Lion king birmingham

Disney’s "The Lion King" is the world’s number one musical, and bringing the story to life on stage is no easy task.

More than 200 puppets are used in the production, and Michael Reilly, the puppet supervisor for the North American touring production of "The Lion King," is in charge of making sure all of the pieces are properly used and cared for.

“We don't hire the puppeteers,” said Reilly. “We hire the actors and teach them to be puppeteers.”

For example, Reilly teaches the cast members who play the giraffes how to walk on stilts.

Lion king musical cast

That costume is also made up of a two-pound, four-foot-tall headpiece that the actors wear.

“They have a costume and then stilts,” said Reilly. “The actors are all in three-and-a-half-foot stilts, so they're 12 feet tall.”

The masks for characters like Mufasa, Simba, Nala and Scar are worn on top of the actor’s head.

“The actor is seen all throughout the show,” said Reilly. “So you’ve got that kind of duality.”

Other puppets, like Zazu, are not wor

lion puppet show

lion puppet