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Backstage at the Lion King
10 years ago
Last year I was contacted by one of the cast of the touring production of the Lion King. I had made a Scar costume and a Lioness costume a few years ago, and through the magic of the internet, my costumes eventually got passed around the cast and crew of the stage show. The cast member invited me to visit backstage when they were coming through my city (which was a full year away). I had to bite my tongue for almost 8 months as the tour had not announced they would be traveling through Calgary. Once the announcement was made and tickets went on sale I was able to let people know I was invited to go backstage >_<
After a whole year of excitement and anticipation the day finally arrived! I spoke to my contact to make sure everything was a "go" for the evening, and she told me to come to the stage door after the show and she would have a tour all set up.
The show was good as always. It was actually better than the first time I saw it. We had pretty horrible luck the first time my Husband and I saw the performance; there were a lot of technical problems with microphones and stage pieces not working the way they should. So it was nice to see a more polished show without the bugs. I noticed they got rid of the "Morning Report" song that Zazu used to sing. I guess it was to cut time or the song was not a real hit?
Once the show concluded My husband and I and two of our friends, went to the stage door where we were met by my contact. Lots of the cast were already exiting when we came in. I was told they changed clothes fast, but wow! The Puppet Lead, who really wanted to meet me was unavailable that night, but his wife was there, so she gave us a tour. We got to look around backstage where some of the costume and prop and stage pieces were hung, then to the dressing room for the ensemble cast where their various costume pieces were hung in racks with their names on them. Finally we got to check out the work-room/repair station area, which was actually quite clean (not the chaotic mess that MY studios is in :P). Since the Puppet lead really wanted to meet me to ask about my work, his wife asked if it was possible I could come back on another day to visit with him and talk about costume stuff. I said of course, and gave them a business card so the puppet lead could contact me directly.
I was not allowed to take any photos (which is understandable). We were allowed to look at some of the ensemble costume pieces, but we were not allowed to see any of the primary actors costumes except the 3 hyenas (Shenzi, Banzai and Ed) and Sarabi (simba's Mom). Pumba was backstage, but hidden under a sheet. I learned some great facts about the show which were still very interesting; the corsets for all the characters have very little beadwork on them. Most have a few beads and cowrie shells in the front, but the rest of the corset is actually Puff paint! You can barely even tell, even looking up close that the dots are not beads at all. The hyena heads are made of sheet foam! They let me touch one to see how light they were. And the giraffe head manes are made from husk brooms. I was told when they need repairs, they simply go to home depot and buy some brooms to take apart :D
I also had a really awesome meeting with Scar :D The woman who toured us around also worked as a puppeteer for the show, so she was asking me a few questions about my costumes. I mentioned that my Scar head was made of slush cast resin instead of carbon fiber, since I would afford the extra weight for a showpiece costume as I did not have a 30lb batterypack and microphone to carry around. From behind me I heard someone say "47 lbs!" I turned to discover Scar all cleaned up and in his street clothes. It took me a second before I realized Scar was in fact Patrick Brown! For those who don't know, Patrick Brown has been playing Scar for YEARS. It was through his blog that I learned lots of thing about his costume and got lots of reference material to make my own scar costume. He even complimented me when I finished and sent him some photos. It was so exciting to meet him, and I thanked him so much. It was so cool to meet a guy I have been watching for years and actually see him perform.
We were only allowed a short time backstage, as I guess regulations say Backstage tours after shows need to be short so they can shut everything down. Our tour was only about 30 minutes, but since I was invited back to meet the Puppet lead I may have a chance to see more on another day. :D
Best. Day. Ever.
After a whole year of excitement and anticipation the day finally arrived! I spoke to my contact to make sure everything was a "go" for the evening, and she told me to come to the stage door after the show and she would have a tour all set up.
The show was good as always. It was actually better than the first time I saw it. We had pretty horrible luck the first time my Husband and I saw the performance; there were a lot of technical problems with microphones and stage pieces not working the way they should. So it was nice to see a more polished show without the bugs. I noticed they got rid of the "Morning Report" song that Zazu used to sing. I guess it was to cut time or the song was not a real hit?
Once the show concluded My husband and I and two of our friends, went to the stage door where we were met by my contact. Lots of the cast were already exiting when we came in. I was told they changed clothes fast, but wow! The Puppet Lead, who really wanted to meet me was unavailable that night, but his wife was there, so she gave us a tour. We got to look around backstage where some of the costume and prop and stage pieces were hung, then to the dressing room for the ensemble cast where their various costume pieces were hung in racks with their names on them. Finally we got to check out the work-room/repair station area, which was actually quite clean (not the chaotic mess that MY studios is in :P). Since the Puppet lead really wanted to meet me to ask about my work, his wife asked if it was possible I could come back on another day to visit with him and talk about costume stuff. I said of course, and gave them a business card so the puppet lead could contact me directly.
I was not allowed to take any photos (which is understandable). We were allowed to look at some of the ensemble costume pieces, but we were not allowed to see any of the primary actors costumes except the 3 hyenas (Shenzi, Banzai and Ed) and Sarabi (simba's Mom). Pumba was backstage, but hidden under a sheet. I learned some great facts about the show which were still very interesting; the corsets for all the characters have very little beadwork on them. Most have a few beads and cowrie shells in the front, but the rest of the corset is actually Puff paint! You can barely even tell, even looking up close that the dots are not beads at all. The hyena heads are made of sheet foam! They let me touch one to see how light they were. And the giraffe head manes are made from husk brooms. I was told when they need repairs, they simply go to home depot and buy some brooms to take apart :D
I also had a really awesome meeting with Scar :D The woman who toured us around also worked as a puppeteer for the show, so she was asking me a few questions about my costumes. I mentioned that my Scar head was made of slush cast resin instead of carbon fiber, since I would afford the extra weight for a showpiece costume as I did not have a 30lb batterypack and microphone to carry around. From behind me I heard someone say "47 lbs!" I turned to discover Scar all cleaned up and in his street clothes. It took me a second before I realized Scar was in fact Patrick Brown! For those who don't know, Patrick Brown has been playing Scar for YEARS. It was through his blog that I learned lots of thing about his costume and got lots of reference material to make my own scar costume. He even complimented me when I finished and sent him some photos. It was so exciting to meet him, and I thanked him so much. It was so cool to meet a guy I have been watching for years and actually see him perform.
We were only allowed a short time backstage, as I guess regulations say Backstage tours after shows need to be short so they can shut everything down. Our tour was only about 30 minutes, but since I was invited back to meet the Puppet lead I may have a chance to see more on another day. :D
Best. Day. Ever.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8437564/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8437546/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9834849/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10206402/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10206423/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13792148/
And here's some progress and WIP shots on my Livejournal:
http://komickrazi.livejournal.com/t.....king%20musical
And now I really want to see the show again as well!
This is how i feel, waiting for my Fursuit x3
They cut the Madness of King scar a little shorter too.
A friend of mine in the UK said they cut the morning report from the London version too. I don't think it's a touring thing. More likely one show makes the change, they decide it's a good change and the rest of the shows follow suit.