America, One Moment at a Time — #29

The Lion King — From Screen to Stage

We had come all the way to New York.

Took a train.

Had a quick dinner.

And now we were standing outside the Minskoff Theatre.

The Lion King was finally happening.

We had actually hoped to see it when we visited the UK. We watched Mamma Mia! there and realised The Lion King was also playing.

But our itinerary was already packed.

So the lions had to wait. 😄

New York gave us another chance.

We had seen The Lion King on screen before.

But seeing it live was something else.

The costumes.
The colours.
The music.
And the sheer scale of the production.

At times, the animal characters themselves seemed to come alive and move through the aisles right beside us.

We weren’t just watching the action.

We were in it. 😄

And I found myself watching something else.

The lady conductor.

She seemed to be quietly controlling this enormous musical machine — keeping the music, singers and performers together while everything was happening around her.

I was fascinated by how much was happening beyond the stage.

And then I noticed two percussionists positioned separately above us, adding those special sounds that gave the music its richness and drama.

Suddenly, I wasn’t just watching The Lion King.

I was watching how a musical comes alive.

Of course, during the performance, photography was strictly prohibited.

A little sad for someone who likes to collect moments with a camera. 😄

But perhaps that was a good thing.

For once, we had no choice but to put the camera away and simply watch.

The only proper stage photograph we could take was at the end, when the entire cast assembled for the curtain call.

We had missed the lions in the UK.

New York gave us another chance.

The story was familiar.
But seeing it come alive was something else. 😊