Lion King Circle Of Life

Lions and zebras and chimps, oh my!

Within Sweetwaters is a chimpanzee sanctuary that rescues and houses chimpanzees that were sold as pets or orphaned. It was established in 1993 by Jane Goodall and currently there are 48 chimps there. We got to see them swing around the trees and play in a more natural habitat compared to their previous lives where they were kept in cages or chained to a tree for onlookers to gawk at. They also have learned how to get the attention of visitors, and it was really funny to see a male chimp fling mud at a British solider. Olivia even “adopted” one the chimps to help the reserve out.

After visiting the chimpanzees, we headed off to try to see hippos, but had no luck in seeing them in the muddy river. The reserve also houses a rhino center where injured black and white rhinos come to rehab. Some also have been relocated from South Africa or Sudan. One tame black rhino named Baraka, which means blessing in Kiswahili, unfortunately lost his sight and is now cared for at Sweetwaters. We were all ecstatic to touch Baraka’s nose and feed him, seeing how docile the tough looking animal actually was. The ranger who escorted us to Baraka also educated us about the different types of rhinos and wildlife at Sweetwaters, and we saw the amazing conservation efforts that are taking place there.  

I never thought I would say I was sick of looking at wild gazelle and baboons, but they quickly became old news and we were itching to see a big cat or something more spectacular. After getting a little bit discouraged and driving around to no avail, we heard Mr. Roberts whisper “simba” and look at a small speck across a water hole 200 yards away. We drove up very slowly and saw not only a majestic male lounging under a tree, but also two females a little bit farther away. Even though we were only fifteen feet away, the lions were still as we sat in silence, snapping pictures for at least 30 minutes. It is crazy that such calm, beautiful animals are on top of the food chain. Even after we thought our safari could not get any better, we came across herds of zebra, including a little baby!

The Circle of Life | Dayton City Paper

More than 50 million people all over the world have discovered the phenomenon, the magnificence and the grandeur that is The Lion King and this week, the show is roaring into Dayton for a four-week run.

The Tony Award-winning sensational show features brilliant costumes, breathtaking sets and a musical score that’s incomparable. It’s unfathomable that one could even come up with such breathtaking and vivid designs that bring this show into life.

There was planning, designing and building of the sets, and costumes, all of which began over 10 years ago, just so this show could be mounted on the Schuster stage this month.

For some individuals involved with this production, the work began years before that.

Richard Hudson is the ingenious scenic designer for the show and inspiration for his work on The Lion King began at an early age. Hudson was raised on a farm in Africa with his three siblings. As a youngster he knew he wanted to be involved in stage design. He was sent to boarding school early on and there he first experienced theater.

His Godfather, a cabinet maker, built Hudson a puppet theater where he put on shows. He continued to explore his interest in theater by acting, painting sets and working on costumes, but it wasn’t until he moved to England to further his education, that he learned there was actually a course of study in stage design.

His studies landed him in the role of scenic and costume design for some of the most prestigious opera houses and ballet companies in the world. He has designed five times for the Vienna Stage Opera, twice for the Metropolitan Opera, three times for the Royal Opera of London, the American Ballet Theater and is currently working on a project for the National Ballet of Canada … to name a few.

In the midst of these impressive projects came a call from Disney – they had seen his work on a Broadway production and wanted to talk to him about The Lion King. After quickly rushing out to buy the film, which he realized he had never seen, he had his doubts about the screen version transferring onto the stage.

Hudson said, “It could not be mounted on the stage in that version.”

But Disney hurriedly reassured him that the stage version would take on a whole new dimension and would not be a reproduction of the film.

After being offered the job, Hudson took on the biggest task he maybe ever faced: research. The big difference with this show was that it was being run by a corporation, and not just any corporation, but Disney.

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The Lion King

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