OC alum captures spotlight with production of Lion King

Phyllis Gorfain, professor of English, remembers her advisee Julie Taymor OC '74 as a student who knew where she was going. Few people would have guessed she was going to direct The Lion King.

Taymor, who has been lauded as the most exciting director in theater today, is currently working as director of Disney's multi-million dollar production of The Lion King. Taymor has brought her understanding of masks, puppets, multiculturalism and the avant-garde to Broadway.

Taymor is slated to speak at Oberlin on Dec. 1. Her appearence has been arranged by Professor of Theater and Dance Roger Copeland.

"She's one of the great visionary directors of the second half of the twentieth century," Copeland said. "She does such exciting things with masks. It's stunning visually."

Taymor used to play at puppetry with her mother. When Taymor was a child, her mother would mimic faces for Taymor to draw. Taymor still employs similar techniques in developing puppets and masks today.

After graduating from Oberlin, where she worked with avant-garde artists Bill Irwin OC '73 and Herbert Blau, Taymor studied puppetry in Indonesia. Her experience there profoundly influenced her later work.

"She makes puppets and masks and performance objects in ways that are fantastical, mythical and magical," Gorfain said. "She creates a sense of not only wonder but a profound new understanding of what it means to be animated."

In her production of The Lion King, which debuted last week, Taymor brings a menagerie of lions, elk and elephants to life. Taymor makes no effort to hide the human hand behind the puppets; the puppeters are clearly visble, animating the endearing jungle beasts. Taymor also employs what Gorfain termed Brechtian techniques-a drought is represented by whisking away a blue scarf.

The Lion King is presented by a largely South African cast, draped in Taymor's globally-influenced designs.

"There's so much sleazy work out there claiming to be multicultural," Copeland said. "Taymor is the true triumph of multiculturalism."

Taymor presented Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex in Tokyo in 1992 to critical acclaim. The actors wore their masks not on their faces but on their heads. The effect was stunning. Others were reduced to mere puppets through the encasing of their hands and heads, which often served to paradoxically heighten charachter depth.

"I think Oberlin students will be inspired by her," Gorfain said. "It's fantastic she's coming here."

Gorfain said although Disney's selection of Taymor struck many as unorthodox, she believes Oberlin students will be impressed by Taymor's use of a large budget to free her imagination.

Others are already impressed. The Lion King is sold out for the next year.

Julie Taymor is speaking on Dec.1 at 4:30 p.m. in King 306. It will be preceded by an informal question and answer session at 1:30 p.m. in Warner.

Taymor: Lion Queen of Broadway (photo by Alice Hirt-Hug)