Outer Critics Circle Award winner Julie Taymor recently spoke with an invited audience at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre on the subject of the making of the new Broadway musical, The Lion King.

In cooperation with Disney, Playbill On-Line is pleased to present the following RealAudio/Video clip excerpts from Ms. Taymor's presentation at The New Amsterdam Theatre.

In order to listen/watch the following clips you will need to download and install the RealPlayer which is available from www.real.com. There are two versions that you can download. One is the RealPlayer which can be downloaded for free and the other is the RealPlayer Plus, a more feature rich application that you must pay for. These clips will play with the standard free RealPlayer.

Why did Julie choose The Lion King
Who are The Lion King's Characters?
How does The Lion King sing?
What does The Lion King look like?
Who is The Lion King for?

Ms. Taymor's work has ranged from original musicals to Shakespeare plays to films and operas. She gained widespread recognition for directing and co-designing The Green Bird at the New Victory Theatre in 1996. Also in 1996, she directed Juan Darien at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater. The show received 5 Tony Award nominations including a nomination for Ms. Taymor for Best Director. Her upcoming projects include work on a new opera called Grendel as well as the development of other musical and film projects. In the fall she will film Titus Andronicus in Rome with Anthony Hopkins in the title role.

In addition to her Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical, Ms. Taymor has also been nominated for 3 Tony Awards including Best Director, Best Costume Design and Best Score. She has also garnered 3 Drama Desk Nominations including Outstanding Direction of a Musical, Outstanding Costume Design and Outstanding Puppet Design.