I was 7-years-old when Disney’s “The Lion King” hit movie theaters. I can still remember the amazement I felt while getting enveloped in “The Circle of Life” as the film began and I sat in that massive reclining seat, legs too short to touch the ground. It’s the first time I remember seeing a movie in a theater.

Last week, I felt a hint of that same awe and smallness as I sat in Civic Center Music Hall witnessing for the first time the universally lauded musical adaptation of the same film. That 7-year-old sense of wonder came rushing back, and it was like 1994 all over again.

Originally performed in 1997, the Tony Award-winning “The Lion King” faithfully reproduces the narrative of the film, while adding additional songs by Elton John and Tim Rice. Julie Taymor’s stunning costume design is an elaborate combination of masks and puppets, and Richard Hudson’s scenic design is consistently overwhelming as one massive set fluidly melds into the next.

The show is so brilliantly conceived, it’s like watching the story for the first time. Fans of the film will have no trouble beating the characters to their lines, as most are indistinguishable from the movie, but there are constant visual surprises – a near life-size elephant rumbling down the aisle, whimsical silhouette work to represent the characters, a giant Mufasa face assembled by a group of dancers, each holding a piece on the end of a long pole.

There’s scarcely time to notice everything. Few scenes are static, and I found myself craning my neck almost constantly to try to spot everything taking place.

“The Lion King” represents a diffusion of styles into one another – ballet blending with African dance – and musical genres – the pop sensibility of John and Rice’s songs with more traditional African anthems. And all of it is irresistible.

The show heavily depends on its large cast of ensemble members who help give the show such an imposing sense of largeness, but there are plenty of standouts among the principal actors – especially the exuberant Phindile Mkhize as Rafiki and the deliciously malevolent Timothy Carter as Scar.

A national touring production of “The Lion King” has traveled across the country since 2002, but this is the tour’s first visit to Oklahoma City. The cast rotates often, but the sheer number of performances undertaken (the cast generally performs in each location for about five weeks, with around eight shows a week) lends an unfortunate air of efficiency to the production.

“The Lion King” is, by all means, still a triumph, and it’s certainly nothing you’d notice in the technically excellent aspects of the show, but there are tiny hints to the fact that the same show has been taking place nearly every night for quite a long time.

Still, that’s hardly a viable deterrent to the sensory feast the show provides – in an increasingly jaded world where it’s especially easy to allow that cynicism to overshadow the potential appreciation of art, “The Lion King” is a great reminder of the power of something beautiful.

Don’t worry so much about anything else – the inner 7-year-old sure wouldn’t.

Related Links:

Civic Center Music Hall welcomes Tony Award-winning musical ‘The Lion King’

-Dusty Somers is a journaiism junior.