About the work
The through-composed musical The Lion King, with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, premiered on Broadway in 1997. Julie Taymor's visionary staging—with life-sized rod puppets, African-inspired masks, and shadow play—transformed the Disney animated film into a theatrical event in its own right. The film score was expanded with material by the South African composer Lebo M., giving the work its distinctive choral sound.
Plot
The young lion Simba grows up as heir to the throne in the African savanna, until his power-hungry uncle Scar murders his father Mufasa and convinces the child that he is to blame for his father's death. Simba flees into exile, finds carefree companions in the meerkat-and-warthog duo Timon and Pumbaa, and lives by the motto "Hakuna Matata." Only when his childhood friend Nala finds him and his father's spirit reminds him of his destiny does Simba return, defeat Scar, and take his rightful place as king within the Circle of Life.
Cultural significance
The Lion King became the most commercially successful stage production of all time and revolutionised the visual language of the musical through Taymor's staging; she was the first woman to win a Tony Award for directing a musical. The Hamburg production at the Theater im Hafen—reachable only by ferry across the Elbe—has run since 2001 and has become a cultural landmark of the city. Worldwide, more than a hundred million people have seen the show.