The Lion King and I
At the Minscoff Theater on Broadway with media colleague and friend Grace Labaguis (on my right) with Anne Estela, mother of Vince Ermita, The Lion King’s young Simba actor.
Last October 8, I watched The Lion King as it reopened on Broadway after an 18-month hiatus brought about by the pandemic. The vibrancy of Times Square is back. I was with my friend and media colleague Grace.
I was excited to see it - because The Lion King is one of Broadway's finest and multi-awarded shows. I was sad too - because Nikki would have been so happy to watch it with me! We never got to watch it because the ticket was prohibitive, like Hamilton and Wicked.
These days, my heart cradles the twin emotions of grief and glee in remembrance of Nikki.
The Lion King was her first movie. We watched it together with her late father in 1994, when she was almost three years old. It was a joyous time, a milestone, I should say, because it was her first movie and we watched it as a family.
I could still remember how delighted she looked while watching the movie, especially when the characters young Simba, Timon, and Pumba sang the now world famous Hakuna Matata.
Later in the show, however, I began to worry: when the scheming Scar caused his brother King Mufasa's death at the stampede. It was a story of betrayal and I was not sure how to explain it to Nikki's innocent mind.
The story was in fact Nikki's first exposure to a brutal reality in life but presented in an animation. I recalled that I was such a worry-wart mom.
Indeed, I remember she asked me why Scar wasn't nice to the young Simba. For he was jealous and wanted to be king, I remembered explicitly telling her.
We had a fun, memorable time together watching The Lion King along with popcorn, then dinner and sweet conversations. This was a memory that will forever be in my heart.
Years have passed, our life as a family and as a mother-daughter tandem were punctuated by one movie after the next. And here in NYC, we watched Broadway shows together as well: The West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera, Allegiance, Aladdin, etc.
Just before watching Allegiance, Nikki and I met actor George Takei about to enter the actor’s entrance to the theater. We asked him if we could take a picture with him, and he said yes. Click! Taken on February 6, 2016, a cold night in NYC.
Nikki's last movie with me was in the summer of 2019 - The Lion King in 3D. We watched it in a theatre at Forest Hills which had reclining seats. It was a good venue especially because Nikki at that time was already frail and had to make frequent trips to the bathroom.
We both concluded that the original animation which we watched in 1994 was the better version of The Lion King.
After summer, Nikki's health spiraled down. She was hospitalized in October 2019 and charged forward battling the pain of cancer. The doctors told me her systems were beginning to shut down. It was implied that I had to be prepared for her demise.
The palliative care team and all doctors and nurses that took care of Nikki were most caring and comforting. Their warmth almost always made me cry in gratitude.
The day came when God took out the precious breath He bestowed on Nikki. It was at 5.30 on Sunday afternoon of November 17, 2019 that my daughter heaved her last breath in my arms. She has gone back to God.
I will forever remember that day as one of utmost pain and dread. I knew what it meant when you humbly say to God...'Your will be done...'. As I write, I revisit my wound again and I am in tears.
As I watched The Lion King on Broadway, my thoughts always drifted back to Nikki as a young person who never grew tired of the show. The Lion King has redeemed itself in Simba who returned to his kingdom and claimed it from his greedy uncle Scar. It was a story of betrayal and redemption, thus making it eternally inspiring.
There’s something special about the return of The Lion King on Broadway. Its lead child star performing as the young Simba is a Filipino actor, Vince Ermita who is 11 years old. He will play the role for one year and for as long he remains less than five feet tall - the same is true with the alternate actor.
Vince lives in New Jersey and is the youngest son of Anne and Jun Ermita, both nurses at the NY Presbyterian hospital, and coming from the same city where I was born - Cebu. It makes me proud to see the young Filipino actor pulling it off magnificently as young Simba.
I am particularly astounded by the humility of Anne who told me how surreal it was to see her son on stage with the big Broadway stars! "I cannot believe it. And to think we are just ordinary with a heavy accent."
Such humility. I pray for Vince's stamina as he performs 4x a week. I also pray for his feet to be on the ground despite his sweet young success.
My angel Nikki, Leani Alnica Montebon Auxilio, I believe, is hovering as I watched the spectacle on stage. #
