The Lion King & Julie Taymor stuff...
I'm feeling much better today, and I seriously think it's because I did productive things like go to class and go grocery shopping. In 101, we watched this interview with Julie Taymor that was really interesting. She mentioned how Disney really didn't need to do something innovative & creative with the Lion King, becuase it would be a commercial success without it (ie Beauty & the Beast), and yet they chose to have Julie Taymor, an avante-garde theater artist, direct & design the costumes, and really give the musical it's own identity apart from the animated movie. And, it totally paid off, and a lot of people who go to see the Lion King will go for the safety of Disney & knowing the plot, but will also gain something new from it, in seeing a really theatrical piece of theater. And I think that's great. While I don't appreciate the Disney store connected to the New Amsterdam theatre and the other overly-commercial aspects, it is still something truly magical when the show opens and the animals gather, taking up the entire theatre, and looking & moving in new ways. When the showed the clip of the Circle of Life, I totally got teary-eyed. But then again, as we've already established, I'm emotional.