Steph

Has anyone seen this show lately? We will be in Toronto in mid-August and were contemplating seeing The Lion King. We are kind of 'spoiled' by having seen many musicals on Broadway, so I was wondering if the quality of Toronto theatre is any different than NY. I would appreciate your feedbacks. Thank you.

Steph

Should have mentioned - we are two adults (upper 20's), and we've already been to Mamma Mia. Thank you.

Dee

The Lion King in Toronto should be as good as in NY. We are also spoiled by Broadway, but living only 3 hours from Toronto we see all the major shows. We have seen the Lion King and thought it was as very good. But as with any show, there are cast changes which may or maynot effect the quality. We are taking family from the midwest to see it in July in Toronto.

critic

<BR>The Lion King Musical is an oxymoron. It is a scream fest, with great visuals, and nothing else.<BR><BR>If you want a musical, you'll have to see something else.

Dianne

I've seen several musicals in Toronto including the Lion King and the staging, singing, costumes, etc. seems to be of high quality to me. The Lion King wasn't one of my favorites though. It had some fantastic parts, but it couldn't decide if it was a mega musical or a silly cartoon. Just my opinion.<BR><BR>Cirque de Soleil is in Toronto in August. Good seats may be getting limited though.

Steph

Thank you all. We're already going to Varekai in Philadelphia in September (we're from Philly). As far as The Lion King, I think we'll pass. Thank you much for your replies.

Cheryl

You have to take in consideration that the show is based on a Disney cartoon movie. However, I thought they did an amazing job of transforming a cartoon into a stage play and we loved it. I highly recommend it!

vivian

hi steph,<BR><BR>i've seen quite a few shows in TO and NYC... and i definitely think the shows in TO are of better caliber than broadway... people tend to take it more seriously here, so it lends to a better atmosphere. plus, in terms of the actual shows... i saw les miserables in TO and in NYC, and the TO version was much much better. NYC version massacred eponine's "a little fall of rain"... made me shudder.<BR><BR>i've seen the lion king, and i have to say that i loved it. i, too, had my hesistations to go at first, because i had seen the previously playing Beauty & The Beast and was thoroughly disappointed. B&B was an exact replication of the cartoon in human form, with no added depth to the story or characters. for lion king, what made it work so well was their adaptation of the story into a musical... it was NOT simply remaking the movie exactly as it was on screen. the costumes were thoughtfully created to emphasize the spirit and personality of the characters. i really enjoyed the african music... i disagree with "Critic"... it's not a scream fest, just a different form of music, which i found refreshing.<BR><BR>i've seen mamma mia as well. the theatre where lion king is playing is a lot more roomy and upscale in presentation. of the two, i enjoyed lion king more... but they are totally different types of shows.<BR><BR>even though you've already decided not to go, i hope you reconsider. TO has some great shows here!<BR><BR>have a fun trip...<BR>

Debbie

Hi - very pleased to help you with this one. We saw the the Lion King on Broadway in January 2001 and then again here in Toronto, just last fall. <BR>I would have to honestly say that the quality of theatre here is just as good as Broadway. We've been asked many times whether we preferred the NY or the Toronto production - we found both to be great overall in production, and found that we had our 'favourite' characters in either. We didn't care for the NY young Simba but loved Timon, as where here, the young Simba character stood out and Timon wasn't as strong a character. So whether you've been spoiled by Broadway productions, I feel you will pleasantly surprised to see Lion King here.