and it moves us all

Take every single thing you have heard about the stage performance of The Lion King: every description of the stellar singing, the captivating dancing, the creative costume design, and the breathtaking set and animal presentation… formulate in your mind what an incredible experience that must be. Then, once you have your head wrapped around that, multiply it times infinity and let your brain explode.

The anticipation was almost more than my sister, Candice, and I could handle. Our dinner conversation was sprinkled with questions like, “I wonder if they’ll perform ‘I Just Can’t Wait to be King?’” and “What do you think all the animals will look like?” I was so excited that, when we were walking into the lobby, I realized I forgot the tickets in the backseat of the car and had to send a valet back to retrieve them.  Both Candice and I compulsively checked our cell phones every 45 seconds while we sat in our seats, eagerly anticipating the moment when the lights would dim and a long awaited hush would fall across the crowd.

And then it happened.

When the darkness was broken by the solitary spotlight, every eye in the room was drawn to Rafiki, who immediately sent goose bumps cascading over every living creature in the room with the beginning chant to “Circle of Life.” As she was progressively joined by other singers, the curtain lifted, a bright golden sun began to rise in the center of the stage. And as the first giraffe gracefully glided into view, I started crying. Just as I was overwhelmed with emotion, the stage soon became overwhelmed with birds, elephants, antelopes, cheetahs, and, of course, lions. After the presentation of Simba, the anthem ended and the crowd, for lack of a more appropriate word, roared.

I could sequence letter after letter in attempts to describe the happenings of that glorious experience, but I would fail to create a single word that did the moments within the show justice. In many ways, it was a childhood dream come true and the manifestation of an innocent imagination’s hopes. I am so grateful to have shared the magical evening with Candice and thankful to our mom for giving us those tickets as such a special gift.