Lion King Closure Doesn't Make It A Failure

I must respectfully disagree with my colleague and occasional "The Strip" substitute host David McKee's current post seemingly seeking explanations as to why The Lion King is closing at the end of 2011, as if the decision announced Wednesday means it's a failure.

The only yardstick by which the tenure of The Lion King at Mandalay Bay can be judges a loser is by the standard that Vegas shows are supposed to last forever and ever. There are a precious few shows that do that, and TLK's 2.5-year residency here is nothing to scoff at or to autopsy.

Shows do run their course. This one, from everybody I've spoken to internally at MGM Resorts, has actually exceeded expectations and occasionally even set records. They signed it for a year, extended it twice. To me, it seemed risky -- very visual, which Vegas loves, but also very much a children's tale and one with a far-less-known score than Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys or Phantom. It's also really long and has an intermission, which was part of what doomed Avenue Q at Wynn. Yet it outlasted AveQ as well as Spamalot, The Producers and Hairspray. So there.

The other reason why TLK is far less responsible for its departure than other shows is, as McKee also noted, Cirque du Soleil has been waiting in the wings for a place to land its permanent Michael Jackson show. We do know the process here, right? TLK leaves at the end of 2011, Cirque overhauls the theater throughout 2012 (construction jobs, yay!) and the new show bows in 2013, as Cirque CEO Daniel Lamarre told Robin Leach last week.

One other thing. I suspect that Mandalay Bay, which has hosted Chicago, then MM!, then TLK, may no longer feel that the theater needs to be a Broadway stage given that in 2012, the Smith Center For The Performing Arts opens west of downtown and proper Broadway tours will start passing through annually, starting with Wicked in 2012. And while I still think there's a chance the Cirque-MJ show could land at Monte Carlo, the audience makeup I saw at Jabbawockeez on Saturday night must have MGM hearts dancing.

Anyhow, TLK has done just fine. And don't forget that had we never had it here, we wouldn't have had this:

Elijah Johnson's Vegas Finale

Last night, Elijah Johnson and Ruby Crawford became the first members of "The Lion King" cast to leave since the show premiered at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas earlier this year. Elijah was one of two to play Young Simba and Ruby was one of two to play Young Nala. And, of course, Elijah was the breakout star of "Las Vegas Celebrates The Music of Michael Jackson," the benefit show at the Palms that I co-produced. If you don't remember, here's that YouTube clip:



So here's Elijah and Ruby acknowledging the band as they take final bows:

In both cases, the kids have outgrown their roles. Elijah and his dad, on "The Strip" in September, said the contract dictated he could not grow more than 2 inches!

Elijah is signing a development deal with Gavin Maloof and his family that hopefully will result in grander exposure. He's also been auditioning for a litany of Disney-related TV shows and has had a number of callbacks. I didn't know much about Ruby before yesterday, but she's already been in "The Color Purple" on Broadway and played Jennifer Hudson's little sister in the "Sex and The City" film. So I sense they'll both do well.

They had a potluck party between shows that I attended thanks to Elijah's dad, Carlton.



What's "dirt"? We didn't have that at potlucks on Long Island.

Anyhow, the kids seemed to be in pretty good spirits. Here's one of Ruby and Elijah with the other Young Simba, Dwayne Asante Ervin in the kids' dressing room...


...and one of Elijah in the makeup room...


|...and one of me with Elijah:


Ruby and Elijah's last show was the 4 p.m., which I understand was about 80 percent full. (A friend who accompanied me was able to buy a ticket in the $86 section for half price because he was a local, by the by.)

The rest of the actors had an 8 p.m. performance, too, so the ate in makeup:


That last one's Thom Sesma who plays the evil brother Scar. My second reason for going back to see TLK was to figure out which performer I'd want to bring on to my Las Vegas One segment soon. Sesma seems to fit the bill as he's both an experienced actor (Miss Saigon, "Law and Order") and he's in TLK from beginning to end whereas other major characters' roles are shared as they age.

Of course, being back stage I couldn't resist some fun shots of the goings-on. Here is actress Jade Milan, who also plays Young Nala, getting made up for the 8 p.m. show.



And there were some costumes around, of course...


I wanted to shoot some of the backstage scenery but I was asked not to by the stage manager. Oh well. It's pretty cool to see, though.

I did find it odd that someone had a "congratulations" cookie made for the two actors who had just become unemployed:


Perhaps it was one of those mistakes, like when my sister sent me a birthday fruit basket with the following balloons:

Anyhow, Sunday was actually a busy day for Michael Jackson tribute show alums. My co-producer, Erich Bergen, returned to Vegas to pack up his home as he, of course, left "Jersey Boys" and is in the middle of shooting three episodes of "Gossip Girl." And one of the Frankie Valli actors from "Jersey Boys," Travis Cloer, made a cameo at Zowie Bowie's "Vintage Vegas" show at the Monte Carlo.

But, of course, there was only one more chance to see this...


...and I'm glad I did. I can't wait to see what becomes of both young talents.

The Strip is LIVE tonight w/ELIJAH JOHNSON

Everyone agrees: The breakout star of our Michael Jackson benefit this weekend was "Lion King" star Elijah Johnson, the 11-year-old dynamo who burst on stage and reminded everyone what it was like to fall in love with a young future superstar for the first time. Since the "Today" show aired footage of him doing "Dancing Machine" at the Pearl, the kid has become an overnight sensation.

Tonight, Elijah and his father, Carl, join us in studio for this week's episode of "The Strip." We'll learn where they came from, what it was like for him on stage on Saturday and what happens next for him, given that he's only in Lion King until October. (And yes, that's breaking news. We'll ask why.)

Listen live at 7 p.m. and feed us your questions from the chat room at LVRocks.Com. Or wait until tomorrow night for the podcast version to appear at TheStripPodcast.Com and in the iTunes feed.

One programming note: We'll be doing the interview segment first thing at 7 p.m. PT because Elijah is due at Mandalay Bay for "The Lion King" by 8 p.m. Then we'll take care of the other elements of the show and I'll edit the podcast back into the regular format.

Photo: Denise Truscello, Wire Image