On December 9th 2015 the British Primary School held their annual Christmas production. This year’s performance was an adaptation of ‘The Lion King’, the Broadway musical. It is Broadway’s third longest-running show in history and the highest grossing Broadway production of all time. However, the B.I.S Primary School version was showing for one night only.
The Lion King is a musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice. The BIS version featured songs by Jazmine Sullivan, Charlie Smalls, Katy Perry and Pharell Williams.
The production took place in Theatre 78. The 380 seat venue was completely filled to capacity with parents who eagerly awaited the lifting of the opening curtain. A table of international food was enjoyed by all our guests while waiting for the show to start.
The students backstage were very nervous in the moments leading up to the start of the show. Ingrid Pantelic (Year 6) almost fainted with excitement just seconds before the production was due to start and had to be revived by Miss Maric.
The Year 6 dance got the show off to a spectacular start and the rendition of the ‘Circle of Life’ theme featured in the programme reminded the audience of an authentic South African choir.
All of the children in the Primary School appeared on stage at least twice wearing superbly designed costumes, many of which were created by Mrs Lungalov. Their roles required them to act, sing or dance in front of the amazing 35m² backdrop which featured a giant elephant and life size giraffe.
Our students worked very hard over a six weeks period of rehearsals to memorize a 36 page script which included 10 songs and 6 dances.
On the night of the show all the hours of time spent remembering our lines were worthwhile because the BIS Primary School children put on an exceptional performance.
Some students in Year 6 mentioned it was an amazing feeling to be on stage and one that they would never forget.
At the end of the show all the children in the Primary School and the teachers entered the stage to dance to the song ‘In the Jungle’. When the song had finished, the cast and all the teachers were given a standing ovation, especially our youngest students who were dressed up as zebras, parrots and monkeys.
Many thanks to all the teachers, parents and pupils who dedicated their time to help make this year’s show a phenomenal success.
What will be the theme of the production next year? You will have to wait and see if we can equal the quality of this amazing 2015 production.
