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Beyonce: "The Lion King"

Heather Headley grew up in Trinidad--wanting to be Whitney Houston. She attended Northwestern, and when she was cast as the first Nala in Broadway's "The Lion King," she left college and moved to the Upper West Side.

People don't think of Disney musicals as star-making endeavors; the show tends to be more about the sets and the design concept than about one individual performer. But Julie Taymor's "The Lion King" *did* make a star; it made Heather Headley. Elton John became so smitten with Headley, he wrote a show specifically for her, "Aida"--and that show won Headley her Tony Award.

I've quoted Ben Brantley before, I'll quote him again: "Ms. Headley is splendid. She not only has what is called It--that ineffable, sensual glow--but a voice of stunning emotional variety and conviction. Anytime she sings, the show springs into vital life."

The current unnecessary remake of "The Lion King" is getting terrible reviews, and I suspect it's partly because the director ignored Heather Headley. One person should be playing Nala, and it's not Beyonce. Unlike Beyonce, Heather Headley is an actor. Headley also has a better voice.

To manage my frustration about the Beyonce miscasting, I will spend my day listening to Headley's latest great achievement: "Broadway My Way." This is an album of barn-burning Broadway anthems, and I would draw your attention to "My House," "For Good," "She Used to Be Mine," and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Try to listen with dry eyes. Just try!

Like a good soldier, Headley has been in the press, expressing her enthusiasm for Beyonce, Donald Glover, et al. I wish that she felt freer to be honest with us.

I know what this movie could have been. I know who should be playing Nala.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fLiFbk2_S4

P.S. Headley had a charismatic colleague, Jason Raize, who originated the role of Simba on Broadway. Raize burned too bright too fast; he killed himself. Inexcusably, in her recent ABC special on "The Lion King," Robin Roberts could not be bothered to talk about Raize. It seems important to correct that error today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7AeTFYsBgc
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