On the night of June 14, the talented eighth grade girls of Yeshivat Noam put on a performance of “The Lion King.” The show started with a rendition of the “The Circle of Life” in which the girls were able to pull off one of the most iconic scenes from the movie. They cleverly surprised the audience with a real baby dressed in a lion costume. The girl who played Rafiki walked around the stage with the baby in her arms during the slow interlude of the song, and in the final moment of the song, held up baby Simba.

Throughout the show, the girls continued to amaze the audience with their singing and dancing, against the backdrop of their self painted scenery. The girl’s choreography included the perfect balance of dance and storytelling to create a jungle-like atmosphere.

The eighth grade girls started working on this play shortly before Sukkot. They picked out which play they wanted to perform and after consideration, chose Disney’s “The Lion King.” Then, they auditioned, received their roles and practiced about once a week. Daniella Chernow, who played Scar, admitted that at first, it was kind of hard to memorize all of her lines, but after a lot of practice, was able to get it done. Rivki Piontnica, who played young Simba, and Carly Sheinfeld, who played a hyena, explained that working on this play was a great bonding experience for their grade.

Director Barbara Solomon was proud of her students’ accomplishments. “They were an amazing group of girls to work with,” she said. “I’ve never done a play where not one person forgets a line…it ran so smoothly.”

By Miri Wagner