Tarzan – The Stage Musical has swung into the National Theatre, St Kilda for a limited season. It’s ambitious yet messy but its humour and themes of love, family and loyalty are enough to consider a ticket.
With book by Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, the musical has been seen by over 7 million people worldwide. The original Broadway production opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2006 and subsequently had successful runs in the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and the Philippines.
Based on Disney’s 1999 animated film (which was based on the 1912 story ‘Tarzan of the Apes’ by Edgar Rice Burroughs), Tarzan tells the story of an orphan who is raised by gorillas in Africa after his parents are killed. When an expedition from England arrives, Tarzan encounters humans for the first time, becoming torn between his wild family and love for the curious Jane Porter.
The musical follows true to the original film with only minor changes like the removal of Tantor the elephant and Terk the female gorilla is changed to a male character. It also includes nine additional songs written by Phil Collins, who wrote the film’s original music and lyrics.
While Collins is a brilliant musician and lyricist, the main issue is that his original score was mostly never written to be sung by the characters, so the new songs, though just as lovely and impressive, do little to help with forward momentum, are largely inconsequential and, after a while, all have a bland sameness feel to them. It’s especially lacking that dramatic solo or bombastic group number that often comes before interval. The new ballad ‘Different’ is nice but it doesn’t quite hit the same way as a ‘Defying Gravity’ (Wicked) or ‘One Day More’ (Les Misérables) does.
‘Trashin’ The Camp’ is arguably one of the film’s most memorable songs (and one of only two sung in character). In the film, the scene is stretched with animals banging, smashing and breaking random objects for a full minute to create the beat leading into the vocals. It’s compressed in the musical and feels like a missed opportunity to create some fun character moments before devolving into utter chaos. The stage is cluttered, as it should be, but while the choreography is energetic and erratic, there’s so much to look at that many details are easily missed. I wish they built up the song to give each performer an individual moment to shine. As it is, it goes from 0 to 11 fairly quickly.
The standout songs for me were ‘Son Of Man‘ (which sees Tarzan “journey from boy to man”), Jane’s infectious ‘Waiting For This Moment’ and Tarzan’s soliloquy ‘Everything That I Am’.
I hate to compare it to other Disney stage musicals but who can forget the incredible magic carpet ride in Aladdin, the beast’s transformation in Beauty and the Beast or the stunning visuals in The Lion King. Tarzan is missing those key ‘wow’ moments so incorporating aerial acrobatics is a unique and clever way to set it apart. Sadly, there’s not nearly enough of it.
I suspect this is due to the limited capabilities of the National Theatre as other productions have Tarzan swinging from the rooftops. Choreographer Michael Ralph has included a lot of fun rough and tumble dance moves, somersaults and backflips, and the talented ensemble make the most of their impressive physical skills when in the background which helps.
James Terry produced productions are always a little hit or miss for me, and Tarzan is no exception. I admire Terry’s ambition, as this is probably his larger production to date (or from the ones I’ve seen), but Tarzan is largely let down by budget limitations. I would hazard a guess that most of the budget went to its very talented and experienced cast because vocally, it’s incredible.
Sarah Murr (Kala) delivers a softer performance than her most recent role in Hadestown. Her rendition of the Academy Award-winning ‘You’ll Be In My Heart’ is breathtaking. While Devon Braithwaite commands the stage as the formidable Kerchak.
Joshua Russell does well with the limited material he’s given. I wish he brought a little more personality to Tarzan, but his movements are especially good, and he plays nicely against Emily Robinson (Jane) in her first production since completing a BA in Music Theatre. It’s only a shame that she doesn’t appear until mid-way through act one as her presence elevates the musical.
Nick Eynaud (Clayton) and Trent Owens (Terk) bring a lot of humour. Eynaud adds an element of camp and menace, while Owens is more playful and jovial. Other standouts are Young Tarzan (played alternatively by Daniel Lim and Sebastian Dovey Cribbes) and the warm Drew Holmes (Prof. Porter).
Bianca Pardo’s costumes are black for the gorillas and brown for Tarzan, and Jacob Battista’s set design is mainly green and brown also, so Jane’s infusion of colour is inspired. She brings the sunshine to an otherwise drab, yet textured, colour palate.
Rebecca Romeo’s projections add a lot to the musical, especially in the beginning illustrating the shipwreck of Tarzan, his father (Sammy Allsop) and mother (Matilda Simmons), as well as Jane’s love of flora and fauna. Some clever monster puppetry and oversized flower props add visual wonder, complemented by Declan O’Neill’s moody lighting design.
What makes Tarzan so frustrating is its little glimpses of magic but not enough to elevate it to something truly special. It has a lot of humour, heart and adventure but overall, it left me wanting more.
3/5 STARS
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More information and tickets via tarzanstagemusical.com.au
EXCLUSIVE TO MELBOURNE
Venue: The National Theatre, St Kilda
Season Dates: August 29 – September 14
Prices: From $65.00 (booking fees apply)
TINSEL and TAP SHOES 