Show: The Lion King

On a pair of jolly yellow school buses, all 60+ of us drove into the city to see The Lion King on Broadway. Believe it or not, I was one of those few in the caravan who hadn't seen it yet. I was one of the few who hadn't seen it twice. And in some cases, three or four times.

I think I've outgrown Broadway. I know to some people that would be considered sacrilegious. But come on, how many rosy cheeked girls in petticoats can you watch sing to the moonlight for their prince to come? I wasn't exactly thrilled to be going to see yet another sing-along in the bright lights big city. Which, I realize, isn't very gracious of me to say, considering these tickets were a gift.

However, when the lights went out, and the first giraffes (aka: men on stilts) glided across the stage, my mouth dropped to the floor. This was a spectacular performance. It was hardly a "Broadway show"; more like a 2-hour art performance piece and we were the spectators at the gallery. The scenery was utterly memorizing. I spent most of the time trying to figure out, how did they do that??

The show is led by two children mainly, and they carry it well. If you've seen the Disney movie, you'll know the music. And it's tolerable, if not catchy. I really didn't like the movie when I saw it many years ago (also with a big group of kids). I felt like the movie was yet another mother-is-weak, father-is-strong typical Disney cartoon. And I barely like cartoons, regardless of their cliche hero/heroine story lines.

But on Broadway, it was a bit more touching. The animals, the set-design, is just spectacular. Really, spectacular.

Don't turn down tickets.