DC Theater Arts

Tag: Greg Jackson

  • Review: ‘The Lion King’ at the Hippodrome Theatre

    Review: ‘The Lion King’ at the Hippodrome Theatre

    The Lion King is epic. It is so full of throat-tightening spectacle and aural splendor that Baltimore’s grand Hippodrome Theatre can appear at times like a modest host. With Julie Taymor’s magical African beasts streaming down its aisles and the box seats over the stage alive with percussionists, there’s simply no room left for a mind to wander.

    Dashaun Young as “Simba. Photo by Joan Marcus.

    This is an evening of truly memorable theater, infused with the delights of folklore and fraught with universal drama and kid-friendly laughs — all delivered to us again by a dream cast.

    Happy 20th anniversary to you, Lion King. Everyone will be ecstatic to know you’re back.

    It’s hard to believe the original Disney film was breaking new animation ground only as recently as 1994. It seems to have been part of the world’s cultural heritage for eons. Three years later it was adapted to the Broadway stage by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi. It supplemented the songs of Elton John and Tim Rice (and the underscoring work of Hans Zimmer) with authentic African rhythms and the choral stylings by Lebo M and others.

    If you have not seen the show before you will be surprised at the volume of world music here. Even the Disney-rific Elton John hits “Circle of Life” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” have had their lush, American pop simplicity tethered to a more sophisticated musical palette of chants, dialects and a polyrhythmic élan vital.

    The show proudly trumpets its spiritual ties with South Africa, and the 50-member stage cast always includes a contingent of South African performers from Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Act two opens with a stirring and colorful Zulu tribal dance guaranteed to make you feel surrounded by rondavels and cattle pens.

    The story is as old as the oral tradition itself. It’s the tale of a young lion cub named Simba, who regrets defying the orders of his father, King Mufasa, monarch of all the Pride Lands. As a consequence the king dies and Simba’s guilt is manipulated by a jealous uncle, Scar, into a self-imposed exile until he finds his way back to his rightful place in the Circle of Life.

    The messages of the story run counter to so much of what we hear from today’s celebrity culture. Assume responsibility for your own deeds, it says. Even Uncle Scar observes at the outset, “Life isn’t fair.” But do not wallow in guilt or regret. Accept you owe a debt to the community that raised you. … Wow, that.

    Buyi Zama as Rafiki. Photo by Joan Marcus.

    On a related note: Where on Earth do the producers find these marvelous kid performers? Young Simba (Joziyah Jean-Felix, alternating with Ramon Reed) and Young Nala (Danielle W. Jalade, alternating with Gloria Manning) prove agile, joyous guides who coax us — in “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” — to see the world again through the innocent eyes of childhood.

    The show’s other highlights begin with that curtain-raising procession of animals in the “Circle of Life,” here combined with the indigenous incantation of “Nants’ Ingonyama.” It is wonderfully delivered by Buyi Zama as the shaman-mandrill Rafiki, who raises goosebumps again with her reprise of “He Lives in You.”

    Gerald Ramsey makes a commanding father as King Mufasa, and Kimber Sprawl is a very appealing and mature Sarabi. Mark Campbell may break no fresh ground as the villainous Scar, but he gets the menace and all that homicidal envy just right.

    The film’s many wacky comical characters are in good hands too. Greg Jackson’s hilarious puppetry and intonations as Zazu, the king’s “major dumbbell,” are perfection in feathers and wild eyes.

    Those two lovable wastrels, Timon and Pumbaa, make a ticklish pair of savanna nannies for Simba, thanks to show veterans Nick Cordileone and Ben Lipitz, respectively. They turn the comical “Hakuna Matata” into a sort of national anthem for under-achievers.

    Slightly more menacing in their slapstick appeal are the trio of hyena henchmen, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed — manipulated and voiced by Martina Sykes, Keith Bennett and Robbie Swift.

    The balletic spin of Choreographer Garth Fagan provides all those colorful costumes and stage pictures a gloriously kinetic grace.

    Thanks to Scenic Designer Richard Hudson, Simba’s odyssey takes us to such unknown places as an elephant burial ground and that faraway realm the hyenas call home. The night’s standout stage illusion by Director Julie Taymor and her team remains the “impossible” stampede by a herd of wildebeests.

    Long before that, though, The Lion King will have you with its tear-jerking opening procession by those the kings of the jungle. A live-action movie version is in the works, but it will have to reach a very high bar to surpass the achievement of this Broadway treasure.

    Running Time: Two hours and 40 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission.

    The Lion King plays through December 10, 2017 at the Hippodrome Theatre, France-Merrick Performing Arts Center – 12 North Eutaw Street, in Baltimore. For tickets, call 800-982-ARTS or purchase them online.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pgZtzDj_7o

  • ‘Trespassing’ at Ambassador Theater by Jessica Vaughan


    Ambassador Theater takes on trespassers and unexpected visitors with two madcap one-acts by Egyptian playwright Alfred Farag.

    The first, The Visitor, tells the story of an actress and the policeman who comes to her apartment because a well-known serial killer has said he is coming after her. It’s tense and yet funny as the two discuss justice, fate, acting, and coffee, and wait for him to appear. It becomes clear quickly that all is not as it seems and ends with a fun twist. As the play went on, it was tough to tell if it was a thriller, a comedy, a philosophical treatise, or a farce, but it also didn’t matter. It was fun.

    Hanna Bondarewska (Negma Sadiq) and Ivan Zizek (Mahmud Suliman) in ‘The Visitor.’ Photo by Magda Pinkowska.

    The set design by Greg Jackson changes for each one-act, but both sets are sumptuous and beautiful. The Visitor features the artwork of prominent artist Agustin Blazquez. (He is from Cuba, but specializes in Egyptian art). His pieces, including an Egyptian mummy’s case, are complimented by fun things like a gilt stand telephone and a beautiful coffee set. In the second one-act, The Peephole, the set becomes more modern but no less stylish with slightly naughty hieroglyphs on the walls – and a couch set I wish was in my living room.

    The Visitor, directed Gail Humphrey Mardirosian, makes full use of the stage and the set since at several points, the actors are sent around the stage searching frantically or hiding out. She keeps the pace up and the tension building admirably. Hanna Bondarewska (Negma Sadiq) revels in the role of the diva who is not to be cowed but is drawn to the killer and Ivan Zizek as the visitor makes an excellent foil. For the vast majority of the play, they are alone in that apartment and they and the director and the actors work hard to keep the audience mesmerized and involved, and everything moves quickly.

    Costume Designer Elizabeth Ennis chose some great pieces. Both plays’ protagonists’ costumes do not disappoint. In The Visitor, Negma Sadiq wears sheer fabrics with endless sparkles and gold. In Peephole, the main character’s more modern wardrobe includes a shiny silver shirt and a fabulous leather jacket. It was obvious a lot of thought went into each character’s wardrobe.

    After intermission and the transformation of the set, Hanna Bondarewska takes over as director for the second one-act, The Peephole, which is the story of another famous actor Hasan (Ivan Zizek), as he arrives home to find a murdered woman in his bedroom. He calls his neighbor, the lawyer Husayn (Stephen Shelter or James Randle on alternate dates) who calls a psychiatrist Hasanayn (Rob Weinzimer) and a criminal (Adam R. Adkins) who can take the body away. Why they need both a criminal and a psychiatrist is because the murdered woman keeps disappearing and reappearing throughout the play. Bondarewska also plays the woman in a suitably gory, gorgeous costume.

    This one-act got more and more surreal as it went on.The actors just threw themselves into their roles and seemed to relish the zinging one-liners they lobbed at each other – and the possible mental breakdowns happening all over the stage. What was fun though was how it echoed the other play.The evening is called Trespassing, and between the frantic searches, the murderer in the first play and the murdered in the second, and the central role of a telephone, it was fun to see what they included and echoed in each act.

    James Randle, Rob Weinzimer, and Ivan Zizek. The cast of ‘The Peephole.’ Photo by Magda Pinkowska.

    Lighting Designer Marianne Meadows did a great job, especially with the more surreal The Peephole. A large part of the plot rested on her design to let us know whether the ghost (real woman? Hallucination?) was there or not. Also, in the first one-act, her warm lighting design complimented the artwork beautifully.

    Playwright Alfred Farag was born in the 1950s and wrote dozens of plays still known and studied in Egypt for their dialogue and use of Arabic. Translator Dina Amin has managed to capture some of that joy of language. Both plays had some good exchanges and running jokes, like the psychiatrist answering many queries with, “In your childhood or adolescence…”

    The Ambassador Theater International Cultural Center’s mission is to build international cultural awareness and succeeds with these plays, not because they showed us such a different and strange world, but because the world Farag wrote about is so familiar. The laughs work on every level and two stories about famous actors and their insecurities, lawyers, and shrinks are so universal.

    If you are Egyptian or American or from any other part of the world you will enjoy these two quirky and funny one-acts. Their universal messages will hit home.

    Running Time: Approximately two hours with 15 minute intermission.

    Trespassing plays through November 3, 2012 at Ambassador Theater at Mead Theatre Lab’s Flashpoint – 916 G Street NW, in Washington, DC. For tickets, purchase them online.