Backstage with Martina Sykes of Disney's The Lion King

From the moment Broadway’s The Lion King stars, audiences can expect a rare masterclass on theatrical ingenuity. With a stunning soundscape and practically magical visuals combined with top tier acting, 2022 audiences are sure to experience the same type of wonder that audiences had in the 1990s.

I was fortunate to see the production early in their Austin stay, and needless to say, my breath was taken away. It’s not often that a show can give me such a sense of wonderment, but this show takes the cake. I was also fortunate to catch up with Martina Sykes, who plays Shenzi, and pick her brain for a bit.

Sykes was born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. Having gone through an arts program from elementary through high school and growing up in the church as a preacher’s kid, music and performing arts have long been part of her DNA. After finishing college at the University of Florida, Sykes was nudged to the stage by her brother, notable actor and singer Ephraim Sykes.

“It's been rewarding and humbling at the same time, because I got to experience both the extreme highs and lows of the industry, and it has taught me a lot about how fickle the industry can be, but also how amazing the industry can be,” she explained, referring to her early foray into the theatre industry. “I made my national tour debut with ‘Motown: The  Musical’ in 2014. I toured for two and a half years, and then the show went to Broadway in 2016 — but it also closed in 18 days. So it was like I had an extreme high and extreme low all within the same two weeks worth of time.”

Bringing the character to life is no laughing matter for Sykes, as she plays Shenzi, the leading hyena in the infamous trio helping Scar with his plot to seize the throne. For her, it’s about bringing human qualities to the role while honoring the animal at the core of the character.

“I approach her from two different angles, so there's the human characteristics of Shenzi and then there are the animal characteristics of Shenzi,” she explained. “So for the animal characteristics, I watched a lot of National Geographic and also read up about the animal itself. The female hyena is actually the dominant hyena of the bunch. Like, she even will eat the alpha puppy in the litter to assert her dominance so she can remain the alpha female… then I look at the human characteristics of who this character would be. She's loud, she's hilarious, she's extremely witty, but she’s also conniving and manipulative. And overall she's the boss. I always kind of put together different people in my life that I admire and love — I'll take my laugh from my mom and my aunt, and then I'll take like the voices of like Jackée Harry and Jennifer Lewis and kind of mix them together to get that kind of loud, boisterous voice that stands out. She has a master plan, and even though it seems like the hyenas are the sidekick to Scar, they ultimately eat Scar because their main objective is food and whatever they can do to be on top of the food chain, they will do it — even if they have to align themselves with a lion. But if that lion crosses the line, you gotta go too, you'll still be food.”

Although the original story is still very present, you can imagine there are notable differences from the animated film’s 90-minute runtime and the stage production’s two-and-a-half hour experience. Thankfully, they’re nearly all a treat to see and hear.

“The only thing that's different is that there's more music. So all of the songs that you know and love from the film are in it, and then there are other songs that are added to it,” Sykes said reassuringly. “The hyenas have a song, and there's a lot more songs with the South African culture baked in there. So you hear a lot more of the South African language, culture and singing than you do in the movie, which I think is amazing.”

Despite the story following Simba from price of the Pridelands to ultimately becoming the king he was always meant to be, Sykes takes a certain amount of pride in the range and diversity of female characters within the story.

“I love how strong all of these female characters are,” she proclaimed. “I think it's amazing to have such a mix of strong personalities and characters — like Rafiki is the backbone of the show. She's a sangoma, that's like a liaison between the spirit world and our world, and that’s an actual figure in South African culture. And I love that they changed it from being a male to a female for the Broadway production. I love how strong Nala is, and she's completely different from Rafiki, who is the voice of wisdom. She’s like the young warrior princess who’s willing to risk everything to save her family and her home. And then you have Shenzi who is on the bad side of things and she’ll do whatever it takes to protect her and her brothers.”

If you plan on seeing Broadway’s The Lion King, the best tip to take is to arrive early. Practically every seat in the house is going to be filled, so give yourself ample time to find parking, get in, grab a drink, and get seated. As Sykes told me, “please, please, please get there early, because you don't wanna miss the first five minutes of this show. If you're late, you'll be locked out and you're gonna miss it and you're gonna be sad.” And as someone who was in their seat for those first five minutes, I couldn’t agree more.

Broadway’s The Lion King will be at the Bass Concert Hall until April 24, with shows running Tuesday through Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2 pm and 8 pm and Sunday at 1 pm and 6:30 pm. Tickets are available at texasperformingarts.org and BroadwayinAustin.com.