And that's not fun. The early stages, too, required them to learn how to get into and out of their trappings from atop ladders. Pretty much, if you include or forgive the occasional tangling of Phillip's headdress from among the various set pieces and lighting instruments that share his air space. The contorted face, eyes squinting, makes it apparent that the straining is not worth the effort. Eddison, for his part, laughs when he reveals that he has fallen twice.
Dancers live to dance, a truism that gives the lie to anyone arguing otherwise.
In the course of the song, he is flown in on wires and he executes a series of aerial rotations. Although he is getting ready to begin understudy rehearsals, Phillip would be happier to dance more than the show permits. Bill Perry and Jason Lee Jackson play two of the three principal hyenas, roles that demand extraordinary physical commitment, discipline and stamina. While the giraffes move as if in slow motion, the hyenas whirl, leap, scuttle and roll with manic ferocity. They also speak, some more than others, and unlike the giraffes, they are more than mere visuals.