One Actress's Views of The Lion King

On this week's podcast, we have a brief interview with former Mamma Mia! star Carol Linnea Johnson about her band, the Hot Club of Las Vegas. But I also thought this exchange, which is on the audio, is interesting as we continue to debate whether The Lion King, which replaced MM!, is a good Vegas idea.

CLJ: Ultimately, it is a cartoon. People like to say, ‘Well The Lion King is Hamlet.’ And I say, well, you know, a dead father, a vengeful stepfather… but it’s not Hamlet. It’s a cartoon. And it’s beautifully realized but it’s a cartoon. It’ll be interesting to see if it’s able to corner a family market maybe that no other show does.

TheStripPodcast: But it’s not your expectation that it’s going to play to adults necessarily? I mean, it’ll play to adults bringing children, but…

CLJ: Well, they’ll love it. But I doubt really highly that if you’re going to spend $250 on tickets for something and you’re going to take a date, the Lion King might not be your first choice.

TheStripPodcast: Meow!

CLJ: Hey, who knows, maybe it’s hot! Maybe it’s all those gorgeous singers and hot bodies dancing as gazelles might really be the thing. It might be the new hot date ticket!

You can hear the entire 8-minute discussion starting at around minute-marker 59 on this week's episode.