Las Vegas Weekly

May 15, 2009 · 3:33 PM

TLK Interviews: Buyi Zama and Clifton Oliver; hit musical premieres

By Robin Leach

The Lion King at Mandalay Bay.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

We’re now just hours away from curtain up of the glittering Las Vegas premiere of The Lion King at Mandalay Bay, and we have our final two cast interviews with Buyi Zama (Rafiki) and Clifton Oliver (Simba).

I asked both of them separately to try and explain the magic of the amazing, award-winning Disney show. Here are our conversations:

Robin Leach: What is the magic from inside the show as an actress?

Buyi Zama: I ask myself that question often, actually. You know, I think what it is, it’s about home: The whole thing is Africa, and I’m from there. Most of the feelings, the sensations, the experiences, the drums, it just sounds like home.

RL: Home for you, but why is it also home for us?

BZ: Because everyone is all from there, the drums are from there, they’re calling, and we all hear it.

RL: There are nine of you from South Africa, and we think of Las Vegas as a wonderful community. Have you been surprised since you’ve been living here to find out what Vegas is really all about?

BZ: Yes, in a very good way. Almost everyone I’ve run into, and spoken to, seems to be very, very nice. I don’t know why, but I thought for some reason, I guess it’s from TV, they just show people want to come here and have fun, and they don’t really care about what happens to other people. But there are people who live here, and they love life just like everyone else does. That’s been great.

RL: You’ve been in The Lion King in Australia, the South Africa production and the national tour, as well?

BZ: Yes, I have. When I was young, my dream was to travel. It wasn’t singing; it was to see the world. I feel like, somehow, I’m living my dream through The Lion King because it’s allowed me to see all these places and to actually live there and work there, and live among all these people. I’ve been able to sing and dance my way around the world to fulfill my dream. I did London; I did Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. I did Shanghai, and then I did the national tour here in America. I did South Africa, and then I did Taipei.

RL: This is your eighth company production! You’ve fulfilled your dream.

BZ: I have. Even in Shanghai and Taipei, I performed them in English, nothing changed. It was exactly the same. It was interesting. The people will laugh at things we don’t think is really that funny, so it was a bit odd. Zaszu in Taipei was singing a Chinese song, and I also said for my monologue, in English, I say, “Do you understand better if I put a click in it?” In Shanghai, I had to say it in Mandarin. It’s good to be in Las Vegas because I don’t have to change anything. I’ve only done the show in English.

RL: So when you write back home, and you tell them you’re here in Las Vegas, what do they think of you? Were you like the kid who got out, or do they think of you as a strange person being a gypsy around the world?

BZ: I don’t really know what they think; I think they just think I’m away. They think I could just be in Johannesburg. I come from Durban in South Africa, so I email home and tell them that it’s pretty different, that people don’t really go to sleep here, they’re like, “wow, really?” My mom never gets over the fact that I don’t go to sleep until 2 a.m. because I have to wind down after the show. She thinks I should be in bed by 9 p.m. She won’t be here for our premiere, but she will come probably toward the end of the year. I don’t think she could stand this heat. It will be too hot for her right now; she’ll come later on, though. But whenever I call her, she asks what time it is here. I tell her it’s one in the morning, she says, “what are you doing up?” Talking to you!

RL: The Lion King has been a success all over the world. Speaking as a South Africa cast member, will it be a success in Vegas?

BZ: Of course it will be.

Then I sat with Clifton at the audio computer and asked again about the secret of The Lion King.

RL: From an actor’s viewpoint, what is the magic of this show that gets you up every night and perform at your best?

Clifton Oliver: I personally think it’s the heart of the story, and not only the heart of the story, but Africans and African Americans, like myself, are able to tell such a beautiful story, and in such a beautiful way. It was a Disney cartoon, and it became a stage version of a cartoon, and that has never happened this way before. I think to be on stage and just being a part of it, is what really makes me want to get up there and do it the way I do it. It is an amazing message. Whenever you feel lost, confused and empty, always go back to yourself and try to figure out what it is, and, generally, it’s going home.

RL: Why will it work here in Las Vegas?

CO: It’s not a circus, it’s not tigers, it’s not a bunch of dancers, and it’s actually a story that means something. It’s beautiful, it’s different, it’s bold, and it’s unique.

RL: Why is it that everyone leaves here having cried in the opening act and yet feeling great at the very end?

CO: First of all, the music. Elton John wrote a wonderful song, genius song, and just to see something like this, the puppets, the faces of the actors, the bodies of the actors, the way they move, the way they sing, the voices, the sound, just everything together is a unique experience, and I think that people are just touched inside.

RL: When then Disney head Mike Eisner told Tom Schumacher to take a cartoon and turn it into a piece of theater, everybody said, you’re crazy. How was it perceived, and how was it turned into what we see now?

CO: Thomas was very persistent. He knew it could go on stage, and he was smart enough to say that Julie Taymor should be the person to do this. She is a genius, she has an eye like a hawk, she can see every detail, and she knows exactly what she wants. The puppets, the costumes, the choreographer, everything together were just right.

RL: Do you enjoy telling this story every night?

CO: I can’t even begin to tell you. This is my fourth production. I have been in the New York and Los Angeles casts and the second national tour. It’s a role of a lifetime, and it’s a story I can relate to. I went though a period of time not having a father and just my mom raising me, being confused and not knowing what I wanted in life. And to do that on stage, and to be able to tell people that at the end of the day, if you feel lost, go home, just that story, I love to tell it.

RL: Do you make a prediction as to how Vegas will react to it?

CO: Yeah, so far the audiences love it. I think it’s going to be here longer than Mamma Mia!, which was here for six years. I think it will be here until they say, “you guys have to go.” That’s the kind of response we’ve had from the preview audiences. Not only that, but when I’m at the gym running on the treadmill, I have people come up to me, and they’re, like, “dude, you’re in The Lion King, you’re Simba, right? It’s the most amazing thing we’ve seen.” You know, you go to Cirque, it’s beautiful, but this, words can’t describe it. It’s a feeling, exactly! And the drums take you there, too.

RL: So has all the cast now settled into Vegas?

CO: We haven’t completely had a chance to enjoy it because we’re here in the theater all the time, but after opening night, we’ll be able to really enjoy it. This Friday, I’m so excited. I got my suit, purple Ralph Lauren, for the opening party. I can’t wait!

Director Julie Taymor took a break from overseeing the last-minute preparations of her TLK premiere and watched The Beatles Love by Cirque du Soleil at The Mirage last night with composer Elliot Goldenthal. The two snacked on popcorn and talked about their work together on the film Across the Universe while waiting for Love to begin.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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