The tale is a cliché: a boy comes of age and takes his rightful place in the world. But dress it in animal drag and you have The Lion King, a mouse of a story but an elephant of a show as splendidly imagined for Broadway by innovative director and co-designer Julie Taymor. The show’s visual and aural glories have thrilled jaded theater-goers and quite properly enchanted the impressionable. The Lion King ends its nine-month run at the Cadillac Palace Theatre Jan. 18. An extra performance Tuesday, Jan. 6 benefits the Actor’s Fund. Tickets to all performances are $20-$82; (312) 902-1400.