In celebration of Tarzan's first anniversary on Thursday, May 10th, Phil Collins will join author Michael Lassell and stars Josh Strickland, Jenn Gambatese and Chester Gregory at Barnes & Noble (Broadway and 66th Street) for a special event beginning at 12:30pm.
Lassell will read from his recently released Tarzan: The Broadway Adventure and the cast will perform four popular songs from the show, composed by Collins. Collins will join them to sign copies of Tarzan: The Broadway Adventure, and the original Broadway cast album, also available at the store.
This event is free and open to the public.
Press notes state, "Tarzan: The Broadway Adventure is an intimate backstage look at the five-year development process of Tarzan, from early concept drawings to auditions and exploratory flying workshops, through rehearsals and previews, and even to the gala opening night. Tarzan: The Broadway Adventure features the photos of three amazing photographers: acclaimed Broadway production photographer Joan Marcus, revolutionary sports photographer Heinz Kluetmeier and stylized portraits by renowned photographer Ruven Afanador. The book gives the reader a peek at the production from the inside, a story that isn't told anywhere else. In this colorful volume are exquisite costume and set design sketches and models as well as images of the set in all stages of its development."
Press releases continue, "Tarzan has been dazzling Broadway audiences since Spring 2006 with it's unique blend of spectacle, design and story-telling. Based on the famous character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the story of Tarzan has been depicted in a series of 24 novels, more than 75 feature films and several television series over the last 90 years. It was reinvented once again by seven-time Grammy Award winner Phil Collins for Disney's animated film, which gained instant international success, grossing $447 million worldwide. To bring Tarzan to the Broadway stage, Collins expanded his score from the movie and teamed up with three-time Tony Award winning director/designer Bob Crowley, who was recently named one of the "Top 10 Tastemakers in Performing Arts" by Forbes Magazine. Tarzan has since gone on to break the box office record five times at the Richard Rodgers Theater."
The production stars Josh Strickland as Tarzan, Jenn Gambatese as Jane, Merle Dandridge as Kala, Robert Evan as Kerchak, Chester Gregory II as Terk, Timothy Jerome as Professor Porter and Donnie Keshawarz as Clayton. Alex Rutherford and Dylan Riley Snyder alternate in the role of Young Tarzan. Tony Award-winner David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) wrote the book, based on Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the Disney film, Tarzan. The creative team includes choreography by Meryl Tankard, with aerial design by Pich'n Baldinu (De La Guarda), as well as lighting design by Tony Award winner Natasha Katz, (Aida) sound design by John Shivers, music production/vocal arrangements by Paul Bogaev, and orchestration by Doug Besterman.
In addition to performances Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and Thursday at 8:00 p.m., Tarzan plays five weekend performances: Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. There are three ways to get tickets to Tarzan – Online at www.DisneyOnBroadway.com, via Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4747 or www.ticketmaster.com and in person at the Richard Rodgers box office (226 West 46th Street).
Photo of Phil Collins by Retna Ltd.
