Can you feel the love tonight?

Five months or so ago, on my birthday, G got me tickets to see the Lion King when it comes through Tampa. Five months seemed like soooooo far away! But, the day is finally here!

I raced out of work to get home and eat before the 8pm show. I made sure to wear something extra nice to work so I wouldn't have to change, but just grabbed a shawl for the chilly Performing Arts center.

G outdid himself with the seats. First balcony, third row, dead center. Very nice. You could see everything.

Now, let me just say.. I'm not a huge Disney person. Unlike my roomie in college, I didn't have every Disney soundtrack and a poster of every Disney movie on my walls. I have however, seen the Lion King and thought it was really cute, but had no idea how they were going to bring that story live action.

From the very first scene (shown in the picture shown here) the costumes are AMAZING! Those are all people. The giraffes were my favorite! I have no idea how those guys mange to stay hunched over and walk on those stilts. Watching a giant elephant walk through the audience in the orchestra section was also a huge highlight.

I favored the African folk numbers over the traditional Lion King/Elton John soundtrack numbers. The man who was playing Mufasa in our version had the most amazing voice. Great projection! According to the program he does vocal/acting work in Orlando at Disney and has been on many Disney soundtracks. The two kids playing Nala and Simba were also really cute.

Overall, G and I had a fabulous night. The show, does go on for almost three hours.. so if you're thinking of taking your family keep this in mind. There is a fifteen minute intermission after act one. In that amount of time, there is no WAY you were going to get through the 120 person line for the ladies rest room. (there were only three stalls for the entire balcony section) The men of course, were moving right along but there was still a line even for the men's room! They definitely need to redesign that particular aspect of our performing arts center.

Looking at the future shows for the Center , G and I are next looking at seeing Spring Awakening. It's coming in late December. I know it won a bunch of Tonys so I'm excited it's coming.