The Lion King Reviews
Latest Reviews
★★★★☆
“great show”
Written on: 14/03/2013
seen the show in London (2005) & Manchester (2013) and it was great at both venues couldn't tell them apart (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Absolute merde!”
Written on: 22/02/2013
The Lion King was the work of satan. Nowt else to say except it looked like the costumes had been nicked off a hobo. Devil-worshippers! (read more)
★★☆☆☆
“The standard must have changed!”
Written on: 15/01/2013 by Angieboo2
Went to see the Lion King 12th January as this show had been recommended by a few friends and family. Must say we were disappointed as the performance lacked several of the highlights that we were told to expect. We had very good aisle seats but the show had obviously change from the original as our performance did not match that of our friends and family feedback and the performers really did not lift the show. We were not alone in our disappointment as the faces on others leaving the... (read more)
★★★★★
“Lion King Palace Manchester”
Written on: 03/12/2012
Fantastic from start to finish,imaginative funny and a must see for all the family well done (read more)
★★★★★
“Great, see it!”
Written on: 05/10/2012
This show is spectacular. Very creative and colorful costumes, clever dancing and overall a delightful performance. I really felt like I was transported to aftrican landscapes. The plot we all know, but it was done very well.. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“01/09/2012”
Written on: 02/09/2012 by Jandy111 (1 review written)
I have just watched the lion ling at bristol and having seen many shows this is the worst. Costumes looked very poor and the singing even poorer I nearly fell asleep it was boring. Having paid £75 for this show I felt very dissapointed. (read more)
★★★★★
“Amazing, awsome, magnificent!!!!”
Written on: 29/06/2012 by BasilBuster
We saw this production on 27th June 2012 as a class because our topic in school was Africa. We all enjoyed the show and thought it was the best musical ever! The opening scene was one of the best bits because the character Rafiki's singing was sensational and so powerful. We loved seeing all the animals walk through the audience to get on stage, especially the elephant and the giraffes as the costumes were stunning and very colourful. Some of our favourite characters included Rafiki, Zazu,... (read more)
★★★★★
“Lion King on Broadway was Fantastic”
Written on: 16/06/2012 by medman79 (2 reviews written)
My date surprised me with tickets to a broadway show, The Lion King. I had seen the Disney version years ago but the musical was even better. I may even let my date "surprise" me again if it goes this well. (read more)
★★★★★
“BRILLIANT!!!”
Written on: 19/05/2012
I went to see The Lion King a while back and it was absolutely Amazing! The Puppetry was brilliant and the singing, dancing and acting was equally as good. I would recommend everyone that loves musicals and The Lion King to go and see this. Although the seats that I had had a restricted view, I still managed to enjoy it greatly. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“What a disappointment”
Written on: 04/09/2011 by Bigbirdlarry (1 review written)
Having been lucky enough to see five different West End productions (Jersey Boys, Les Miserables, Wicked, Billy Elliot) over the past year, the Lion King stood out for being way below the others in terms of the standard of the performances and for the behaviour of the audience. The actors seemed bored and although the costumes were lovely, the singing was not. There was so little energy and enthusiasm in this production, compared with all the other shows. The behaviour of some members of... (read more)
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Showing 1 - 10 of 84 Reviews
★★★★★
“Very Enjoyable ”
Written on: 31/08/2011 by jjulaa (5 reviews written)
I have seen this musical a few times and have enjoyed it on each occasion! The effects and stagecraft are wonderful and I would recommend people to go and see it! I have seen many musicals and this is one of my favourites! :) (read more)
★★★★★
“its a great production ”
Written on: 09/05/2011
its a great production
you should see it for yourself
great music, great teqnoligy
and coustumes
GO TODAY!!!!!!
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“There seem to be more bad reviews than good reviews....”
Written on: 06/05/2011
There seem to be more bad reviews than good reviews. To be honest, I am not really surprised. This seemed very cheap and amateurish. With the exception of a few good costumes and animals, I thought this show was a complete let-down. What have the critics been watching?? Seriously??
This is only going to disappoint nostalgic theatre. I hated the singing (except adult Nala, she was good, she practically saved the show) the puppets were annoying, the music was slow at times and off-pitch.
I...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“We were extremley disappointed with this production. ...”
Written on: 02/05/2011 by radioroyfromBarrieOntario (1 review written)
We were extremley disappointed with this production. We have seen the Lion King when it first came out a couple of years ago. The costumes and the lack of performers were NOT up to par. The costumes were old and some of them looked like they could come from the set of Poke-A-Roo. Would NOT recommend this production.
Extremly DISAPPOINTED!
kd of Barrie, Ontario
(read more)
★★★★★
“I have ordered tickets for different broadways and...”
Written on: 19/04/2011 by pronak (4 reviews written)
I have ordered tickets for different broadways and concerts from onthebroadway.com many times and every time I got good feedback. The customer service of this company is very helping. This company always offers lion king tickets on discounted rates and what we need. There are no any hidden charges and if any mistake happens they change the lion king tickets without charging extra fees. I want to say that everyone should order tickets from onthebroadway, no one else can provide better... (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I saw this and at first it was good but then it got...”
Written on: 11/04/2011
I saw this and at first it was good but then it got really boring and I very nearly fell asleep during it and I was watching it at 2Pm. I would not recommend it as it did not make the sad situation seem sad. I liked all the animals but it did get boring. (read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“Having seen this show twice before I was confident...”
Written on: 08/04/2011
Having seen this show twice before I was confident that taking 20 students to London to see Disney's The Lion King would be a fantastic experience of the best the West End has to offer.
I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG.
The beautiful sets, costumes, choreography and music have been completely ruined by THE WORST performances I have had the misfortune to pay money to see.
Singing: lacklustre and often out of tune.
Dancing: lacked accuracy and timing.
Acting: PANTOMIME
Sound: dynamic varied...
(read more)
★★☆☆☆
“The worst Lion King I have ever seen. ”
Written on: 25/03/2011
The worst Lion King I have ever seen.
I have seen the Lion King 3 times in other countries, for example New York broadway.
This musical has been my favorite one, so I was so excited to watch again in THE Westend.
However, I got so disappointed by acting and singing especially young and old Simba and Nala, the main characters.
They didn't have a power to sing, couldn't hear the lyrics, off pitches sometimes especially lower keys, sooooo messy.
But still, costumes and stage design was nice to...
(read more)
★★☆☆☆
“costumes very good simba pumba pretty good...”
Written on: 10/03/2011
costumes very good simba pumba pretty good characters played well
audio poorly managed singing from poor to average dificult to pick out any good singing. the show is charismatic set and costumes amazing and lighting and artwork excelent. pitty about the acting and singing.
cost driven by demand so cant complain, over rated
(read more)
★★★☆☆
“This musical was good, however I was a little...”
Written on: 17/02/2011
This musical was good, however I was a little disappointed in it after seeing Wicked (which was amazing). The set and costumes were really good as well as the opening scene, but that's about it. The singing and acting were lackluster, average at best, and I got bored towards the end. The final scene (the one that is supposed to blow you away) was convoluted and summed up my overall experience of the Lion King musical - meh. (read more)
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Showing 11 - 20 of 84 Reviews
★★★★★
“WOW!!! What an fantastic show. From the moment the...”
Written on: 19/01/2011
WOW!!! What an fantastic show. From the moment the Rafiki starts singing, to the curtains close for the final time, my wife and I were glued to the stage. We both actually cried at the opened sequence because it was so beautiful performed and the costumes. Who would have thought that The Lion King could be turned into a stage show still amazes me. Who would have thought that the stage show would be so beautiful, colourful, funny and moving. If you havn't seen it then go, if you have... (read more)
★★☆☆☆
“Costumes good and animals impressive but having heard...”
Written on: 25/11/2010
Costumes good and animals impressive but having heard most of the songs from Elton the singing for me was disappointing. Apart from Simba it seemed everyone was screaming their head off at least that was how it came across to me in the Royal Circle.
I think children would enjoy it and find the hyenas, the warthog and meerkat who did a reasonable version of Hakuna mutata very amusing. The best bit for me were the 2 drummers.
I guess it is a difficult story to portray on stage and I just...
(read more)
★★★★★
“Absolutely astonished! What a great show from start to...”
Written on: 21/11/2010
Absolutely astonished! What a great show from start to finish, with just about the right amount of singing in it...Very african-centric! Props were amazing.....Go watch it! (read more)
★★★★★
“Absolutely brilliant, we, as a family thouroghly...”
Written on: 19/11/2010
Absolutely brilliant, we, as a family thouroghly enjoyed this performance of the Lyceum. We had it recommended by a friend and the performance exceeded our expectations! We wwould now recommend it to everyone we know, the costumes were great, the choreography was excellent, the singing and dancing was brilliant. (read more)
★★★☆☆
“The staging is amazing. The concept is fabulous. ”
Written on: 07/11/2010
The staging is amazing. The concept is fabulous.
Just love the music. I have seen it twice,and both times felt it has been let down by the young actors who were very " cute" but could just about sing adequately. That disappointed me because otherwise i enjoyed mostly everything.
(read more)
★★★★★
“Superb! Superb! Superb! The costumes were amazing....”
Written on: 01/11/2010
Superb! Superb! Superb! The costumes were amazing. Some songs were haunting, some songs were funny, all songs were terrific. I could not fault the performance in any way. Recommended a friend to see it, and they recently went to London especially. They, too, loved it. I would happily see it again. (read more)
★★☆☆☆
“I'm not sure what other people were watching. It was...”
Written on: 29/10/2010
I'm not sure what other people were watching. It was 'OK'. The first 10 minutes were great as were some of the scenes, dance and songs. Everything in between was awful. The acting was really poor. At times it felt like the school play mixed with Panto. I was very disappointed. I didn't feel any of the leading actors had the presence or charisma to carry it off. Next time I spend this sort of money, I'll investigate more thoroughly. Very over hyped. My kids should have been buzzing coming out... (read more)
★★★★★
“To start off I just want to say a huge thank you to...”
Written on: 06/10/2010 by ChrisKelli (1 review written)
To start off I just want to say a huge thank you to all of the negative reviews on this website (and others)! You made our night so much better!!!
I booked top price tickets in the Royal Circle (seats F 3+4) as a surprise for my wife, and after booking them I thought I'd have a quick read of some reviews of the show... initially I thought I'd made a massive mistake booking the tickets and that it'd be a huge dissapointment.
So anyway I went to the theatre expecting nothing but a poor...
(read more)
★★★★★
“A breathtaking experience - beautiful colours, very...”
Written on: 15/09/2010
A breathtaking experience - beautiful colours, very evocative of Africa as a nation and the beauty and range of it's creatures.
I was so very impressed by the little Nala, vibrant and lively; when she sang under the tree it took my breath away! I believe she was the little elephant too - very cute!
I also loved the interaction between the little and big Nalas at the end of the show - they clearly enjoy working together and take pleasure in sharing the stage.
Big Nala was lovely to...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I don't know what to say. This is THE most overrated...”
Written on: 14/09/2010
I don't know what to say. This is THE most overrated show ever. I was absolutely stunned, in disappointment when I found out what a rip off this show was and I had such high expectations because of all the reviews I heard. The critics must have watched a completely different show. I have no idea how this lasted.
I'm not at all surprised at the bad reviews on here. It is one of the most awful shows I have ever seen. Very boring, very reptitive, music was slow, too many puppets, people...
(read more)
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Showing 21 - 30 of 84 Reviews
★★★★★
“WARNING!: CONTAINS SPOILERS! ”
Written on: 13/08/2010 by IconicChipmunk (3 reviews written)
WARNING!: CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Bit of Background:
Ive been a fan of musicals ever since a young age and "The Lion King" is one that i have wanted to see for quite some time since i saw an advertisement in a local paper. I've never been to London before and ive also wanted to go there becuase of all the theatres and the general atmosphere that London has to offer. So i went down to London with my mom for a day and a bit since it was part of a package deal with, train tickets from Birmingham...
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“After the initial flurry the show turned slow and...”
Written on: 10/08/2010
After the initial flurry the show turned slow and repetitive with some of the actors controlling the characters being overly distracting. The visual drama and songs may keep children and Disney fanatics entertained however the story itself is weak and therefore I feel this show may not appeal to too many adults. Having said that my wife who is a huge Disney fan loved the show. (read more)
★★★★☆
“I thought The Lion King was pretty good. Having never...”
Written on: 19/07/2010
I thought The Lion King was pretty good. Having never seen the film, and with no real idea of what it was about, I went with an open mind and few expectations. I was part of a family group ranging in age from 5 to 70 and I think we all came away having enjoyed it in our different ways.
I have seen a lot of theatre in the past 40 years and this one ticked most of my boxes. The design, set & costumes were great, the puppetry was unique, the african themed music & singing was like nothing...
(read more)
★★★★☆
“I watched the show on July 15th at 1930. ”
Written on: 16/07/2010
I watched the show on July 15th at 1930.
Everything was fantastic except the actor who played Simba. Although he was a good dancer and singer, his acting was really disappointing. His acting was awkward and bland. Most importantly, he failed to portray Simba as a whole.
I was on the first roll and he was sweating abnormally as if he was going to faint and seemed really exhausted from all the dancing/singing/acting. There was no power or passion in him, and I was extremely disappointed and...
(read more)
★★★☆☆
“The lion king was good but not spectacular. I left...”
Written on: 14/07/2010
The lion king was good but not spectacular. I left feeling good but not as blown away as other musicals aka wiked. We had seats AA 4,5,6. They were not the best seats but the cheapest. We sat on our own at the side under a private box. It was difficult to see the stage as our seats were limited view. The seat at the end had the best view. We had to lean forward and rest on the little wall in front of us to get the best view. Also the stage goes quite far back. We missed alot of the scenes... (read more)
★★★★★
“I thought it was amazing and well worthwhile the...”
Written on: 20/05/2010
I thought it was amazing and well worthwhile the costumes were fantastic i espicially like rafikis the vocals were brilliant and 'he lives in you' was an excellently written song the opening scene was breath-taking and i would really want to see it again. My family and i thought it was one of the best things we did in london. i would highly recomend it ot anyone. we thought it was os good we bought the program t-shirts and the music book oh also the soundtrack. I hope you are not put off by... (read more)
★★★★★
“We saw it on May 1, and it was great. ”
Written on: 07/05/2010
We saw it on May 1, and it was great.
They all were very good singers, and we loved it from the beginning till the end.
Simba was also very good.
I think when i reed the comments that we 've had a good evening.
(read more)
★☆☆☆☆
“I had been told by friends that this was a must-see...”
Written on: 25/04/2010
I had been told by friends that this was a must-see musical but I would not pass on that recommendation.The first scene was spectacular and thrilling but that is where it ended. Very repetitive scenes. Some poor vocals. Muddled effects and storyline particularly the finale which was utterly confusing and too busy. Actors controlling their characters were distracting. Poor stagecraft with lots of focus pulling, so the audience didn't know where to look. It was style and hype over content and... (read more)
★★★★★
“Lion king is a spectacular show! Ive seen it twice,...”
Written on: 10/04/2010
Lion king is a spectacular show! Ive seen it twice, and loved it both times, Rafiki was excellent, and had the strongest voice in the show! The set was brilliant, as were the costumes. The only bad point, was that both times i saw the show, i really disliked the boys playing young simba. They COULD NOT act and were irritating. However, he is only in half of it, and they were both good singers, so i dont think it detracted from the show! (read more)
★★☆☆☆
“After a promising start, i soon lost interest and all...”
Written on: 14/02/2010
After a promising start, i soon lost interest and all hope as i felt it was very repetitive. At one point there was too much going on which may have captivated some people, but i was bored. I was not interested in the poor choreographed routines and with some of the characters/actors. Some of the timing felt misplaced and didn't work with the dialogue,set,music,dancing, comedy and audience interaction. Some of the costumes were very badly rushed (like the lionesses who looked like ghosts... (read more)
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Showing 31 - 40 of 84 Reviews
★★★★★
“Breathtaking and each actor/actress put their all into...”
Written on: 03/02/2010
Breathtaking and each actor/actress put their all into it. The scenery was stunning as were the wonderful animal costumes. I have been to lots of West End musicals and this has to be the best! Hope to go again soon as there was so much to look at that I'm sure I must have missed some things!Don't sit behind the conductor; you will struggle to see unless you are a few rows back. (read more)
★★★★★
“I have seen it for the second time - once in 2004 and...”
Written on: 01/01/2010
I have seen it for the second time - once in 2004 and on New Years Eve 2009!
It was fantastic in 2004 and 2009 - absolutely breathtaking! The cast work so hard in all that they do and are truly inspirational!
I went with my hubby and 2 kids aged 5 and 10 - who all thoroughly enjoyed it! We all want to see it again.
The music is very emotional and if you have a heart, it will encourage emotion!
We went in the Stalls both times - and feel its the best place to be - but make sure you get near...
(read more)
★★★★☆
“We took our 4 year old son to see the Lion King at...”
Written on: 30/12/2009 by ruffus4 (2 reviews written)
We took our 4 year old son to see the Lion King at today's matinee performance. He is a dedicated fan of the Disney animation and he also has the soundtrack from the original Broadway production which he listens to in the car every day - to the point where even I now know all the words! So, the trip was to be a real suprise and expectations were high.
It did not fail to disappoint. I am SHOCKED to see all of the critical reviews on here! "Boring, amateur, repetitive etc"! I think...
(read more)
★★★★☆
“The lion king is absoultey wonderful, as a younger...”
Written on: 30/11/2009
The lion king is absoultey wonderful, as a younger child it was the first musical i had seen and my first Disney movie. When i was young i did not pay much attetion to the visual gestures, formations and dance routines which was very authentic type of dance ,originating from the country Africa aswell as the clothes and the songs, since then i had seen it about two times after, i had listened to the songs unncountable times, but i favored the circle of life at the beginig of the musical ,it... (read more)
★★★☆☆
“I had extremely high hopes before watching the show as...”
Written on: 09/11/2009
I had extremely high hopes before watching the show as when i was a child i had watched the lion king atleast 50 times! i am a huge disney fan, however somehow the lion king musical just didnt meet my expectations from disney.
the opening circle of life for 10 minutes was excellent and breathtaking. mufafsa and rafiki were very strong actors, however i found the child simba boring and dull to watch and listen to. the hyena scenes were unecesarily lenghty and boring and annoying. i was...
(read more)
★★★☆☆
“I had extremely high hopes before watching the show as...”
Written on: 09/11/2009
I had extremely high hopes before watching the show as when i was a child i had watched the lion king atleast 50 times! i am a huge disney fan, however somehow the lion king musical just didnt meet my expectations from disney.
the opening circle of life for 10 minutes was excellent and breathtaking. mufafsa and rafiki were very strong actors, however i found the child simba boring and dull to watch and listen to. the hyena scenes were unecesarily lenghty and boring and annoying. i was...
(read more)
★★★☆☆
“I had extremely high hopes before watching the show as...”
Written on: 09/11/2009
I had extremely high hopes before watching the show as when i was a child i had watched the lion king atleast 50 times! i am a huge disney fan, however somehow the lion king musical just didnt meet my expectations from disney.
the opening circle of life for 10 minutes was excellent and breathtaking. mufafsa and rafiki were very strong actors, however i found the child simba boring and dull to watch and listen to. the hyena scenes were unecesarily lenghty and boring and annoying. i was...
(read more)
★★★★★
“We saw the Lion King on Friday 23rd October 2009. It...”
Written on: 24/10/2009
We saw the Lion King on Friday 23rd October 2009. It was SUPERB!! We loved it! Our Kids loved it! It works on so many levels. We were most looking forward to the characters of Timon and Pumbaa - our kids loved the spin off series that these guys had. We found that the guy playing Timon, Nick Mercer, was excellent, BUT it seemed to us adults that he was jealous whenever Pumbaa, brilliantly played by Keith Bookman, won the heart of the audience. There are certain 'tricks' that can be... (read more)
★★★★★
“Great production! Probably the best I have seen. I...”
Written on: 07/10/2009
Great production! Probably the best I have seen. I would definatly see it again. Its suitable for both adults and children alike. I loved the songs, especially the opening song 'the circle of life' the costumes were breathtaking! Loved it! (read more)
★★★☆☆
“Our review from our trip to the Lion King at the...”
Written on: 14/09/2009 by KandC (2 reviews written)
Our review from our trip to the Lion King at the Lyceum, London:
From the children (boys aged 7 and 9): "Loved it!"
From the parents: "Technically brilliant, emotionally flat, no stand-out songs or performances."
As a visual spectacle the show scored as well as any we've seen. The mechanical inventiveness of the animals was wonderful and the stage sets were equally impressive (our favourite was the Wildebeest stampede). Otherwise the show was disappointing. We talked about it...
(read more)
Harvelly's Response to KandC's Review
Written on: 03/11/2009
so pleased to read some reviews of lion king that sums up exactly how we feel. we were dissapointed the show was good but not great, we were surprised how we felt, but obviously we are not alone. there really was something missing my husband fell asleep and i was just waiting for something breathtaking to happen, emotionally flat is a perfect description of this show.
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Harvelly's Response to KandC's Review
Written on: 03/11/2009
I found this review very helpful because...it described the show and put into words exactly how we feel
Reply to this comment
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Showing 41 - 50 of 84 Reviews
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Juliegriffiths's Response to Jandy111's Review
Written on: 27/09/2012
I saw lion King in Bristol yesterday and it was fantastic, the costumes,scenery, dancing and effects were brilliant and everyone I know who has seen it feels the same.