Tarzan on Broadway

PixarFan2006 · Post by **PixarFan2006** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 6:41 pm

It does not surprise me much either. I had no interest in seeing this at all as I was never a fan of the movie.

BeautifulLittleLady · Post by **BeautifulLittleLady** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 7:45 pm

Please bear in mind that I am first and formost a Theatre fan.

I am actually happy with this decision. Tarzan, even in it's opening, never got the boost that Lion King, Beauty and Mary Poppins got. To be honest, Disney has only themselves to blame for this. At the present moment Disney has 4 shows open on Broadway, with 1 coming in soon, and they have a very limited target audience. Families that would go to these shows have limited income, and have to pick and choose. With 4 shows aiming for the same target audience, some are bound to not make it. And they knew the lousy reviews and the lagging ticket sales, and they chose to close Beauty.

I say good riddence to bad rubbish, and bring on Mermaid!

SpringHeelJack · Post by **SpringHeelJack** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:00 pm

TheSequelofDisney wrote:I mean, the people didn't even dress up as gorillas, what's with that?!

Well, the actors in "The Lion King" aren't running on all fours in Cowardly Lion suits and growling, but people don't seem to mind there.

Disneyfreak1990 · Post by **Disneyfreak1990** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:22 pm

you know i'm still wondering how they're going to do the underwater scenes for Mermaid. are they going to suspend them or have the fins be split in two so they can walk?

TheSequelOfDisney · Post by **TheSequelOfDisney** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 5:45 am

SpringHeelJack wrote:
TheSequelofDisney wrote:I mean, the people didn't even dress up as gorillas, what's with that?!
Well, the actors in "The Lion King" aren't running on all fours in Cowardly Lion suits and growling, but people don't seem to mind there.

Yes, but at least they were wearing headpieces! Well, except for young Simba and Nala.

Still, the makeup used for Tarzan doesn't even make the performers look like they are gorillas, just people with badly drawn makeup on their faces.

PatrickvD · Post by **PatrickvD** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 6:04 am

I'll check this out soon in the Hague. Reviews have been nothing but favorable here in Holland. And the cast is incredibly strong.

ichabod · Post by **ichabod** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 8:11 am

PatrickvD wrote:I'll check this out soon in the Hague. Reviews have been nothing but favorable here in Holland. And the cast is incredibly strong.

Well supposedly during the space between the Broadway debut and the show opening in Holland the wrinkles were ironed out and became a much stronger show than initial Broadway audiences saw.

Anthony · Post by **Anthony** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 9:16 pm

Kram Nebuer wrote:Maybe they'll switch The Little Mermaid's theater to the Richard Rodgers Theatre and decide to not end "Beauty and the Beast" afterall?

That's what I'm hoping they will decide too. It's a shame about Tarzan (I never got a chance to see it) but it's a perfect opportunity to bring back Beauty and the Beast. At least that was a profitable project for them, wasn't it?

Disneyfreak1990 · Post by **Disneyfreak1990** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:32 pm

you know i read somewhere last night they're going to get rid of Mary Poppins next year. eather that or get another one in another country put up since i don't remember the exact quote.

ichabod · Post by **ichabod** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:38 pm

There's an interesting article <a href="http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/ ... x">here</a> that hints at one of the possible reasons for Tarzan being canned. It suggests that getting rid of Tarzan may be a strategic move to stop Poppins flopping.

Also there's some information about the initial concept for the show, and how the version in Holland differs from Broadway making it a stronger show.

Disneyfreak1990 · Post by **Disneyfreak1990** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:55 pm

just read the articale and i think some of the blame belongs to BATB since it's just across the street and they should've waited until BATB was closed to see if the numbers got higher or lower and if not they would close it. but closing it because of Mary is going a bit far since its doing good from what i've heard.

supertalies · Post by **supertalies** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 1:34 am

PatrickvD wrote:I'll check this out soon in the Hague. Reviews have been nothing but favorable here in Holland. And the cast is incredibly strong.

yes, i'm going to. But i like to see the broadway version to compare the two and see wich one is better. I think the dutch version...

ChrisLyne · Post by **ChrisLyne** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:06 am

I agree with Disneyfreak, they should have waited to see if the closure of Beauty and the Beast made any difference to audience figures, especially with the summer holiday crowds.

But then I'm biased as I have a holiday booked to New York and had tickets for 20th July so I'm extremely upset that I've wanted to see the show for a year and missed it by about 12 days.

As for the Holland version from what I've heard it's a lot better in terms of spectacle as the cast comes over the audience a lot more (I believe the introduction of Jane has her walking through the audience whilst Tarzan hangs down from above). But from what I've seen on YouTube I think the Broadway cast are better singers (though for a fair comparison I'd need to get the Dutch CD).

I wish the Holland version did a night in English as I'd love to see the show, but whilst I'd know the songs from the CD I wouldn't understand the rest of the show so I don't think I can justify the expense.

candydog · Post by **candydog** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 5:22 am

Kram Nebuer wrote:Maybe they'll switch The Little Mermaid's theater to the Richard Rodgers Theatre and decide to not end "Beauty and the Beast" afterall?

Unfortunately, that's just not possible. One of the main reasons that they need the Lunt-Fontanne theatre is because the sets for Little Mermaid are going to be huge. The Richard Rogers theatre is far too small, it's actually one of the smaller theatres on Broadway, they had trouble mounting Tarzan in it because of lack of space. I saw a behind the scenes Tarzan video and the actors literally have to move through a space of about 2 feet wide (often having to crawl) to move around backstage. Thre's no room for set pieces or props in the wings of the stage so many are stored in corridors by dressing rooms. Actors waiting for their cue sit on stairwells outside dressing rooms along with props and set pieces. It really is amazing that they've managed to run Tarzan in such a small theatre, never mind Little Mermaid which is expected to be a production at least twice the size.

I forget where I saw the video, do a quick search on broadwayworld or broadway.com and you may find it.

Scabbie · Post by **Scabbie** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 12:18 pm

ChrisLyne wrote:I believe the introduction of Jane has her walking through the audience whilst Tarzan hangs down from above.

Yes, that's true. It's a great scene.

potterrules93 · Post by **potterrules93** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 12:31 pm

just another playbill to buy off of ebay..lol..i colllect broadway playbills and programs for shows that me or my friends have seen i have severall and just ordered les miz closing night. so heres another one..im going to be spending sooo much money on playbills this year..lol
~Ryn~

Robin Hood · Post by **Robin Hood** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 1:19 pm

I saw the show on June 30th and I thought it was very good. When I saw it the two main leads were out and their understudies played the parts. I agree with the other person who posted about the theatre having a smaller stage. It would have been even better if they had more room to move around. Overall, it was great seeing the show seeing since Tarzan is one of my favorite animated Disney films. The cast was great too, they came out and signed my program.

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:47 am

Disney Theatricals' Tarzan Now Playing Germany

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/122543.html
(via LaughingPlace.com)

supertalies · Post by **supertalies** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 1:39 am

blackcauldron85 wrote:Disney Theatricals' Tarzan Now Playing Germany

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/122543.html
(via LaughingPlace.com)

Yes, it's the 'dutch/european' version.
There was also a show on television to search the actors who were gonna play Tarzan and Jane.

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 6:00 am

http://thedisneyblog.com/2008/12/03/tro ... s-theater/

Troubled Tarzan Production Dooms Theater
by John Frost

A touring stage production of Disney’s “Tarzan” musical set to open in Atlanta and then move to San Jose has failed without raising the curtain even once. This has had unfortunate effects:

The American Musical Theatre of San Jose says it is filing bankruptcy after losing $225,000 it invested with Atlanta’s Theater of the Stars. The money was supposed to have been used for a co-production of Disney’s “Tarzan,” which was to open at the Fox Theatre in January, move to California in February and Dallas in March.

“I’m devastated. I’ve had to lay off my whole company here,” Michael Miller, CEO and executive producer of the San Jose playhouse, said Tuesday. After planning the co-production of “Tarzan” for more than a year, Miller said he was informed on Nov. 18 by Theater of the Stars president Nick Manos that the show was off.

The “Tarzan” production has had a rough go of it from the start. Might be a lot tougher to fund a revival of it now.
(here's there source: http://www.ajc.com/services/content/pri ... arzan.html )

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Tarzan on Broadway