The Lion King

	COSTUMES AND MASKS:  The Lion King is unique in that we see how the magic works on stage. There's no attempt to cover up the wheels and cogs that make it all happen. As an audience member at The Lion King you have an important job: With your imagination, you are invited to mix the "animal" with the human into a magical whole.
	PUPPETS: The human beings that control the puppets and wear the animal masks are fully seen. As Julie Taymor says, "When the human spirit visibly animates an object, we experience a special, almost life-giving connection. We become engaged by both the method of storytelling as well as the story itself."
	AFRICAN MASKS: In Africa, masks are functional works of art.  As in The Lion King many African masks are made to be worn over the head instead of over the face. They serve many ceremonial purposes: initiating a young man into manhood, exorcising evil spirits, capturing the invisible supernatural forces surrounding us.  The sculptor has only one opportunity to incorporate the anger, humor, and passion of a character, to tell his or her whole story."
	BUNRAKU PUPPETRY: Named for its founder, Uemura Bunrakuken, this Japanese theater form started in the 16th century. In Bunraku, master puppeteers, visible to the audience, control large puppet dolls, while a narrator tells the story.  Through movement and gestures (and, as always, the audience's imaginations), great expressiveness can be achieved.
	SHADOW PUPPETRY: In shadow puppetry, the audience only sees the shadows of the puppets, thrown onto a screen by a light or a fire. Shadow puppetry seems to be thousands of years old; many think it originated in Greece, although Chinese records show forms of shadow puppetry being performed 2000 years ago. In Indonesian shadow puppetry, called the wayang kulit, intricate flat puppets made of wood and animal hide are shown before a muslin screen.
	Perhaps the most dramatic scene in The Lion King is the wildebeest stampede in which Mufasa is killed. The effect in the theater is electric, as thousands of wildebeests seem to be rushing straight at Simba -- and at the audience. The illusion of thousands of racing animals is achieved with a canvas scroll and a series of large rollers. Wildebeests are painted on the scroll, and each roller is equipped with sculptures of the animals. On each successive roller, the wildebeest sculptures are slightly larger, until, closest to the audience, dancers rhythmically move huge wildebeest masks. This design creates a false perspective of great distance. When the scroll and rollers are moving, the audience seems to see waves of wildebeests driving forward.