In the adaptation of Elton John and Tim Rice’s two-act play, the troupe of foreign students of the university theater exceeded expectations, as well as the child actors who just made their debut and immediately played the main roles.
The popular musical was presented for the first time on Monday evening at the oDEon University Theater, which, in addition to the acting, was made alive and unique by the spectacular costumes and sets, modern light and sound technology, and the atmospheric projections displayed on the LED wall set up behind the stage.
Zoltán Bács, the chancellor of the University of Debrecen, said about the troupe of foreign students and the role of the oDEon theater that it is an important link in the international student community, promotes the integration of students and contributes to the promotion of the University of Debrecen.
The students broadcast their experiences on social media, and those who see these successful productions or hear about them, become curious and join this troupe. This was our goal, to create a constantly expanding and forming student community with the help of culture and theater. oDEon shows foreign and Hungarian students how diverse the university’s offer is in addition to education, and this can make the institution attractive. Sport, art and culture have a community-building power, our task is to create the conditions for them
– said the chancellor.
Among the audience on Monday night, there were many foreign students, as well as foreigners working in the city, who were also curious about the production, which, as expected, was played to a full house.
We received very good feedback, perhaps even the success of Hair was surpassed by the presentation. We saw the play in Paris in September and I have to say that ours was of the same quality as that, even though the budget of the French version was many times that of what we created. A performance was born that would be played successfully in any Hungarian stone theater with these young people, with this direction and this spectacle. On the one hand, the sold-out house is a recognition of the previous quality performances, and it can also be attributed to the fact that the company is popular among the close-knit foreign student community, and they are looking forward to the next plays
– Veronika Végh, manager of the oDEon University Theatre, told hirek.unideb.hu.
Director Szabolcs Csáki added that the actors performed beyond expectations, as they fully resolved the unexpected situations, and the positive reactions of the audience helped them in this. He pointed out that they are amateur actors who got to know the essence of theater, thus their acting became liberated, natural and honest.
Eighty percent of the student actors in the play were on stage for the first time, and about half of the main characters seen in the previous successful play, Hair, took the stage again, as several of them graduated from university in the meantime. A total of twenty-five young people took on roles in The Lion King.
During the break of the performance, the audience received a surprise: actors dressed in animal costumes appeared from behind the stage, with whom it was possible to take photos. It is interesting that the parents of Rosh Keith, who played Timon in the performance, came all the way from Dubai to Debrecen to see their son play on stage.
Due to the great interest, the play will be presented this week, the next performance will be on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at the oDEon. Citizens of the University of Debrecen can buy discounted tickets to the next showing of The Lion King, you can register and inquire at the email address odeon@zenetheatrum.hu.
The Lion King musical at oDEon in the theater of the University of Debrecen
unideb.hu
