Behind the scenes with the flutist from The Lion King

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(NECN: Leslie Gaydos) - Hundreds of masks, puppets and elaborate costumes make the Lion King musical a stunning production. But the rhythm and sound of the authentic African music sets the mood through Simba's journey to reclaim the throne. One of the company musicians does her part by playing 15 instruments, giving each character a unique sound.

When Disney's The Lion King musical gets underway at Boston's Opera House, tucked away in the orchestra pit you'll find flutist Kay Ragsdale, one of the original company members of the national tour who calls this her dream job.

"I really like it here. I have I keep this as close a secret as I can because if everyone in the company knew that I have the best job here they would all want to sit down here
I have the best vantage point, the best seat in the house."
 
If the word flute conjures up the image of this silver standard flute like I played in the high school band, boy you haven't seen or hear anything yet.

Kay, who has a masters of music in flute performance from Northwestern...brings cases of flutes with her from city to city.

Some of them, like these ceramic flutes, are part of her personal collection.

For the Lion King musical, Kay plays 15 different flutes from around the world. Each represents a character in the show.

Keeping track of these flutes during the performance is no easy task. Kay keeps the flutes in the order that she plays them.

"I have a system. First of all I keep towels on my lap. I get them into the towels to warm them up to body temperature and also to make sure that I know where they are within my lap, the instruments for the following seven scenes.  Then as I trade thru the show as I finish with one they go back on the stand, I pick another one up.

"I know spacially where all the instruments are. If we were to lose power here in the pit, the show would still go on. So if it were totally dark down here I would still need to know which instrument was where."

To complicate matters, the flutes are temperature and humidity sensitive, meaning they could crack in the wrong conditions. So she travels with two extra sets of flutes just in case. And she admits that this unique job is a challenging one.

"Every night feels like opening night and playing this many instruments it feels like having fifteen children..feels like. I've got company coming tonight and I hope they behave.  And then the one you worry about the most does splendidly and the one you didn't worry about is the one that acts up. It's a juggling act every night. You never know what's going to happen."

Kay says she will never leave the Lion King tour willingly...that life as a flutist...doesn't get any better than this.

Tags: The Lion King, flutes

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