Phindile Mkhize as Rafiki in that little-show-that-could, The Lion King. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Drama lovers, a word: Here in the lavishly appointed ahr-eee Theater cubicle of DCist’s state-of-the-art underground headquarters, we have what you call an ethos. For us, casting arbitrary, semi-informed judgment on the bustling stage traffic of Our Nation’s Capitol is about a lot more than just getting free tickets to the latest hot offering from reliable companies like Catalyst or Solas Nua or Rorschach. No, here at DCist, we’re all about standing up for the little guy; the scrappy innovator, the lonely torch-bearer of the avant garde, the little-shows-that-could — and just might! — if only they can find a sympathetic critic to champion them.

With all that in mind, the time has come to talk of The Lion King, a modest and unassuming little crowd-pleaser of a musical that you can just bet will have audiences of all ages smiling through Labor Day, even though it closes Aug. 24. The entire eight-week run sold out before it opened. This must be some show!