The Tony award-winning musical “The Lion King” is in Montreal for a run at Place des Arts until Sept. 6th. Despite the show’s numerous awards and nearly three-decade run, the team says what’s most impressive is what happens behind the scenes. Behind each step of production is a carefully engineered illusion. Michael Reilly has been helping create that illusion for almost 30 years. As puppet supervisor for The Lion King, he’s responsible for a collection of 200 puppets - from a five-inch mouse to 18-foot-tall giraffes. “One of the main jobs is teaching people how to walk on stilts or how to operate [Zazu], whatever it is. Because we don’t hire puppeteers or stilt walkers, we hire actors, dancers, singers,” Reilly says. Actor David D’Lancy Wilson from Toronto is part of the cast of 49. He’s taking on the iconic role of Mufasa. “It still wows me. It still blows me away. It still intimidates me,” he says. D’Lancy’s role comes with a costume that some might consider an engineering feat. Mufasa’s mask is made of carbon fibre - the same material that’s used to build aircraft. The mask is painted to look like wood, and it weighs just under one pound. “The animals, the colors, the dancing, the costumes. It all comes alive within the first 30 seconds. And this is something that blasts your senses right at the top of the show,” D’Lancy tells CTV. It takes a crew of 85 to execute the show’s 300 costume changes and nearly 600 lighting cues. As assistant stage manager, Karen Parlato helps to oversee the delicate dance. “Every (ensemble member) has their assigned seat. Everybody has a number (...) and all of them have dressers who are local dressers who know their people’s deal, and know how all their costume pieces work,” she explains. The combination of performance and technical spectacle has kept The Lion King going since its 1997 Broadway debut.
