When is a lion an ape?

When is a lion an ape? When it belongs to Disney, of course. In 1996, the Mouse House turned The Lion King into the 800-pound gorilla of Broadway musicals, which means that it can sleep anywhere it wants, and the Lion sleeps tonight – and for the next six weeks – in Bass Concert Hall. The show's phenomenal success makes it easy to forget what a huge risk Disney took in hiring Julie Taymor – known chiefly as an experimental, even noncommercial theatre artist – to steer the adaptation from animated film to stage. But it was a brilliant choice, as it is Taymor's work with puppetry, masks, and ancient theatre traditions that makes The Lion King worth seeing again and again. The touring production plays Feb. 15-March 25, Tuesday-Friday, 8pm; Saturday, 2 and 8pm; Sunday, 1 and 6:30pm; at Bass Concert Hall. For more information, call 477-6060.