I Just Can't Wait to be King!!!!

Broadway, New York City
Thursday, June 17, 2010

I told my self almost a year and a half ago when I moved to NYC that I would go see The Lion King on Broadway before I left. Well I left NYC and now I am a few short weeks from leaving New York State and I still hadn't seen it. I had been waiting around to find someone to go with but it never seemed to work out. I had a few days off and I finally just said enough.....I'm going to see it, bought a ticket online and made the 2 hour drive to Manhattan.

The Lion King Theatre......one of the few Broadway theatres that is actually on Broadway.

I bought the ticket a few days ago and I am very glad I did. When I was looking online Monday....there were a ton of tickets left for the show. I really did have my pick. I chose a seat to the right side of the stage, on the second level right long the rail. It was a great seat. I had a complete unobstructed view... I just couldn't see what was in the far right corner of the stage.....so didn't miss anything. Come showtime on Thursday.......the theatre was completely filled.....not an empty seat in the place. If you walked up to buy a ticket that day they jacked up the prices too depending on if you wanted a single seat or a couple seats together (Yeah to planning in advance).

Anyway, I was going to accompany my Broadway show with some NYC shopping but I decided to stop in at my old place of work, The Memorial Sloan Kettering Breast Center to say hi to some people. That short visit turned into about 3 hours......and I got a job offer out of it. Of course I'm not looking for a job right now but always nice to know you are wanted. It was really nice to see everyone. And it probably saved me some money because I think we all know if I had gone shopping I would have spent a lot of money.

Above the escalator in the theatre.

So let's go back to the show. It was absolutely fabulous. Every time I told someone I was going to the Lion King they all said " you will love it" or "it was so good" or "I'm so jealous" and things along that line. Pretty much everyone in the family has seen it (well Debi, Mom and Dad have....all in London while visiting Bonnie and Barry) so it was about time I went to see it.

Looking at Times Square from the second level of the theatre. Yes,there are too many people out there.

I was expecting it to be good. I wasn't sure it would be as good as it was. The opening number was spectacular. It almost brought me to tears. I was a little worried that it would be just like the Disney movie, and it was very similar but it was different enough that you may not be sure what would happen. Some different songs, the dancing of course and a slight variation in what part of the story they told. The costumes and the dancing were outstanding but the music and the voices I think I will be hearing in my head forever.

My view of the stage. I had to hide my camera while taking this picture because even at the end the show the Camera Nazis came and yelled at people for taking pictures. It was a great place to view the show.

This is after the show. The small windows on either side of the stage are where the drummers were sitting. I got a good view of the one on the right. During certain parts of the show I also had gazelles and zebras and cheetahs almost sitting in my lap.

So in summary......AMAZING. If you get the chance, on or off Broadway, I totally recommend you see it.

Julie