This article was originally published in Applause magazine for the national touring premiere of The Lion King in Denver in 2002. Almost from the moment Julie Taymor was born — in 1952, into a comfortable upper middle class Boston family — she was destined for a career in the theatre she could never have foreseen. […]
When the North American touring production of Disney’s The Lion King pulls into Denver’s Buell Theatre, an astonishing transformation begins. First, 17 semitrucks transport the puppets, set pieces, costumes, and other materials from city to city. Sixteen of the trucks are 53’ in length. Once unloaded, it takes four days of on-site technical preparation and […]
By Valerie Gladstone Big corporations usually stay with the tried and true. Risk isn’t their game. But in 1997, in an inspired act of hiring, Disney asked the choreographer Garth Fagan to take on The Lion King. Until that point, Fagan had choreographed on two other theatre works, the Duke Ellington opera, Queenie Pie, in […]
I have never bought a book, read a poem or seen a play because it was by a Pulitzer winner. — Ben Brantley, Former Theatre Critic, The New York Times As a child of the 60s, I lived through the heyday of Award shows. Family and friends would gather as if for a holiday, dressed […]
In 1969, as in so much of the country, residents of the largely Latino neighborhood of Auraria were in turmoil. Many young Latinos were being shipped off to Vietnam. Civil rights movements were in full swing, including the Chicano Movement led in Denver by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, founder of the Crusade for Justice. In 1969, […]
As one of the most beloved films and musicals of all times, Disney’s The Lion King has charmed the child in all of us. To complement our Denver engagement, Disney Theatrical Productions has provided coloring sheets, a family activity packet, a study guide, trivia, fun facts, and more. Make the most of your experience at The […]
Every year, as the growing season begins, farmers are full of hope for a successful crop. As for the rest of us, we grow more and more eager, as the summer wanes, for the bounty of fresh food available from local farms. One of the most enjoyable ways to observe what has grown from the […]
Puns can be so corny, but a-maize-ingly they continue to pop up regularly in conversation. In fact, I just delivered three…all at the expense of Shucked, a Broadway tour about — of all things — corn. Described as a “corn-fed, corn-bred American musical,” Shucked plays the Buell Theatre Oct. 7-19, 2025. Make sure to get […]
Excerpted from The Lion King: Pride Rock on Broadway by Julie Taymor Julie Taymor on the Challenges of Translating the Film Version to the Stage “To maintain the integrity of my own style, while incorporating it into one of the most beloved stories in recent history, was the first challenge to contemplate. With preconceptions […]
A Guide to the Amazing Opening Scene of The Lion King on Tour “Circle of Life,” The Lion King’s jaw-dropping, much-talked-about opening number, introduces a menagerie of animals who stride, leap, gallop and dance across the stage. A closer look reveals the creative magic at work behind this breathtaking bit of stagecraft. 1 LET’S GIVE […]