Costumes Lion King

On Broadway the Musical "The Lion King" the use of good costumes are needed for bring the characters of Tamone, Pumba, Rafiki, Simba, Mufasa, and Sarabi alive. Being in the African grasslands and ruling everything that the light touches should make the actor quiver at the thought of having that much power played as the great king Mufasa. Pride Rock is the setting where mostly all of the animals live happily together in "the Circle of Life". Only a few lions and wild dogs have went astray to the dark side trying to upset the hieracrie within the lion community and their kingdom. After an epic journey through the grasslands the kings son meets up with Tamone and Pumba. This is where Simba learns the way of Hakuna Matata which means no worries. Simba gets word from his girlfriend that Mufasa's evil brother is taking over the thrown. This temps Simba to bring Tamone and Pumba back to pride rock to save the kingdom. Simba leaves a boy and comes back a man lion.

All of the costumes remind me of the colors of africa. All natural colors with the bright color brought out in the beauty of the animals. The earthly tones are great for showing the peace of the animals in relationship to the environment and each other. The use of masks that hang over the face and about a foot in front allow for facial expressions from the actors. All of the costumes really transform the actor into the appropriate parts. Even baby Simba is a wooden model of a baby lion with a big head maybe showing it's intellect and leadership at even a young age. The royalty of Mufasa and his wife Sarabi costumes are shown with golden colors and bright yellows. The magical mystical monkey, Rafiki is shown with his large gorge staff, along with bright face paint and a fur like necklines to give animal characteristics. Long fingernails, a vest filled with medicine man utensils, and even his spiky frost tip hair bring Rafiki alive. He looks like a true madrill monkey. All actors became the animals because of the amazing costumes that were created for this play.