Kristen Stewart, the famous Twilight starlet, recently topped Forbes’ highest-paid actresses list. She made an estimated $34.5 million from May 2011 to May 2012. $34.5 million may seem like a lot of money, but women in the acting business are paid less than men. The women who made it onto Forbes’ highest-paid actresses list only earn a total of $200 million, compared to the $361 million that the top men rake in. There are many factors that determine who ends up on Forbes’ list. Upfront pay, profit participation, residuals, endorsements, and advertising work are all considered. Agency fees and expenses related to having a celebrity lifestyle are not included. Managers, agents, lawyers, and other people who are in the Hollywood loop helped Forbes to come up with their estimates.

At 22, Stewart is the youngest actress on the Forbes list by 16 years.

Needless to say, Stewart’s reoccurring role as Bella Swan in the Twilight saga has helped her to reach the peak of her career and the top of the Forbes’ list. Her latest role as Snow White in “Snow White and the Huntsman” has also helped her revenue.

Veteran actress Cameron Diaz ranked second on the Forbes list. Diaz raked in $34 million over the same time-frame as Stewart. Her 2011 comedy, Bad Teacher, made $216 million in global ticket sales, which is more than double of what its budget was. “The Green Hornet” and “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” also helped Diaz to be ranked second.

Surprisingly, Sandra Bullock trailed $9 million behind Cameron Diaz. Bullock raked in $25 million. The 47-year old actress is still earning revenue from her 2009 Oscar winning hit, “The Blind Side”. The film earned $310 million.

During Christmas of 2011, Bullock’s film “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” only earned $48 million. Bullock is currently working on a big-budget sci-fi film directed by Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity. The film also stars George Clooney. “Gravity” is scheduled to be released in 2013.

Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron rounded out the top 5 on the Forbes list. Jolie raked in $20 million while Theron raked in $18 million.

Kristen Stewart may be snatching the number one spot again next year on Forbes’ list of highest-paid actresses. Stewart has the highly anticipated last installment of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn– Part 2 to look forward to later this year. She is currently working on the film Cali, which is scheduled to be released in 2013.

Image Courtesy of  Gage Skidmore

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The Lion King musical is based on the 1994 Walt Disney animated classic, The Lion King.  The musical is adapted from the screenplay by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton and produced by Peter Schneider and Thomas Schumacher.

This musical debuted in 1997 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and has now become the seventh longest running show on Broadway and is the highest grossing Broadway show of all time, having grossed $853.8 million. The show has toured in multiple cities across the U.S. as well as around the world.  I had the opportunity to attend the show at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre in Orlando, Florida on May 9.

Fans of the film will not be disappointed with the musical. It is breathtakingly beautiful, and the actors give an outstanding performance that will have audiences rising to their feet to give a standing ovation at the end of the show.

Both the film and the play are about a young lion cub named Simba who, through deception and betrayal of his jealous Uncle Scar, is wrongfully blamed for his father Mufasa’s death and runs away from his home.  He meets a meerkat named Timon and a warthog named Pumba, who are outcasts like Simba.

They become friends and live a carefree lives under the motto “hakuna matata”, which means “no worries.” Years pass, and back home, Simba’s uncle rules the kingdom and allows his allies, the hyenas, to eat as much as they like, breaking the circle of life. Now all grown up, Simba’s childhood friend, Nala, leaves the pride in search of help and finds Simba. With the help of the wise mandrill, Rafiki, Simba returns home, confronts his past, defeats Scar, and restores the balance. He finally accepts his rightful place as king, and all is well again in the pride lands.

The show opens with a bang. The Pride Rock is the setting for the first scene, as baby Simba is revealed to the rest of the kingdom as Rafiki and the Ensemble cast belt out the “Circle of Life” with “Nants’ Ingonyama.” The drummers-who are placed on both sides of the stage-closed the opening number with a resounding thump on their African drums, which brought the audience to applaud with excitement and approval for what is to come.

The show is about two hours with one fifteen-minute intermission and moves along at a balanced pace. Act One is the longer of the two acts and the better of the two as well. Act Two opens with the Ensemble cast singing “One by One”, a happy and joyous tune. This leads into Scene One which starts out with vultures hovering in the sky, representing the death and lack of food that has occurred under Scar’s reign. It is a stark contrast.

All of the actors’ performances were wonderful, but there were a few that shone brighter than the rest. Actress Buyi Zama was rightfully cast as Rafiki. Her performance was my favorite, as she made the audience laugh throughout the evening and received the most applause. J. Anthony Crane, who portrayed Scar, was memorable. He portrayed the villain excellently and even received a few boos mixed in with the applause. Finally, Mark David Kaplan, who played Mufasa’s confidant Zazu, was hilarious and provided zingers at the right times during the play.

In addition to the original tunes from the film with music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice, the show has additional music and lyrics by Lebo M. Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, and Hans Zimmer.  Out of these new tunes, the most notable was “He Lives in You,” which is first performed during the Under the Stars scene in the first act when Mufasa is disciplining Simba. There is a reprise of the song later on in the second act.

Visually, the show is strikingly beautiful with its sets and lighting which bring out the African themes quite well.

The musical features actors in animal costumes that are designed by Julie Taymor, as well as masks and puppets varying in size, also designed by her and Michael Curry. All of the costumes and puppets were colorful and magnificent. The cheetah costume was the coolest, as it featured an actor using their hands to control the front part of the cheetah’s body while their own legs were inside the hind legs of the puppet, propelling the puppet to move as though it was a real cheetah. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

The hyenas were another costume that stood out. The actors’ legs were the hyena’s hind legs, and their hands held sticks molded to look like a hyena’s front legs. Their hyena masks even had moveable mouths.

All in all, The Lion King is a worthy successor to the film. The show will finish its Orlando tour on May 13, so check your local theater to find out when the musical will be coming to your town.

Image Courtesy of   The Lion King

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