Review: TARZAN at Tuacahn with Josh Strickland is Euphoric

Josh Strickland, who originated the role of Tarzan on Broadway and appears on the original cast recording, leads Disney’s TARZAN at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre.  The entire production lives up to its star with a heightened reality that equals the euphoria conjured by such an unparalleled opportunity.

TARZAN (music and lyrics by Phil Collins, book by David Henry Hwang) tells Edgar Rice Burroughs' well-known story of a boy raised by apes in the jungles of Africa. Adapted to a Disney animated film in 1999, it became a Broadway musical in 2006.  When scientist Jane Porter arrives to study the flora and fauna of the area, Tarzan learns for the first time that there are others like him in the world. He must decide whether he belongs with the family who raised him or with the one he is quickly falling in love with.

Of note, Tuacahn (which has a strong working relationship with Disney Theatricals) is testing a new revised, shortened script for this production without fanfare or announcement.  Disney is evaluating its suitability and reception before potentially taking it to Germany.  Jane’s father, Professor Porter, has passed away in this version, and she is trying her best to do him proud.  The script revisions throughout the show are successful, clarifying motivations and rounding out Clayton’s character, further deepening storylines and characterizations in general.  Unfortunately, the changes understandably necessitated the cutting of the song “Like No Man I’ve Ever Seen,” which Jane previously sang with her father.  Might it be reworked and repurposed with new lyrics for her to perform with Clayton, who still doesn’t get a chance to sing?

Luckily, the rest of the brilliant score remains intact, and it is worth the price of admission and much more to simply hear original Broadway Tarzan Josh Strickland perform it. His voice is otherworldly, almost haunting in its beauty and power.  But he’s not just a singer.  His acting is on another level, both vocally and physically.  He begins Tarzan’s journey as a literal wild man, moving on his bare knees and knuckles like an ape, and writhing and twisting through the jungle, speaking and singing with a halted curiosity.  As he learns more about his past and grows to accept it, he becomes increasingly bipedal with a still demeanor, smooth speech, and soaring vocals.  It’s a once-in-a-lifetime performance.          

Director Scott S. Anderson and his casting associates have surrounded Strickland with highly competent castmates, including the dazzling singer and actress Ashley Moniz, who can do no wrong as Jane.  She and Beatriz Melo, who plays Kala, blend absolutely beautifully with Strickland in their duets. 

Rendell DeBose as Terk is hilarious and sings with equal strength.  James Channing sings and acts fiercely as Kerchak.  Sean Thompson as Clayton is somehow both bumbling and menacing, and Greyson Nielson is adorable as Young Tarzan.

The heart-pumping flying sequences are choreographed by Paul Rubin (Idina Menzel in WICKED and Cathy Rigby in PETER PAN), with Flying by Foy.  The traditional choreography by Mara Newbery Greer is ebullient, rough and tumble fun, making wonderful use of the remarkable tassel-covered ape costumes.

The production’s high quality costumes hail from greater New Orleans’ Jefferson Performing Arts Society, where they were designed by Emily Brauniger, with additional designs by Tuacahn costume coordinator Bradley Lock.  The complementary hair, wig, and makeup design by Tuacahn’s Matthew Reeves Oliver is extraordinary, with the human pieces extremely lifelike.

The scenic and lighting design by Paul Black work together along with Brad Peterson’s projection design to conjure a mystical and yet very real world.  The large video panels provide depth and detail to the jungle, while large, multi-tiered sets offer tactile texture and tangibility.  Various combinations of the scenic pieces along with new projections provide seemingly endless possibilities for locations, and the usage of green lighting is suggestive of the unseen forest canopy.  Everything looks real, and yet somehow larger than life. 

The imposing real rock formations flanking the stage, along with a trickling waterfall and the flooding of the stage in the opening number, which invokes a tropical humidity to rise throughout the show, add more realism and spectacle.  Broadly, the lighting design, along with strategic use of fog, blend the scenic and projection elements into one stunning, shifting jungle environment. 

The opportunity to see a Broadway star reprise an iconic role they originated is essentially non-existent, and for it to be the wildly talented Josh Strickland in a production as strong as this and a location as exciting as Tuacahn, there is no room to rationalize not doing everything in your power to take part in it.

TARZAN runs through October 21, 2023 at Tuacahn.  For tickets, call the box office at 1-800-746-9882 or www.tuacahn.org.

Photo Credit: Leavitt Wells

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