‘Lion King’ returns with enduring grace

Showered with Tony Awards when first presented in 1998, “The Lion King,” based on the Disney film by the same name, is a dazzling stage spectacle crafted around the relatively modest tale of an exiled lion cub who returns in triumph to reclaim his kingdom from a regicidal uncle.

Those who missed the play in its long and much ballyhooed run at the Pantages can now see a Broadway-caliber production at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. If you are a Disney fan, avail yourself of the opportunity. Even if you are not, you will find many inarguable virtues in this staging.

For some, “The Lion King” may seem a miracle of style over substance, lots of smoke and mirrors and stunning stage effects that don’t always distract from the story’s occasional innocuousness. At least occasionally innocuous, also, are Elton John’s and Tim Rice’s music and lyrics, particularly the egregious “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” -- an obnoxiously treacly tune that requires a fair degree of intestinal fortitude to endure.

However, Julie Taymor’s visionary staging, recapitulated here, remains an enduring delight. Taymor, who won 1998 Tonys for both direction and costumes, also designed the show’s amazing puppets, abetted by co-puppeteer Michael Curry. Donald Holder, who designed the pyrotechnical lighting, and Richard Hudson, the architect of the eye-popping scenic design, also won Tonys for their work.

Some would maintain that the stage play is a bit overlong for young children, but the consummately professional cast keeps the action roaring. The most towering performance of the evening is turned in by Thandazile A. Soni, a South African gospel star who plays the shaman-esque baboon Rafiki. An effusive stage presence with a voice that could cut glass, Soni is, quite simply, definitive.

Reprising his role from the Pantages run, Rufus Bonds Jr. is admirably stentorian as the dignified lion king, Mufasa. Larry Yando’s mellifluously villainous Scar is a slimy delight, while Adam Hunter and Phil Fiorini provide able comic relief as the wiseacre meerkat Timon and his flatulent warthog pal Pumbaa.

Also richly comical is Derek Hasenstab, who gives a satisfyingly Chaplinesque turn as Zazu, Mufasa’s avian major domo. Melvin Abston, Shaullanda Lacombe and Brian Sills are terrific as Scar’s menacing hyena henchmen. And when it comes to young lovers, you can’t get much more rewarding than Brandon Louis and Adia Ginneh, who play the adult Simba and his lioness lover, Nala. Rich-voiced and resonant, the two introduce an element of soaring romance whenever they are onstage -- even vaulting over their syrupy duets with panache.

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‘The Lion King’

Where: Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays

Ends: April 24

Price: $23-$73

Contact: (714) 556 2787 or www.ocpac.org

Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes