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Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

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Comprehension Quiz

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A Jungle On Broadway

How do you make a Broadway show out of a story that doesn't have a single human character? That was the question faced by folks at Disney when they decided to convert The Lion King from a cartoon into a play with real actors. The solution: hire Julie Taymor, a director who is a wizard at puppetry, costumes and illusion. She put a jungleful of animals--even a wildebeest stampede--onstage in New York City. The show officially opens this week.

Like the movie, the play begins with the "Circle of Life" scene. Giraffes (masked dancers on stilts) lilt across the stage. Gazelles (a pushcart contraption with many gears) leap with grace. Then lumbering down the aisles come a life-size elephant (propelled by actors in each of four legs) and a parade of other critters. "It's already great!" said Madeleine Osborn, 8, who saw a preview of the show.

The play features haunting new African music. Special effects range from the simple (a waterfall of blue silk) to the spectacular. "I especially liked the geysers in the elephant graveyard," said Michael Bond, 11, of New Milford, Connecticut.

Actor Scott Irby-Ranniar, 13, plays young Simba, the lion cub who "just can't wait to be king." During a recent performance, Scott broke his thumb. So, he says, in the spirit of Broadway and Hakuna Matata, "I held my thumb and kept singing."

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