March 15, 2007
By Millicent Kgowedi
WHEN the Lion King roars into town in May, it will be housed at a brand-new theatre. The Teatro is being built at the Montecasino complex in Fourways specifically for the production; there is no theatre in the country big enough to house the spectacular show.
More than R100-million has been invested in the construction, and hundreds of builders and craftsmen are working around the clock to complete the 1 900-seat theatre in time for the opening on 22 May.
Production teams and set designers from around the world have already arrived to meet the local artisans and craftsmen creating the musical's new home. The director, Julie Taymor, will also be travelling to South Africa to stage the musical.
"Julie Taymor is the goddess of the stage," says the shows publicist, Bridget van Oerle. Taymor won a Tony Award for the best director for her Lion King production in 1998. The Tony Awards are handed out in New York to Broadway shows. Taymor will be directing and designing costumes for the cast of the Joburg show; she is also the puppetry maker.
Technical devices to be used on the stage include ropes, hand puppets, aerial dancers, shadows and inflatable set pieces.
The Lion King has been staged across the globe – in China, the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Britain, Australia, Holland and, most recently, in South Korea. About 35 million people have seen it.
Van Oerle says that the director "succeeds in reproducing the film's vastness through clever staging techniques and experimental methods to take audiences on an adventure into another world".
The Lion King roars into town in May. This image is from the original Broadway production (Photo by Joan Marcus)
Not content with only being the director, costume designer and puppet maker, Taymor also wrote the song Endless Night, sung by Simba in act two. Other songs in the production were written by Elton John, Tim Rice and South Africa's own Lebo M.
"Lebo M composed and performed many songs at the first Broadway production [of the show] in 1997 in New York," Van Oerle said. The songs were picked for the show from his album Rhythm of the Pride Lands.
He is also an experienced producer, and he will be bringing his skills to the production. His co-producer is Pieter Toerien, who has brought West End musicals from London such as Cats and Phantom of the Opera to South Africa. Bongani Tembe, a classical singer and the chief executive director of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, is an associate producer.
The Lion King is always performed with its own cast. South Africa, however, is the first country that will boast its own cast. "The announcement of the cast will be made to the public as the opening of the show draws closer," Van Oerle says. It will consist of 53 actors, 20 members of the orchestra and 40 technical crew.
The show opens on Tuesday, 22 May and runs until 9 September. Performance times are on Tuesdays to Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 6pm; there are matinees on Wednesdays and Fridays at 2pm and on Sundays at 1.30pm.
Tickets prices range from R150 to R450 each and booking is at Computicket on 011 340 8000, through the Computicket website or at the Montecasino box office. For group bookings of 20 or more, call Geraldine on 011 511 1988 or email her on Geraldine@montetheatre.co.za.
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