Visually dazzling, yes, but ‘Lion King’s’ music steals the show

Disney’s “The Lion King” — a rousing, visually stunning Tony Award-winning musical — is often lauded for its elaborate costuming; with more than 230 masks used, and full-body armor that transforms actors into gazelle and zebras the show is, undoubtedly, an unforgettable spectacle.

Tucked away from the fanfare, in the stage’s left corner of the orchestra pit is Kay Ragsdale, a kind, soft-spoken flutist, and one of the original company members of the national tour. She’s warm and inviting, and she lights up when she talks about the Broadway smash and its score.

Ragsdale — an accomplished flutist who played with the Broadway company of “Les Miserables” before joining “The Lion King” — plays 15 flutes throughout the nearly three-hour musical.

Related: SDNN theater critic Pat Launer’s ‘Lion King’ review

After touring eight years with the company, Ragsdale says, still, “Every night is opening night.”

“It’s endlessly fascinating; like a giant puzzle you can never solve,” she says. “I’m juggling 15 instruments at once … I really can’t say I feel any different now than I did the very first night I played this. It’s still the same exciting live performance, and you never know what’s going to happen and also, I really like, actually my favorite character is the audience.”

A lofty goal, she admits, she’d still love to play a “perfect show.”

Ragsdale has played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and with the companies of “Phantom of the Opera” and “Miss Saigon.” Still, she says, “The Lion King” is the greatest part she’s played.

In her space beneath the onstage action, Ragsdale has a television monitor that broadcasts the conductor’s cues, and her 15 instruments within short-arms reach. During the show, she keeps two towels on her lap, and when there is a break in her part, she lines a few of the smaller flutes up on the towels so she can access them quickly.

She has a large, elaborate flute — more than three feet tall — propped against a wall next to her, a vertical stand for two more of her flutes, and two shin-high stands that house four more.

There’s an instrument for each of the main characters, and flutes used at key times throughout the show. For example, Ragsdale plays a particular flute each time there is a life-changing event for young lion cub Simba.

The large wooden flute that emits a low, deep sound is used when the nefarious Scar appears on stage, and a much smaller flute that emits a high, lively sound is used when young Simba appears.

“This is flute toyland … but this is also the end result of decades of study,” says Ragsdale, who graduated with a music education degree from Indiana University, and a flute performance master’s degree from Northwestern. “This is a reward to get to play what I think is probably the finest flute part that has been written and to have so many different flutes. It’s endlessly fascinating, and I couldn’t be happier. I so appreciate the authenticity throughout the show.”

The instruments tend to be finicky changing with the climate and temperature, but that challenges Ragsdale, and keeps her constantly engaged in her craft. So, too, does the cultural aspect of the music.

With flutes from South Africa, India and China, and countries in Europe and South America, special attention is paid to what the flute symbolizes in different cultures. In some cultures, the flute’s music represents the resurrection of life, Ragsdale says. The diverse cast of actors also talks with Ragsdale about the instrument’s role in their ancestry.

That’s what make’s the show’s music so fascinating, Ragsdale says. And, while the visual elements of “The Lion King” may be burned into audience members’ brains, it’s the music, she says, that stays with them forever.

“I think the music is the show; that’s the part people take home with them,” Ragsdale said. “(Audience members) dazzled by the visual part of it; it’s a really, truly beautiful show, but you can take home with you the music.”

Joseph Peña is SDNN lifestyles editor. Email him at Joseph.Peña(at)SDNN.com.

Tags: Broadway San Diego, Chicago Symphony, Kay Ragsdale Flutist, Les Miserables, Lion King music, Lion King musical, Miss Saigon, National Orchestra in Shanghai, San Diego Civic Theatre, SDNN, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, The Lion King, The Lion King on Broadway, The Lion King San Diego

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