Spending time on Broadway

I just had to do a quick post on the fact that I went to see The Lion King last night on Broadway. It has to be said that it was not my first choice for a Broadway show- I wanted to see Phantom of the Opera. But my friend Val wanted to go and didn't want to go on her own, so I said ok.

It was wonderful. From the first opening musical notes, I was immediately transported back to Africa, a place that I feel I know well and dearly love. The voices of the actors- all black- were rich and strong and reminded me of the voices of the teachers that I worked with in Tanzania, who would frequently burst into song for no other reason than just to help the day along a little. The scenes in the jungle reminded me of being on safari in S Africa, watching the savannah go by with the occasional leopard or elephant to break the wonderful openess of the land.

It also reminded me of the kids that I worked with in S Africa. The Lion King was their favourite movie, and any time we were trying to get them to settle down a little or go to bed, we would put it on the TV. They would straight off sit to watch it and more often than not fall asleep on someone's lap, secure in the knowledge that Simba would live again to sing another day.

And to be fair to the musical it wasn't just great because it reminded me of happy times in Africa. The singers were great, the costumes were breathtaking and the way that the animals were portrayed was the cleverest thing I've ever seen.

Altogether a wonderful show and a very happy experience. Well worth the $121 (gasp!) dollars that I paid for the ticket.....