that culture and that representation, like those are people who live in this world with us.
• 22:40
  Like, this is a real tangible thing that we're pulling from.
• 22:44
  Um,
• 22:46
  And yet the puppetry, everything's just built so strategically and with care and those masks, um not even masks, the headpiece puppetry is made so specifically in regards to,
• 23:07
  you know, like knowing when you have to lean your head a certain way for it to come down and then standing back up or putting your neck a certain ways for it to pop back.
• 23:16
  All of these intricacies, I'm just, again, on top of incredible vocals and acting, I'm like, okay, I hope you all are being paid a gazillion dollars.
• 23:26
  I know you're not, and I'm sorry, but thank you.
• 23:30
  Thank you.
• 23:32
  I think that you're completely right the scar one specifically the way that it was like bound to his neck and like depending on how he bent his head it would like almost bob in
• 23:40
  front of him and like come down like a shield and Like that was just like so like it looked like a lion, know I mean it looked like a lion slinking through there things like
• 23:48
  having him have a cane because scar limps in the movie like It was just everything was so so well out and like this is
• 23:58
  the number one selling feature for me.
• 24:00
  And I think this is why I would go see it again, honestly.
• 24:03
  Like I think I would go see it again because I just want to see the puppetry again.
• 24:06
  I want to see this.
• 24:07
  And this is also a show I want to say, I did not hear a single person complain about it.
• 24:11
  Usually during intermission you get up, you know, I like to use the bathroom.
• 24:15
  This time we were going to get some merchandise.
• 24:17
  um Nobody was complaining.
• 24:21
  Everyone was talking about it with such wonder and such energy and such love.
• 24:27
  which is not what I hear a lot of the time.
• 24:29
  And like that to me was really cool, because this felt like a moment that we were all coming together to be like, we're witnessing what is not just great theater, but
• 24:36
  exceptional theater.
• 24:38
  Yeah, that Disney magic as someone who's seen like a lot of Disney shows, I think I've seen.
• 24:45
  Every all of well, their main, you know, Aladdin Beauty and Beast Frozen.
• 24:50
  um This is by far like honestly to me, the other three actually don't compare.
• 24:57
  uh And so.
• 25:01
  It's just it's built different.
• 25:05
  It's unique and it was thought through to every measure.
• 25:09
  um And it leaves enough for the audience's imagination, which I also appreciate because that's a powerful tool as well that they're leaning into.
• 25:22
  Is a show like this, so I guess my question though for this, yes, I would agree, absolutely.
• 25:29
  I do think that there is one hesitation or caveat I would have.
• 25:32
  I think that if I was a parent to a family, I would think twice about bringing my kid here.
• 25:39
  I think that yes, everybody wants the Disney magic.
• 25:41
  Everybody wants to go to the show.
• 25:43
  They want to experience it.
• 25:44
  I think that if I wouldn't have saw this show as a seven-year-old, I might not have appreciated it as much as seeing it for the first time now as a 34-year-old.
• 25:52
  I don't think that...
• 25:55
  And I'm not saying don't bring your kids to theater.
• 25:57
  I think there's some theater that's specifically made for kids.
• 25:59
  Paw Patrol, Mickey Mouse Club House, know, like those things that tour all the time.
• 26:04
  This is one that felt like for older kids and up.
• 26:09
  I would, you know, kids who can appreciate...
• 26:12
  the cool things that are the animals and want to see that, but also appreciate that they're going to have some slow moments.
• 26:17
  That it takes a while to get to Hakuna Matata.
• 26:20
  It takes a little bit to get to, you know, see Simba grown up.
• 26:26
  Like all of these things, like you're taking a movie and you're doubling it.
• 26:29
  You're more than doubling it in some cases.
• 26:33
  And so that's my one caveat.
• 26:34
  was like, is it worth spending all that money for your young children?
• 26:38
  I would argue probably not.
• 26:41
  But I know there's some people that are gonna do that and they wanna do that and it does turn out well.
• 26:45
  Yeah, I'm actually very curious if Disney has like an age recommendation for this show.
• 26:49
  ah Because I agree.
• 26:52
  Again, I think this is a rare Disney show that's built for adults.
• 26:57
  It obviously cites childhood.
• 26:59
  I mean, really, it's made for the millennial, I think, or above.
• 27:03
  um Like the true bread and butter.
• 27:07
  Obviously, you can have young people come.
• 27:11
  um
• 27:15
  It is, you get the spectacle moments, but then you get the quiet and you get the respectful.
• 27:20
  And those, that can be really hard for kids to zone in on as we experienced.
• 27:25
  We actually didn't know until after the show was over, it was kids night.
• 27:31
  um And there was a family in front of us that actually ended up leaving the intermission.
• 27:41
  And I completely understand why.
• 27:42
  I think there was like four or five children.
• 27:45
  And while the beauty and intimacy of the show, they were definitely like they thought was cool.
• 27:55
  I think some adults actually like we think it's cool because we know what it takes to be doing that thing.
• 28:01
  Whereas like compared to like a Beauty and the Beast or an Aladdin, like there's always something beautiful happening with those shows because like there's
• 28:12
  Well, there's usually, there's more of a set, I would say.
• 28:15
  There's more people.
• 28:17
  um And it's like line by line what the movie is.
• 28:22
  And Lion King is not that.
• 28:25
  So.
• 28:26
  this is more like an interpretation of the
• 28:29
  Yes.
• 28:30
  Yeah.
• 28:30
  Honestly, like part of me wonders if it should have been named differently, which maybe they can't because they already have different names for different shows and variations of
• 28:42
  the Lion King, like at Disney World.
• 28:47
  And you're still staying true to the Lion King, the story, but you've added.
• 28:55
  a lot.
• 28:55
  I mean, I feel like almost half the show is new in regards to those musical interludes, in regards to the cultural pieces, in regards to even the quiet moments.
• 29:10
  Like, Disney movies tend to run pretty fast because they know that they can only hold a child's attention for so long.
• 29:18
  And this and that.
• 29:19
  and I feel like for shows like this, you want to make sure that you are respecting not just the people on stage, you should always respect them, but there's a cultural piece to
• 29:26
  this that you should be respecting.
• 29:28
  And I think that's interesting.
• 29:29
  I looked it up.
• 29:32
  Children under four are not admitted at all, but they recommend six or older as a minimum.
• 29:37
  And some of the things that they notice is that while this is rated for families, there's some scenes such as the stampede and the hyena scene, which can be frightening.
• 29:45
  But I do think there's a part of that too, that I do not think that...
• 29:48
  We saw it.
• 29:49
  There was kids about six years older and older that still were having a hard time sitting there and enjoying it because you're almost waiting for the next scene that you know.
• 29:58
  You know, I remember being at Frozen and someone's like, okay, when it's Elsa gonna come back?
• 30:02
  Because they're expecting the movie.
• 30:05
  And so sometimes I'm like, as a parent, I would not want to pay $250 for a ticket to leave halfway through when, because it's not what they're expecting, they're getting antsy,
• 30:14
  they're crying.
• 30:15
  We had a few criers.
• 30:16
  And I always want young minds to be at shows.
• 30:22
  But I do think that this is interesting of like, as my parents, like they took us to community shows when we were younger.
• 30:27
  They didn't take us to like Broadway productions.
• 30:29
  And I feel like this is probably the reason why.
• 30:31
  Yeah, I mean, just looking at the set lists, like every other song, if not a song, then every two songs were either added or like what we heard in the movie was an instrumental
• 30:48
  version of that song.
• 30:49
  But in the musical, we got like an actual full song from it.
• 30:54
  And so those are those slow moving, it's meant to be more artistic.
• 31:01
  than it is meant to be entertainment.
• 31:02
  And I think that this show flips between those two ideas frequently.
• 31:08
  And so I don't think that is necessarily for families of all-ages.
• 31:11
  I do think that this is a show that everybody should see Because I would definitely see it again.
• 31:16
  Would you see it again, RJ?
• 31:17
  I mean, 100%, which is again, so funny, cause when I heard that the show was coming, I was like, oh, okay.
• 31:26
  I mean, it's beautiful, but then I don't know.
• 31:29
  It's almost like when you see the thing and then you get hooked again and you forgot that it hooked you the first time, this is absolutely something that I could see multiple times
• 31:42
  to catch all of those details.
• 31:45
  So this is going to be RJ in less than a month when SUFFS arrives So he's going to be like, oh yeah, I forgot how much I love this.
• 31:52
  And I'm going to just inject this into my veins for seven days in a row.
• 31:56
  I mean, I may already be planning on going twice.
• 31:59
  It's fine.
• 32:00
  Which is totally understandable.
• 32:01
  That's gonna be me next year for Death Becomes Her.
• 32:04
  So I get it.
• 32:05
  We get it.
• 32:06
  Like this is definitely a show that I would take again.
• 32:08
  I thought about like, oh man, I want to take my mom.
• 32:11
  I want to take my nephew who's 16, you know, like I would want to take all these people to see it because it's such a cool show.
• 32:17
  It's such a, it's an experience.
• 32:18
  It's not just a production.
• 32:21
  It is the production.
• 32:24
  Well, and I would argue too, depending on where you sit, like I very similarly to when I was ushering and I, and earlier, I think part one, I talked about ushering and, feeling
• 32:37
  the energy of the room.
• 32:39
  This is a show I would love to go take people who have either never seen it or maybe they've only seen it from like the last row of the last balcony and taking them and going
• 32:49
  to the orchestra.
• 32:50
  Like you can capture so many different things in the show from different placements in the theater.
• 32:58
  uh Actually from our seats you couldn't see, but from the mezzanine seats or balcony seats, if you look down on the stage, the stage itself is actually, it almost looks like
• 33:10
  tiger or tiger lion scratches on the floor um and kind of like tribal markings, which you cannot see that.
• 33:21
  Um, I know you briefly mentioned earlier, the, watering hole that, uh, dissipates, uh, you can, if you weren't paying attention in the orchestra, you easily could have missed it,
• 33:32
  but from up top, you see when it is full size and then it shrivels to nothing.
• 33:38
  So again, visually, so many things occurring from so many different aspects of the theater.
• 33:44
  Um, it, yeah, it probably is a show that if it's in town, I will just always go to see it at least once.
• 33:51
  Agree with you.
• 33:52
  I didn't ever have at the hole.
• 33:53
  Yes I didn't at first know what was happening But when I did my like I took my breath away and I think that if you saw it from above the Instantaneous recognition of what's
• 34:02
  happening the beauty of that Would there's one part where Zazu at the towards the end of the show he's in the mezzanine and I thought I want to sit right next to Zazu when he
• 34:14
  comes up there like I want to he even turned after he's done talking he turns the bird towards the
• 34:20
  the audience and it was like kind of sort of interacting with them before he's running off stage again.
• 34:25
  Like he's running open the door and running back to stage.
• 34:28
  But like there's so many pieces that utilize everything that you just, you could get a new show from no matter where you're at, no matter where you're
• 34:40
  So go see it multiple times.
• 34:42
  That's what we're saying.
• 34:42
  That's the takeaway here.
• 34:43
  ah And that concludes our Lion King discussion, but stay tuned for future episodes of the BSB podcast.
• 34:51
  And also let us know in the comments, what is your favorite aspect of the show?
• 34:55
  Did you like the costumes?
• 34:55
  Is there a song that you favor?
• 34:58
  Why is the watering hole so cool?
• 35:00
  We want to know all of your thoughts.
• 35:01
  So leave them in the comments and thank you so much for joining us here on our box seats.
• 35:05
  Until next curtain call.