Musical Lion King International Tour in Busan
The king of musicals has returned
Tickets sold out in the first few days
Managing Editor Seo Yun-chan
danseo123@naver.com
Musicals are famous all around the world. There are several major, well-known musicals in the world; 'Cats', 'The Phantom of the Opera', 'Les Miserables', and so on. There is also another world famous musical, it is, of course, the 'Lion King'.
The 'Lion King' is based on the Disney animation 'Lion King' from 1994. The first performance was shown on 8 July, 1997. It was held in the Orpheum Theatre, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was then officially shown to the world on 13 November, 1997.
The synopsis of this musical is mainly divided in to two acts. In Act I, the sun rises, and Rafiki, the mandrill, stands on the Pride Rock, the main land where the animals live. He takes the cub from Mufasa, the king, and presents the baby as their next king. However, Mufasa's brother, Scar, is always looking for a chance to take over the throne. Of course, innocent baby Simba knows nothing about his uncle's plan.
Scar uses Simba as a trap to get rid of Mufasa. After he kills Mufasa, he also tries to get rid of Simba, the next in line to the throne. He tells Simba to never come back to the land where his father died. Simba runs away from the land and ends up exhausted in the desert. He collapses, and vultures begin to gather around him. However, Timon and Pumbaa come and save him.
In Act II, the background scenery shows a dark and arid Pride Land. After Scar takes over as the king, his actions cause the land to be destroyed. Everything is in chaos and all the animals flee from the awful king.
However, baby Simba, who is cared for by Timon and Pumbaa, grows up in to a wonderful lion. He lives a good and happy life in the jungle. One day, he gets a flashback of his father. Concerned about his father's words, he goes and meets Rafiki. There, he finds the true meaning of becoming a king, and plans to avenge his father's death and take back what is rightfully his.
He goes back to the Pride Land. With the help of the lionesses and his friends, he wins the fight against his uncle, Scar. Then, peace comes back to the Pride Land. His old friend, Nala, becomes his wife, and they bear a baby cub.
This wonderful musical has been performed by a lot of famous artists. Many of the songs were sung by Elton John, and a lot of famous actors and actresses have played roles in the musicals.
The first performance of 'Lion King' in South Korea was back in 2018, in Daegu. A year later, they returned to Korea, performing the musical in Seoul and Busan.
This year, the show is coming back to South Korea. The first performances have already taken place in Seoul. For the people in Busan, they have planned to perform for a whole month. Starting from 1 April, the performances will continue until 8 May. A lot of people are looking forward to seeing this musical, and a lot of reviews are already up, with people saying it was one of the best musicals they have ever seen.