Going APE!!!!

   So as you guys know we are doing Tarzan this summer! I am uber exited!!! We had never seen Tarzan on stage before so we looked on MTI's website to see if there was a showing of it anywhere near us before July...and we found one!:) Albeit it was 2 hours away, but we all still really wanted to go.

 

   The show was at Wyalusing High School, which is a pretty small school in a pretty small town kind of in the middle of nowhere. But it was funny because Jewel and Jorne had played a football game there this past season. We won haha. Anyway, the show was very well done (we were all happy that that 2 hour drive wasn't for naught.) The set was what first caught our eyes; it looked like a large rock with a cave like opening and a couple different levels. It was really realistic and it was a good alternative since the space didn't allow for the usual swinging on vines. The cast was able to climb all over and it really helped to create levels, and from the audience it made the stage look alot larger than it actually was. We got to look at everything up close after the show and saw how it was made. The rock structure was made with wood and risers covered in painted burlap... it was a simple yet very effective idea.

 

   They did their best to copy the costumes from Broadway. Now, I am not particularly a fan of the Broadway gorilla costumes, but Wyalusing did a good job of making them look similar.

The talent wasn't amazing, but it was by no means poor. They were all capable of playing the parts and they did very well. I was especially impressed with the harmonies. The leads all have multiple songs with not easy harmonies, and it sounded like everyone in the cast knew exactly what they were supposed to be singing and when. It was obviously something they worked on and it really showed!

Overall we were impressed and very glad we went! After the show we spent awhile talking to the director and choreographer and costumer etc. They were all very nice and flattered that we came. It was great to talk to them about where they got some of their ideas and how they executed them. It is always nice when you find people that are willing to share their experience with you and offer any help or advice that they might have. They let us take pictures of the set and are even letting us borrow the burlap!

 

   If I was excited to do this show before I don't even know what I am now!!!