![]() ![]() The costumes are among the most eye-catching elements of the show's production design. "During the show, we're essentially like a puppet ER, ready for anything that can go wrong." "There's always something new that goes wrong, so I'm constantly learning things," he said. Reik said his team has to be ready to jump into action and make fixes fast. The Zazu actor has an understudy in case he gets sick the Zazu puppet has one in case something breaks. "And all that comes together simultaneously while he's walking and talking and acting." "(The actor) is manipulating the wings with his left hand, and with his right hand, he's manipulating the mouth and the eyes," said puppet associate Bruce Reik. The most intricate, though, is the hornbill Zazu, whose eyes, mouth, and wings all move independently. More than 200 puppets, some more intricate than others, accompanied the sets to the Aronoff. "When you get to play a part like this, who's the straight-up villain in a big story like this, you can pretend to actually let that bad guy out, and it's fun because it's safe." "I think all of us have a little bad guy in us," he said. Plachy told WCPO his interpretation of Simba's uncle pays tribute to the animated film's original Scar, played by Jeremy Irons, but he also drew inspiration from another Disney villain: Shere Khan, of "The Jungle Book." "When it's accompanied with my body movement, it looks incredibly fluid," Plachy said. The entire mechanism is strapped around his head, under his chin, and connected through wires to controls strapped to his legs. It controls the Julie Taymor-designed Scar mask above his head, which lunges forward at his command. Most audience members won't notice the small black trigger in the palm of his hand. "It took my full four or five weeks of rehearsal plus some little speed bumps in the first couple of performances to coordinate that," Plachy said. Performances in "The Lion King" are more than lines and lyrics - they also require actors to perform in elaborate animal masks, many of which have moving pieces. It took Spencer Plachy weeks to learn how to become Scar, the villain in the Hamlet-inspired story. Broadway in Cincinnati gave WCPO a look at how it all comes together. Crew members said "The Lion King" hits the road in about 17 tractor-trailers - and that's traveling light compared to some of the Tony-winning show's earliest tours.Įven when all the pieces have arrived, the beloved musical is a massive undertaking backstage before, during and after each performance. One arrived in Cincinnati two stops ahead of the cast so the crew had more time to set up.Īnd they need it. ![]() That means there are two versions of Pride Rock on each tour. "The sets leapfrog," explained wardrobe supervisor Gregory Young. So what was happening to the Rochester show while the work started in Cincinnati? Was the circle of life unfolding on an empty stage? 11, according to production designers who arrived early with sets in tow. The four-week return of "The Lion King" to the Aronoff Center for the Arts required a head-start to be ready in time for opening night on Jan. CINCINNATI - Simba, Nala and the rest were still singing in Rochester, New York, when Pride Rock arrived in Cincinnati. ![]()
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