It Means No Worries

Inspirational song: Circle of Life (The Lion King)

The most elaborate set of costumes we ever made, back in the days when we had a costume design company, was for a Boulder Ballet production of The Carnival of the Animals. At the time, we felt so professional and artistic, thinking we were really being abstract and creative with our animals--the little birds with their hand-painted chiffon wings, the swan with her feathered chest plate (she was a bit of a prima donna who freaked out at a somewhat plain white lycra costume, swearing that people could nearly see her nipples through two layers of fabric, which would be unacceptable, so we gave her feathered armor). I spent hours hand-knotting yarn for a gorgeous lion's mane, and when he spun on stage, and his mane poufed out and his tail whipped around, I was so happy to have made that wonderful outfit. I loved putting that collection together.

Today I admitted to myself how primitive we really were. We went with a large group of friends (enough to fill two theatre boxes) to see the touring company of the Lion King, and in all seriousness, the costumes are the stars of that show. It made me feel like I was holding up a crayon drawing next to a Rembrandt, even remembering my lion that I had loved so much. The show was great, the dancing wonderful, and the singing angelic. But the costumes made this musical what it is. The story, sure, is as compelling as always, but it was like a karaoke of the movie, to be honest. The actor who played Scar made sure he sounded as much like Jeremy Irons as he could, and the actor/puppeteer who played Zazu mimicked Rowan Atkinson down to every syllable and squawk. The only real changes to the vocal performances were that they let the children playing Simba and Nala use their own voices and accents, and Rafiki was played by and staged as a woman.

But those costumes, though. I can't stop thinking about them. And I want so much to try and walk on the giraffe stilts. Me, so desperately afraid of heights that I can barely get up on a step stool, and I want to be on stilts on all fours. Or at least jumping around with some of the big, flowing, silky fabrics that made up the water and the sky. I feel a new design project coming on. Must resist, and wait until next year.