For Broadway's Lion King cubs, work is play - Young Dancer - Jeremy Maleek Leggett and Anny Jules - Brief Article

Dance Magazine, Dec, 2001 by Karyn D. Collins

SOME CHILDREN HAVE dance class or play soccer after school. If you're a child performing in a Broadway show, though, after-school time means heading directly to the theater. While other kids are doing homework or watching television, Broadway kids are getting into makeup and costumes and waiting for that voice over the backstage loudspeakers that says, "Places for Act One." [] Backstage at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre, that announcement means 10-year-old Jeremy Maleek Leggett and 11-year-old Anny Jules are about to go to work. They may look small compared to the rest of the cast, but they carry big responsibilities, staying onstage for almost the entire first half of the two-hour-and-forty-minute show.

"We all depend on these children. I depend on the Simbas. I need them to be there, to be focused. The focus of the child I'm working with really affects how my own performance goes," said Samuel Wright, who plays Simba's father, Mufasa. "If the child isn't in the moment, then I can't be there either. So I look forward to staring into their eyes and having them stare back with that wonder that is supposed to be Little Simba."

Disney's Broadway production of The Lion King is a live version of the animated film of the same name. Like the film, the Broadway show follows the journey of the young lion Simba from birth, showing his loving relationship with his father, Mufasa, then Simba's self-imposed exile after Mufasa's death before returning home, and his fight to regain power over his animal kingdom. This story of maturity and responsibility comes full circle.

The Lion King, which has been playing to sellout houses since November 1997, won the 1998 Tony Award for Best Musical. If the children who play Young Simba and his friend Young Nala carry a lot of responsibility, they say the fun parts of doing the show make the hard parts all worthwhile. "It's a lot of fun. I mean, it's work but it's fun, too. I've always liked to sing and dance," said Jules, who lives in Queens, New York.

"The fun parts? Everything. We get to ride [prop] ostriches. We're singing and dancing," said Leggett, who lives just outside New York City in suburban Rochester County. "The work is you have to be focused, know where you're supposed to be."

Despite their professionalism, Wright points out that he's well aware his young costars are, after all, still children--full of energy and moments of mischief, too. "They are children--wonderful, talented, special children. But they are still children and sometimes you have to peel them off the ceiling and bring them back to what we're doing," he said. "But I know that some of what you see backstage is just a release valve for the concentration and control they have to have onstage. The wonderful thing is they're so eager to do what is right and continue the pride of the role that you don't have to say much. A word or two and it brings them right back."

DURING THE EIGHTY MINUTES THAT they're onstage, the Young Simbas and Young Nalas do everything--sing, dance (from hip-hop to West African), and even a bit of wrestling. (Nala always wins.) Leggett and Jules agreed the highlight for them is "I Just Can't Wait to Be King," where they not only sing and dance but ride the huge, colorful ostriches that spin around on wheels. The two also join forces in the song "Chow Down," where they fight off a pack of evil hyenas ruled by Simba's wicked uncle, Scar.

As with all of the production numbers in The Lion King, these two numbers are more than your usual song and dance thanks to director Julie Taymor's innovative use of puppetry, masks, and the scenery itself. In "Chow Down," the two are chased around a staircase that parts and revolves mid-chase.

And Jules actually begins the show in the procession of animals that troops down the aisle and up onto the stage as the show opens with "Circle of Life." As the baby elephant (a role she plays in addition to Nala), Jules follows a full-sized "elephant," lifting the legs of her costume to maneuver steps leading up onto the stage. "I kept tripping in rehearsal. I don't usually have a problem now, but I fell on my knee today. I just got up really quickly," Jules said.

"You can't worry about it," Leggett added. "If you make a mistake, you just keep going. Some days are better than others."

Ruthlyn Salomons, the show's resident dance supervisor, said that's one of the many pieces of advice she and others who work behind the scenes try to impress upon the young performers they prepare for the show. "It's a big responsibility for both of them, and we really only have a short amount of time to work with them," she said. "It's not just a matter of them learning a couple of songs. There's music, movement, the props; scenery is constantly moving. Young Nala has to dance with the lionesses and really be a part of them. They have to constantly be in character. They're a big part of the show."

Salomons said children are initially selected to attend special workshops to work on singing, speaking, and dancing technique. After passing through a final round of auditions, children have four weeks of intense rehearsals (five days a week, all day long) before they're put into the show. The expectation that children this age are likely to undergo quick growth spurts and voice changes means the children's contracts run for only six months. The ideal height for the children is about 4' 8" tall; maximum height is 4' 10". New pairs of Young Simbas and Young Nalas are always being prepped to step in, hoping they get their chance to take the stage before they outgrow the role.