{"id":1424,"date":"2014-06-21T17:45:26","date_gmt":"2014-06-21T17:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lionkingbroadwayticketsonline.com\/blog\/?p=1424"},"modified":"2014-06-21T17:49:42","modified_gmt":"2014-06-21T17:49:42","slug":"lion-kings-puppet-supervisor-michael-reilly-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.lionkingbroadwayticketsonline.com\/blog\/lion-kings-puppet-supervisor-michael-reilly-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Lion King’s Puppet supervisor, Michael Reilly Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lion King musical is all set and is currently performing at Kennedy Center Opera House<\/a> in Washington, DC<\/a> from June 17 to August 17, 2014.<\/p>\n

\"Lion<\/a>

Lion King Puppet supervisor – Michael Reilly<\/p><\/div>\n

Know all about the Lion King’s Puppet supervisor, Michael Reilly – by KRISTEN PAGE.<\/p>\n

\u201cI prefer puppet master. It sounds better,\u201d says the man who manages the menagerie of puppets that make \u201cDisney\u2019s The Lion King\u201d the visual spectacular that it is.<\/p>\n

The musical, based on Disney\u2019s 1994 animated smash, is not the largest production Reilly\u2019s been a part of (he was the \u201csword and armor guy\u201d for a production of \u201cThe Lord of the Rings\u201d that opened in Toronto in 2006) but the touring company of \u201cThe Lion King\u201d (at the Kennedy Center through Aug.\u200817) certainly keeps him busy, even without any ringwraiths.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have so many different kinds of puppets. We have body puppets, shadow puppets, hand puppets,\u201d he says. \u201cEach one is unique unto itself and each one can find a different way to break.\u201d
\nReilly and his team spend each show waiting for the puppet equivalent of 911; when the call comes over the radio, they rush in like ER docs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a tool belt of knickknacks, all kinds of collars and fittings and keys and all kinds of things,\u201d Reilly says. \u201cIt all depends on who breaks; we generally have an idea of what broke once they tell us which puppet is broken. If a hyena breaks, often it\u2019ll be a string; if it\u2019s Pumbaa, it\u2019ll be a zip tie.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest problem \u2014 literally \u2014 is often the 6-foot-tall African elephant, which requires four cast members to operate. \u201cWhen she breaks, it\u2019s pretty massive,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

So far Reilly and his team have a 100 percent success rate when it comes to resurrecting their patients.
\n\u201cI\u2019m happy to say no puppet has stopped the show,\u201d he says. \u201cI probably shouldn\u2019t have said that. I maybe just jinxed it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Buy Lion King Kennedy Center Opera House Tickets Online<\/a>!<\/p>\n

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