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Me OK... I hope no one is offended that I'm posting my "review" of it two days before it officially opens, but here goes:
Saw "Disney's Tarzan" tonight on Broadway and thought I'd post my general impressions. Not so much a review of the story... I'm going to assume that everyone reading this has seen the animated Disney film, but more what I felt while viewing it.
I saw the show from the first row of the rear mezzanine, which was actually a perfect place to see the full stage and the show's effects. It was a bit higher than I would have liked since I was constantly looking down on the actors onstage, but overall a terrific vantage point.
Upon taking my seat and looking upon the stage there is a scrim. Projected on the scrim is a map of Africa and a large ship. A green laser vine swings subtly back and forth on the stage left side. As I waited for the curtain to raise projections of script appeared on the scrim detailing a captain's log detailing that this ship was lost. Suddenly, the show just begins. No pre-show announcement about turning off you cell phones or taking photographs. It was a very nice touch. As the house lights dimmed the ship disappeared from the scrim and several lightning bolts appeared.
The first 15-20 minutes of this show is truly spectacular. I'm not kidding. The shipwreck... Tarzan's parents drowning... Kala finding an infant Tarzan and introducing him to her husband, Kerchak. The gorilla tribe swinging and flying on vines suspended from the flys... Very nice stuff.
Sadly, it's the only time in the show where the emotion of the story matches the wonder of what is unfolding physically onstage. From that point on I was never engaged in the story proper, which is not a good sign for a Broadway show. It doesn't matter how great the stagecraft is, or how good the actors are, if the story is not engaging then you truly have a dud on your hands. In this regard "Tarzan" is a dud. It's not for lack of trying, but the score by Phil Collins is amazingly bland. Nothing really melodic, much less musically interesting. Numbers ended with tepid audience response, most likely because people have been trained to clap when people stop singing. David Henry Hwang's book is not much better, which is rather disappointing. He wrote one of the most complex and beautiful plays I've ever read, "M. Butterfly".
The stagecraft of the show is absolutely stunning. The show's sets and costumes were by Bob Crowley. He was also the director of the production. I'm thinking that Disney was hoping for lightning to strike twice here. Julie Taymor was the designer and director of "The Lion King" and her production is absolutely amazing. I will say that Crowley did a great job in staging the show, but with the text he had to work with... well... the book and score are the weakest links in this show.
That said, I was never bored. I loved looking at the show. It truly is a marvel. The stage throughout the show is mostly bare. Yet with lighting and the occasional suggestion of location with a few props I never wondered where I actually was. The three sides surrounding it are vibrant green vines, suggestive of the jungle setting, but hiding hard physical structures behind it where the actors portraying gorillas swinging on vines enter and exit from. Really nice. There are a few scenes where drops are brought in suggest other places, such as the treetops where the back wall becomes a night sky full of stars and another which suggests the coast. These aren't detailed either and are as wonderfully austere as the rest of the scenery.
I absolutely LOVED the design of the show. If you enjoy seeing shows for sheer spectacle than this is the one for you. Another bonus of the show was the flying by Pichon Baldinu, the man responsible for the long-running off-Broadway show "De La Guarda". Just some incredibly beautiful aerial acrobatics. There is a number toward the end of Act One where Jane arrives and she is discovering the wonders of the jungle. People on ropes suggest the flora and fauna of the jungle and one aerialist flies in from the back of the mezzanine costumed as a moth. It's very beautiful seeing the physical discipline of these performers. I only wish they had a good musical surrounding them.
As for the leading actors no one really stands out except for Merle Dandridge as Kala and Shuler Hensley as Kerchak. They captured the sketchy details of their characters and made them ...well.... human, even though they are both gorillas. I understood and felt for these characters.
I only wish I could say the same for Tarzan, Jane, and the rest of the principal cast. Everyone in the cast works hard, but I didn't feel anything for Tarzan's plight. Most of this is the fault of the book, but it is disheartening that the lead character, the one who is the title of the show for crying out loud, is so one-dimensional and uninteresting. He shouldn't have been. Here is a human boy raised by gorillas that knows he is different but doesn't know why. When he discovers other humans I found myself wanting him to understand them, understand gorillas, and ultimately understand himself. He does try. It is hinted at. Kala, his gorilla mother, does take him to a chest in a tree with his parent's belongings in them, but it all rings very hollow. And that's a shame.
So... these are my thoughts on the show. I'm sure I'll have more, but this is what I can pull off the top of my head. In short, the musical as written is not terrible, but it's not very good either. The story is there and it's followed easily. It's just completely devoid of emotion, character development, and heart. Three things I think most people want from entertainment with the Disney brand name stamped upon it.
On the other hand, the physical production is one of the finest I've ever seen. I absolutely loved it from that angle. If you're really into stagecraft, it's design and execution, than this is the show for you. There are wonderful sights and images from this show I'm going to have a hard time shaking from my memory... and thankfully I don't want to.
I've seen all of Disney's Broadway shows except for "Aida." Each was met with rapturous standing ovations at the end. "The Lion King" deserved it wholeheartedly, "Beauty and the Beast" did not. I found it very telling that the audience response at the end of "Tarzan" was a mix of the over-enthusiastic and the tepid. I couldn't see down into the Orchestra level, but out of the hundreds in the mezzanine only about 40-50 people voted with their feet.
Overall, I enjoyed the show, but I can't really recommend it as a good night of musical theatre.
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We were in the very last row of the orchestra section, the 4 of us seperated by a poll (I was right next to the sound guy). It proved to be pretty good seats though (if I couldn't see something on bottom, I stood up & if I couldn't see something on top, no one was next to me, so I crouched down).
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