The first half of this year has already seen some big budget musicals come into Sydney but arguably The Lion King is the biggest of them all, with a big budget production and cast to match. As one of the most famous musicals of all time, anticipation was high and ticket sales have already been very strong for this production, reflecting the love for both the film and the musical that followed. 

On opening night at the Capitol Theatre, the energy was high and the opening of the show was absolutely incredible, with the various animals coming through the audience to welcome them with a rousing rendition of “The Circle of Life”. It made the audience feel like they were in the moment and was a hugely energetic start to the show, with puppetry, amazing costumes and the richness of the sound all combining to great effect. With the number being led by Rafiki, Buyi Zama was incredible in showing off an amazing range of vocals, especially in the opening number, which very much set the tone for the rest of the show.

It is very difficult to live up to the momentum of such an incredible opening and the show struggled a little following that. The musical began to feel like an extended version of the film and started to show its length, with a number of elongated scenes without too much music or interest, which meant that the show struggled at times. Much of the cast was fantastic with Emily Nkomo (as adult Nala) alongside Zama being standouts as well as the two children playing young Simba and young Nala (Dev Raval and Wilhelmina Umeh-Nicholas), who displayed great energy and will go far in their careers. Also strong was Nick Afoa as Mufasa in the first act and it would have been great to see a little more of him. But other members of the cast struggled a little more, with Aphiwe Nyezi as adult Simba struggling vocally on opening night with a less assured vocal delivery and some other vocal work in the ensemble leaving a little to be desired. The choreography and ensemble work was still very strong but it did feel like the show plodded along in the second act before another fantastic ending. The Elton John songs from the film were by far the highlight of an otherwise inconsistent musical score which, while the orchestra played extremely well, did feel a little subdued due to their reduced numbers. 

At times, it did feel as if the production was struggling to find its cohesiveness in amongst its incredible opening and closing numbers. It is also worth noting that a lot of the performers were not Australian-based, with a number coming from touring productions from around the world. While these performers all did exceptionally well, it would have perhaps been a great opportunity to showcase more Australian-based talent, especially given that diverse actors are still so underrepresented on Australian stages. With many musicals, especially those coming from the US, reflecting the demographics of the modern world, perhaps this is something for drama schools around Australia to address in their audition processes, given that many of the big musicals in Australia at the moment are not giving the biggest roles to Australian-based actors, which is a shame given the amount of talent in this country. 

Overall, this is a show that will sell well based on its name, fantastic costuming and production, as well as incredible props and puppetry and a great theatrical experience. Bookended by an amazing opening and closing, the problem with the show lies in its extension from a feature length film to a musical, with a lot of extraneous material that does tend to drag and is perhaps unnecessary. Fans of the film and Disney will love this show and it will be great for families and one can hope that it will continue to grow as the cast begins to find its feet.

Rating: ★★★★

The Lion King plays at the Capitol Theatre until 12 August. For more information, click here. 

All photo credits: Daniel Boud/Cylla von Tiedemann