Lion King Paper FInal

Julie Taymor was born on December 15, 1952 in Newton, Massachusetts. She is the youngest of four sisters. Her father, Melvin Lester Taymor, was a gynecologist. Her mother, Elizabeth Bernstein Taymor, was a teacher in political science. She like international folklore and mythology, and developed a passion for theater. Her early interest in theater helped in her success today. At an early age, Taymor and her sisters would set up shows and plays for her family and friends in their backyard. Then at the age of ten, she studied theater at Boston’s Children’s Theater.

When people think of theatre they usually think of acting, directing, and maybe script writers. They would correct, all of those disciplines are part of theatre but there's more to theatre than just that; however, due to personal interests those specific disciplines will be exactly what this essay is about. What most people don't think of when they think of theatre is how much thought is put into it. The different type of methods, not just for acting but, for directing, and script writing as well. Everyone has a different method of running a show but this paper will discuss some of the legendary people that have influenced theatre the most.

The Lion King created by Walt Disney is based off of the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare. Hamlet is about a prince who will take revenge on his uncle for murder. The Lion King is about a prince who will help get revenge on his uncle. These two movies are very similar but are also different in many ways.

“Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope,” said Mufasa, a supporting character in the film depiction of Walt Disney’s: The Lion King (1994). The Lion King is a timeless archetypal work that time after time has given youth hope and has shown them that courage is not always innate, but can be learned from just living life with a little “hakuna matata”. The Lion King, through the use of classic archetype, vivid surrealism, and iconic symbolism, shows a coming to age story that shows children that life is an adventure worth the trouble.

One of the main magic’s of the theatre is for the audience to go into it unaware of what they will see, and exit with a whole new view in mind. This is still possible in jukebox musicals even if the audience member is familiar with some of the songs. Songs, text, and all literature can be interpreted in different ways based on the individual. Theatre is meant for all different people to enjoy. Some may like going to a show featuring songs that their favorite artists wrote or that speak to a memorable time of their life. It becomes a discussion about how the audience can relate to the characters.

It is said that today’s entertainment has strayed from classical literature. This was encompassing until Disney produced The Lion King in 1994. The Lion King placed a facade on a solemn story of responsibility and revenge. In Trey McElveen’s article, “Hamlet and The Lion King: Shakespearean Influences on Modern Entertainment”, he states that today’s entertainment has lost touch with the classical literatures of it’s predecessors, which could be agreed upon. McElveen informs us about the main characters and their influence on the main protagonists of the stories. According to the article, “Hamlet and The Lion King: Shakespearean Influences on Modern Entertainment” by Trey McElveen, the characters of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Disney’s The Lion King are

Fosse won eight Tony Awards on Broadway for Choreography (The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, Redhead, Little Me, Sweet Charity, Pippin, Dancin’, Big Deal), and another one for stage direction (Pippin); he won an Oscar for his direction of the film version of Cabaret, and received three other Academy Award nominations (Lenny, two for All That Jazz).

In the history of Broadway there is one musical that stands above the rest and for many generations will be loved and adored. That musical is The Lion King. The musical retells the beloved Disney animated movie’s story on the stage, but it also brings new and exciting elements to the stage which has helped to inspire and push other musical creators in their approach of storytelling. Not only did the musical have the talented Julie Taymor (who was the first woman to win a Tony for directing) with her talented creative team, but the musical also has the rich African influences, and inventive/creative use of puppetry. The Lion King is a story about birth, life, love, death, rebirth, and ancestry. The heart of the show is truly African and Julie

After watching the Playwright's Voice and the Real Life Drama of Being a Playwright, I came to the realization that writing a play and producing it takes a lot more work and time than I though it did, as there is a lot of steps that need to be taken before the audience sees the final product. Also, I was surprised to hear some of the major theater companies are closing their doors to the public because they don't make enough profits from the plays they present. One of the reasons I choose to see the Playwright’s Voice and the Real Life Drama of Being a Playwright was because I wanted to know more about the writer’s journey into Broadway, and also I wanted to hear from the people who work directly with the theater company about their view in

The Lion King movie was a breathtaking drama and musical movie created by Disney released in 1994. The movie was arguably based off of the famous Hamlet play written by William Shakespeare almost four hundred years earlier. The Lion King shares a similar plot, character relationship, and symbols and theme with the Hamlet play. It is with these three main points that helped The Lion King become popularized all around the world.

In 1994, the critics hail an animated masterpiece, not only for its artwork and music, but also for the plotline: an evil uncle displaces the heir to the throne and sends him into exile. Years later, following both a prophecy and an encounter with the ghost of the old king, the heir is persuaded to return to his home, avenge his father's death, and take his proper place as the ruler of the kingdom. At first glance, Disney's The Lion King has all the classic motifs of the revenge plot. These archetypal patterns occur in many stories, and Disney writers Jim Capoblanco and Irene Mecchi may well have built the plot's structure from the ground up. However, if we disregard the Serengeti setting, the

Tracy Chevalier was born in 1962 and raised in Washington D.C. After graduating with a BA in English, she moved to England where she worked as an editor before pursuing creative writing with an MA. She has written eight novels, the second of which: Girl With a Pearl Earring, has sold over 5 million copies and been adapted to film. (Chevalier, “About Me”)

A little while back I was invited to see a Broadway show for my cousin's birthday, and I was very happy to find out it was a show I had been listening to for some time. I was extremely excited to see something that I already loved, and with the original cast! The theater was beautiful and the set very modern, with blinking lights and screen projection. It was nothing like I had ever seen before; however, the show itself has shaped me to be who I am today. Watching this piece of theater felt magical. The emotion all the performers showed was incredible. The acting ability of these people was both incredible and painful. The show was tragic and heartfelt, with an accurate portrayal of the mental illnesses and struggles of today's children. It was the most beautiful work I had ever witnessed. The music remained stunning and the amount of effort these people exerted on the stage was jaw dropping. Even if it is hard to describe how absolutely exquisite this musical really is, it still tells a beautiful and raw story. Everyone who sees it can relate to the hardships these characters have faced, and that's what makes it so wonderful.

with impunity. A truer and more real place does not exist in all the universe (“A Quote from Cassie Davis” 1).” Both Broadway and West End lay in two different parts of the world. However, it does not take a genius to figure out that these theatres are what put the magic in our eyes and hope in our hearts. They connect with the audience on a universal level and in the end, is that not what theatre is

The theater can be a magnificent thing to see, but without the time and effort that are spent making it magical the theater can easily fall apart.There are 4 major collaborators that mold the production into a successful one, people like to think of it as a foundation a glue in sorts to hold a production together and learning about these 4 collaborators (the playwright,the actor,director and designer) taught me that without one of these 4 the whole production crumbles and it also,teaches a lesson not to take any of these contributors for granted.