What Are You Reading Now?
I’m currently reading the 2017 edition of “The Lion King: Pride Rock on Broadway,” a coffee table book. First published in 1998, the book was written by Julie Taymor, the musical’s visionary director, together with Alexis Greene.
The Lion King: Pride Rock On Broadway by Julie Taymor
“The Lion King: Pride Rock on Broadway” chronicles the creative development and technological process, including some of the mishaps along the way, that went into the film-to-stage adaptation of one of Disney’s most prominent titles: “The Lion King.”
From Taymor’s first phone call with Thomas Schumacher, then Walt Disney Feature Animation executive vice president, to the show’s opening night in Minneapolis on 31 July 1997, the book is a treasure trove of personal stories and actual director’s notes from Taymor herself.
Since I’ve been covering the first international tour of “The Lion King” from its premiere in Manila, Philippines, in 2018 to its sold-out run in Hong Kong in December 2019 to January 2020, the book, “The Lion King: Pride Rock on Broadway” – a gift from veteran publicist Toots Tolentino – has been a handy resource for my research. In different cities – on separate occasions – I was able to interview Lebo M, “The Lion King’s” co-music composer and vocal arranger, as well as the executives at Disney Theatrical Group. Still, I haven’t had the chance yet to sit down with Taymor.
Nevertheless, the book has been an invaluable source of information that digs deep into the creative minds of Taymor and her artistic team – from the show’s fusion of Elton John’s pop score and Lebo M’s African chants and choral music to its choice of Japanese-bunraku puppetry and African-inspired masks that create a visual aesthetic never-before-seen on Broadway in the late ‘90s.
Today, “The Lion King” is still playing to packed audiences on Broadway; about two years shy of its silver anniversary, a 25th-anniversary edition of the book might come to fruition!
Oliver Oliveros is the regional editor-director at BroadwayWorld.com, Team Philippines. He’s on Instagram as @oliverbroadwayworld.
What Are You Reading Now is a regular Booklaban feature where readers share their latest reads. Submit your own latest reads here.