Tarzan Reviews- Page 3

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 10:42pm

Definitely not a fan of the set. It's just a bunch of ribbons.

Brantley's quote about Jenn's Jane wanting to declothe and party made me laugh. But I don't think it's true.

[chad2]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 10:44pm

Disney is satan. Why would anyone want this show to do well? Only a Walmart buying, happy meal eating American would be be happy for Disney. It is VERY sad that shows like Tarzan sell tons of tickets and pure art can't. It shows you what is wrong with our country. Very wrong.

[Fabrizio2]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 10:45pm

They look like porkypines (sp?)

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 10:46pm

I don't know what they look like. Anything but apes.

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 10:47pm

This is the first time I have EVER completely agreed with Ben Brantley.

[Fabrizio2]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 10:49pm

I am curious to see how ticket sales go after tonight...

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 10:50pm

The majority of TARZAN's target audience don't even know who Ben Brantley is.

[Fabrizio2]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 10:51pm

HAH. You are totally right. Excellent observation. Hahah.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 10:57pm

But I also think word of mouth will not be positive. I've seen a lot of people scratching their heads whilst carrying out their still-napping kids...which, considering the FRIGGIN VOLUME OF THE SHOW, is really something...

[peggyandvelma]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 10:57pm

That picture was sad. Very sad. Poor Tarzan.

[theatreboi11]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 10:58pm

BRAVO CHAD!!!

[jimnysf]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:02pm

"I'm hoping for it's failure. There's no way this trash should occupy a Broadway theatre. It shouldn't be tolerated".

Is this another "Lestat" thread?

[Fabrizio2]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:04pm

ew Taylor Hicks...he is from where I am from


he has grey hair...thats kinda nasty unless youre George Cloony

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:17pm

Newsday is Negative:

"Tarzan," which opened last night at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, is less pretentious than "Aida" and more ambitious than "Beauty and the Beast." For the marketing wizzes at the Mouse House, this may be enough to keep the brand chugging along.

But if the standard is "The Lion King" - and you can bet it is - "Tarzan" disappoints big time. Despite some ravishing spectacle and excellent ape moves, the show never defines itself beyond a sickly sweet, hard-sell Cirque du Soleil-meets-"American Idol" sensibility. By the time a band of primates dashes through the aisles in the second act, the struggle for special effects feels desperate.

And what happens to iconoclastic musicians when confronted with a Broadway challenge? Instead of using their own voice to find new forms, they all come out sounding like Elton John. Phil Collins, expanding the six songs from the 1999 cartoon movie into a full score, fits himself too comfortably into Disney-pop generalities.
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As a director, however, Crowley fails to get individual moments to spark together. A shadow-puppet interlude brings unfortunate comparisons with Julie Taymor's stylized puppetry in "Lion King." The lack of a first-act curtain number is curious; the absence of a big finale feels downright self-destructive.

Of course, there is no getting around the coming-of-age similarities to the lion-cub plot. The book, by David Henry Hwang ("M. Butterfly"), adds a little sweet humor and more jarring verbiage to the 26 novels and 44 movies already inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1912 story about a shipwrecked orphan raised in the jungle by gorillas.
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Despite such attractive qualities, the show is repetitious. Despite the expertise, the evening feels amateurish. Collins' lyrics bog down in rhymed autopilot: "Don't be afraid/It will be all right/Take my hand and hold it tight." Even a lovable save-the-gorilla message can't save the show."

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/stage/ny-ledesing4735933may11,0,7197689.story?coll=ny-entertainment-bigpix

[SayitSomehow]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:17pm

Well this is great... bought tickets for the family to Lestat, saw the SF reviews and decided to get tickets to Tarzan, being SURE it would make up for it, or at least weigh itself out with Disney entertainment value

I'm gonna get disowned :o(
Updated On: 5/10/06 at 11:17 PM

[Babyboomer]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:17pm

NEWSDAY REVIEW:
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/stage/ny-ledesing4735933may11,0,7197689.story?coll=ny-entertainment-bigpix

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:31pm

Margo is posting reviews that are negative and telling those of us who don't feel like reading the reviews whether they are negative or positive.

[LouW95]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:32pm

I have often taken classless, rude posters to task for these kinds of negative messages. I have called these self proclaimed theatre experts "elitists" and they always knew exactly who they were by their mindless replies to my postings. Another kind of posting which does nothing positive for our community is the "Which show is next to close?" thread. These immature posters do not seem to understand that jobs, which are already scarce in our community, are on the line and there are a variety of tastes in the ticket buying world. To promote theatre, we should never gloat over a negative review or predict/wish the
failure of any show. That is my OPINION. By the way, Disney employs more people on Bway than most other producers. I think there is room for those jobs too.
Updated On: 5/10/06 at 11:32 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:33pm

Show me some positive reviews and I'll post them.

And I could care less what the reviews say. There's no joy. I don't care one way or another. I post every review I can find for every show that opens. Don't blame me if most of the reviews for a given show are negative.

Updated On: 5/10/06 at 11:33 PM

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:37pm

Who cares?




Stella Kowalski
French Quarter, New Orleans

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:38pm

Munk thanks for posting that pic, you officially killed any interest I had in seeing this. You've saved me much money.

[leefowler]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:41pm

I don't believe that negative posts on these message boards has ever caused a show to close a second before it would have anyway. Stop blaming the messager.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:46pm

Variety is Mixed to-Positive:

"Green, according to popular psychology, not only symbolizes nature and fertility but also is the easiest shade on the eye, known for its soothing, refreshing qualities. Color therapy may not be enough to quell the carping of musical theater traditionalists about the theme-park aesthetic Disney has brought to Broadway. But the dose of tranquility provided by Bob Crowley's lusciously verdant sets for "Tarzan" should prove medicinal to the naysayers as the entertainment empire's latest stage venture becomes a prosperous fixture at the Richard Rodgers.

The show may be more sophisticated in terms of its design and physical presentation than in its workmanlike musical craftsmanship, but an insipid score has not stopped other Disney tuners from finding popular acceptance in the marketplace.

Expanding on the five songs he penned for the 1999 animated movie, Phil Collins has written numbers that rarely develop or build the way good musical theater songs should, and there's no punchy act-one closer or stirring final anthem. But the pop score is tuneful, the lyrics serviceable and the pounding percussive rhythms occasionally exciting, which seems enough to ask in this vibrant package.

Drawing from Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic tale of the apeman and from the Mouse toon's screenplay, playwright David Henry Hwang, who did previous book duty on Disney's "Aida," has given the story the clean, uncomplicated lines necessary to communicate across the footlights and play to the broadest possible age range.
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Directing for the first time here after undertaking design chores for Disney on "Aida" and "Mary Poppins," Crowley doesn't rival the flourish Julie Taymor brought to "The Lion King." But as an artist whose primary currency is visual, his contribution is no less significant. Crowley's choice to box in the stage with a single dominating color creates an intimate storybook effect, enhanced by Natasha Katz's magical, multihued lighting.
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Unlike previous Disney shows "Beauty and the Beast," "The Lion King" and "Aida," or the upcoming London import "Mary Poppins," this first new Mouse HouseMouse House musical to hit Gotham in six years was not honed in an out-of-town tryout. Instead, it was finessed during workshops and an extended preview period, exposing the gestating production directly to the sniping of a community that regards itself as the artistic gatekeepers of the Broadway musical.

To the credit of the creative team and Disney Theatrical chief Thomas Schumacher, the show has come together to deliver eye-popping spectacle and unexpected emotional involvement. "Tarzan" should be seeing green at the box office for some time to come.


http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117930466?categoryid=33&cs=1

Updated On: 5/11/06 at 11:46 PM

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:51pm

Does anyone think- in light of these reviews- that the 4th Tony nom slot for Best Musical will go to Wedding Singer?

Jersey Boys, Color Purple, and Drowsy are pretty much locks (seems to be agreed on by the majority). That 4th spot though... Is Tarzan farther out of the running now? I realllly want Wedding Singer to get the 4th nomination!

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/10/06 at 11:52pm

I just want to say this:

I feel bad for the people are lose their jobs every time a show closes. BUT...

They knew that working in the business means they won't have a job forever. They know that shows eventually close.

I don't think anyone who wishes a show to close is also wishing all those people out of work.

But it is no different than saying you hate a certain company and wish they would dissolve.