"The Lion King" arrived with a roar to a standing ovation by a packed hall.

Technically, it's a musical — spoken dialogue is at a minimum — but it is the visuals that make the show. Aurally, the performance was good, but not great. But ground-breaking costumes by Julie Taymor, dramatic lighting by Donald Holder, and innovative, African-inspired scenic design by Richard Hudson are mesmerizing.

The show is a kaleidoscope of images and living scenery: a crimson sun rising through shimmering heat waves, waving grasses of the savanna, stately giraffes and scurrying shadow-puppet mice, rising curtains of clouds, slow-motion falling, the ingenious drying up of a water hole, a baobab tree with astral symbols for leaves, a clever stampede between canyon walls, ribbons of lioness tears, and on, and on.

Almost every scene deserved an encore.

As for the music: Those who fell in love with the animated movie will enjoy the familiar songs — they're still catchy, still fun. As polished as the movie is, it cannot match the excitement of the live show, especially the percussion-laced, African-style choral numbers. Still, several of the leads are better dancers or actors than singers, and the best singers are often not the leads.

The Entr'acte introducing Act 2 is especially strong, with excellent soloists and strong choral singing.

Of the leads, Gugwana Dlamini, as the charismatic shaman baboon Rafiki, stands out as the best vocalist as well as one of the most compelling actors.

The music is strongest in Act 2, with the addition of Clifton Oliver (Simba) and Ta'Rea Campbell (Nala), cranked-up volume for impact, the dramatic numbers "Shadowland" and "Endless Night," and Rafiki's climactic "He Lives in You."

Act 2 also provides the show's low point, the culminating fight scene between Simba and Scar. The scene feels stagey and sounded shallow, and its loss of momentum weakened the final scene.

The show's orchestra flows up out of the pit onto platforms beside the stage, where the audience can enjoy an array of percussion instruments. Displaying the percussionists gives the music an immediacy that draws the audience into the performance in a way an orchestra hidden in the pit cannot. Once the curtain rises, however, it's difficult to tear attention away from the stage to watch the musicians.

Conductor Valerie Gebert paced the show well, balanced the sound, and coordinated the various forces smoothly.

Embellished by visuals, embedded in music, "Lion King" is still a drama, and it is the characters that the audience, and particularly the children, carry away in their hearts and memories.

The parts require multitalented performers — actors and puppeteers, some also dancers, some also singers. The most memorable included John Gardiner as the wise-cracking Timon, Michael Dean Morgan as the king's advisor Zazu, and Kevin Gray as the droll, cynical Scar, with special mention to the young actors playing the young Simba and the young Nala.

And then, of course, there were the hyenas: Jacquelyn Renae Hodges (Shenzi), Rudy Roberson (Banzai) and Robbie Swift (Ed). Wearing outrageously creative costumes, they disappeared into their characters.

The cast included a number of excellent dancers, nameless characters who captured imaginations with their realizations of Garth Fagan's innovative choreography and who became part of the visual splendor.

With "Lion King," everything leads back to its visual impact.