Last weekend’s Junior High Drama Club performance of “The Lion King Jr.” was an audio and visual treat that was certainly one of the best school musical productions we have seen in recent years — and we heard multitudinous audience members say the same thing after each performance. The sets, props and costumes were fantastic, and the opening and closing “Circle of Life” scenes, as well as the “He Lives in You” scene were so well done as to give goosebumps.
When watching a musical based on such a popular and ubiquitous movie as “The Lion King,” it is impossible not to compare the two in one’s head, and the drama club’s performance stood toe-to-toe with the classic movie. While the entire cast gave outstanding performances, Bella Wendell as Rafiki, Sam Denton as young Simba and Nova Berger as Timon really shined — they made us forget this was a middle school performance and transported us right into the scenes they stole. Carter Williams, sporting a wonderfully evil accent, also did a noteworthy job as the villain, Scar.
Directors Lindsay Buress, Maggie Dougherty and Todd MacReery also must be commended for creating such a colorful and complex production that enraptured every audience member for three performances.
There is so much talent in the youth of Cazenovia — and the recent slate of athletic sectional and regional team champions is included in this — that we are constantly amazed at what our children can do. We are eager, as most everyone probably is, to see what treats the high school drama club has in store for us with their spring performance.
