Lions and hyenas and gazelles...

So, a few weeks back I took my youngest to see the Broadway production of The Lion King. I had taken my oldest when she was young, and we loved it.

It's such a beautiful production. The costumes and choreography are truly stunning. The music is amazing too.

If you've never seen it, here are some photos I lifted from The Lion King Facebook page.

Incredible, right?

And although many of you won't have time to check this out, the video below gives life to these photos, and takes you back stage:
http://www.cbs8.com/clip/12710422/the-lion-king-the-circle-of-life-returns-to-san-diego

Incredibly, we were able to go backstage post-show too.  My awesome boyfriend has a friend that was with the production in New York for a few years. She jumped back on for the San Diego shows, and luckily for us, her first show was the very show we all went to.

She lead us around backstage, introducing us to cast members and pointing out all the various costumes. There are so big and so many in number that some have to be suspended from the ceiling. It was a sight to behold.

See all those gazelle head pieces behind us? Cool, right?

Oh, and who is this joining us here in this photo? Yes, young Simba!  He was so polite and friendly, as was his mom -- such a treat. (Please ignore my girl and her weird faces. I'm not sure what her problem is!)

It was really something special. I have no doubt that I'll go back to see The Lion King nest time around. Anything that makes me cry with its beauty is worth repeating.

For my boyfriend, the show lives on. So far during the production's stay in San Diego he's treated grown Nala, a hyena, the company dance instructor, and a few gazelles. And even given a surf lesson to one of the gazelles.

We'll miss them when they're gone!