Lion King on Broadway

From Portland to Broadway

I moved to Portland, Oregon in January of 1997 and the following month was introduced to Michael Curry. His company (Michael Curry Design) was in early concepting for the Lion King on Broadway. He hired me to sculpt many of the masks and puppets for the show. It was a magical time. I started with a wildebeest and moved through giraffes to antelopes to cheetahs and more, including a head piece which was inspired by a piece of African art. There was a small creative shop in NYC but the main operation was here in Portland.

“ Julie Taymor and Michael had so much amazing vision and genius on this show... and those years at MCD were like a secondary education as we were creating new tools and techniques”

This was the piece that started it all. An approximately 6 foot tall Wildebeest. You can see how the puppeteers on stage stood behind this and wore 'wooly' pants to complete the effect. In the famous stampede scene, there were 3 sizes of wildebeest that we made and this lended itself to completing a forced perspective of the the approaching herd/stampede.

The Lion King opened that Fall and along the way, besides sculpting many of the original pieces, I also helped with finishing work, painting, mold-making, engineering, welding and testing. As our company grew, I managed the sculpture and mold-making teams and additional projects with Michael that took me around the world.

As I look for images of the show,I am astounded at how many millions of people around the world have seen this production on stage. As of this writing, the show has now been seen by over 100 Million people worldwide, has won over 70 major awards, and has 25 productions currently operation around the world. Julie Taymor and Michael had so much amazing vision and genius on this show and in so many ways those early years at MCD were like a secondary education as we were all creating new techniques, tools and even materials to be able to realize our needs.

Here is an old photo of the giant Mufasa Apparition that I was in the midst of painting before it shipped out to NYC. I sculpted the original out of styrene foam and then we made a mold, cast parts in carbon fiber and then painted it to look like 'wood' which is what you see here and in the stage show. The lighting designers take it to the next level when it appears onstage.

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