A musical I hate: "The Lion King." I admire Julie Taymor's work in "The Lion King," but I think the material itself is unworthy of Taymor. It's like dressing a turd in a Balenciaga gown. I find "The Lion King" especially appalling after the work of Howard Ashman--a genius who breathed new life into Disney, and who wrote with effortless grace. "The Lion King" is a series of snoozy platitudes. "From the day we arrive on the planet...and....blinking...step into the sun...." (Thanks for that "blinking," Tim Rice!) I especially hate when Timon bans Pumbaa from rhyming "down-hearted" with "farted," as if "farted" were a scandalous word. (That's the evening's one big attempt at humor.) This show sometimes makes me want to slit my wrists. It's a tradition for Disney to pad its adaptations of film material with weaker new songs when moving to Broadway. I'm glad B'way's...