Disney's TARZAN at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre is all about family, not only because of its message of familial love and acceptance, but because multiple families are participating onstage and behind the scenes together. And it's the perfect show to gather your entire family and see together on the SCERA's grassy hill under the stars.
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. When a father-daughter team of scientists 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.
Director Chase Ramsey (who recently starred on Broadway in THE BOOK OF MORMON) and his wife, choreographer Janessa Ramsey, have filled the stage with movement that is meaningful and not distracting, creating an appropriately active, pulsating environment for the story to unfold.
Their son, Jude Peter Ramsey, who plays Young Tarzan, is an impressive performer for such a young age. He's joined by his also talented grandfather Mike Ramsey as Professor Porter.
Brian Smith (whose wife performs in the ensemble) is physically impeccable for the role of Tarzan, effortlessly lifting and swinging through the jungle, but he also brings an appealing earnestness that makes the audience want to root for him through his journey.