Broadway's award-winning best musical, Disney's The Lion King is back in the Detroit area playing at the Detroit Opera House until March 10.
The show opened to a packed crowd on Wednesday and on a visit to Friday night's show the place was once again packed to capacity as people of all ages waited for the show to start.
Since its debut in 1997, The Lion King has become one of the most popular touring productions on the road today.
The musical has seen more than 14 million theatergoers pass through its doors and has grossed over $928 million to date.
The production features a score from "The Lion King" animated film with songs from Elton John and Tim Rice including "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", "Shadowland" and "Hakuna Matata".
The Lion King tells the story of the animals in Pride Rock including Mufasa, the lion king, his queen, Sarabi, and their son, Simba.
Mufasa's wicked brother, Scar, resents the new prince and the cub's status as next in line to be king and decides to take action to insure that he will be the one to rule Pride Rock.
He sets up Mufasa's death scene and allows Simba to believe that he is the cause forcing him to run off into the night as his friends and family believe that he has also died.
The rest of the show is the tale of Simba's journey to get back to where he belongs.
The musical does a great job of allowing the audience to feel they are a part of the action as the "animals" moved up and down the aisles at different points during the performance.
The show's lighting, moving scenery and instrumentation all created the perfect savannah atmosphere and the actors themselves, who create the animals with actual-size puppets, bring the emotion needed to keep the audience captivated.
The show incorporates African tradition throughout and the music does a great job of entertaining and teaching all at once.
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