What's not to like? I'm seeing TARZAN in June, and I've (accidently) developed a "crush" on Josh Strickland. He's quite handsome, and I'm totally enjoying his voice (as well as the entire cast) on the OBC CD. I'm betting that TARZAN is worth every penny. http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Video.aspx?ci=534020 Apparently he didn't even make the top 30 on American Idol the year he tried out.... we found him, though. He's a masterpiece!
The show is really only worth every penny if you spend about 2,000 of them or so. 2001 pennies I think would be asking for too much here. The show was entertaining, but the music and such was nothing I'd want to spend money on, unless every track was Waiting For This Moment.
I have a little "theory" with musicals that I'm seeing for the first time... listen to the CD a LOT before you see it! Every time a song plays at performance time.... you love it already. It can have its downfalls.... I knew that Kim died before the end in Miss Saigon. For RENT - I swear, I wouldn't have gotten ANYTHING out of it if I didn't know the words (it took me about 3 times listening to the OBC to GET the words even THERE!)It was AWESOME! STILL IS!
"You're NUTS if you don't fall asleep at night thinking about Josh Strickland in TARZAN. I do!
Sweet dreams, dear.
Cheyenne Jackson tickled me. AFTER ordering SoMMS a drink but NOT tickling him, and hanging out with Girly in his dressing room (where he DIDN'T tickle her) but BEFORE we got married. To others. And then he tweeted Boobs. He also tweeted he's good friends with some chick on "The Voice" who just happens to be good friends with Tink's ex. And I'm still married. Oh, and this just in: "Pettiness, spite, malice ....Such ugly emotions... So sad." - After Eight, talking about MEEEEEEEE!!! I'm so honored! :-)
I enjoy the CD and the show I guess because I enjoy the music and I love Josh, but I can definitely see its faults and why some people are turned off by it. We're all allowed to have our guilty pleasure shows.
It's a pretty awful show and Mr. Strickland is pretty bad in the leading role, but I tell you (and I'm sorry for repeating myself, but it's so true) he'd make a damned good Cher impersonator. When he began singing I thought she had replaced him or something.
"I'm learning to dig deep down inside and find the truth within myself and put that out. I think what we identify with in popular music more than anything else is when someone just shares a truth that we can relate to. That's what I'm searching for in my music." - Ron Bohmer
"I broke the boundaries. It wasn't cool to be in plays- especially if you were in sports & I was in both." - Ashton Kutcher
i saw TARZAN last night (and loved it yet again). but i noticed they've changed a couple of things, most notably in the song 'different'. towards the end of the song, they added a part for jenn to sing, matching josh's line ('there's something so exciting, something oh so exciting'...etc...). it definitely adds some depth to the song, and jenn hits a note at the end of her line that gave me chills. it definitely emphasizes her amazing vocals
Sleeth, honey, you just keep asking these questions and staying as sweet as you are. If you want to see Tarzan, I hope you aren't disappointed. Enjoy it. I was walking past the theatre before a matinee, and Strickland was outside signing autographs. He seems to be a genuinely personable man, and that chest! Yum, yum!
I hope, though, that you open yourself up to some of the great classics of musical theatre. I'd recommend reading the Ethan Mordden book on Rodgers and Hammerstein. You'll wish you could see the ones that don't get produced, like Allegro or Me and Juliet. Ken Mandelbaum's Not Since Carrie is a bible of the musical theatre. You can get it from your library or from Amazon,com, and it's worth every penny. I keep it at my bedside table, because I'm always reading and re-reading it. Craig Zadan's book, Sondheim and Company is exquisite, too.
You may want to read the bios of Moss Hart, George S. Kaufman (Teichmann book), the excellent Margot Peters book on the Lunts, Design for Living, and the bio of Lorenz Hart (I forget the author, but it's a good biography). You will get such a strong sense of the theatre we've missed by being born too late. These were the people who established the standards of American Theatre and need to be remembered.
While you're in New York this summer, you need to go to the Museum of the City of New York on 103rd and 5th Avenue in Spanish Harlem. There's a theatre collection on the third floor that's a must see. They have Mary Martin's costumes from The Sound of Music and South Pacific, Yul Brynner's from The King and I, and in the past have done displays on George M. Cohan and Show Boat.
I'm going this week and plan to see the Alvin Colt exhibit. He designed Guys and Dolls. There's also a lovely toy museum on that floor.
Anyway, like I said, you just keep asking questions and if you're interested in the theatre as I am (I'm 55 and rather burned out by a lot of it, but hope to see new things all the time), you'll learn a lot. Best wishes.
Regarding the post by jess20882 and the changes in "Different"; This is apparently a change that originated ( I believe ) with the new Netherlands production of Tarzan. This is definately a welcome enhancement to this song. The cast of Tarzan always does such a great job and it is nice to see that the show is continually growing and evolving. I think that I am due to see Tarzan again.
I was there for Rob Evan's opening night as Kerchak a few weeks ago and noted that they had tightened up the show again then. The energy was phenomenal, as always, but they had also seemed to have made some minor changes to the lighting (which surprised me; that or they replaced some lamps), and everyone's timing was dead on again. I didn't note the change in the 'Something Different', so it probably came from the Amsterdam production which was after that. Tarzan remains my 'Go To' show when I've had a lousy day and just need to escape. It's not high art but it's Monkey Therapy and yes, Josh and all of the cast, are incredibly warm and friendly at the stage door.
i agree - when i was there on saturday night, it seemed like the cast had so much more energy since i last saw the show back in january or february. don't get me wrong - they never seem to lack energy but saturday night seemed especially upbeat. the vocals are very tight, and there are some small but noticeable changes, like in 'different' and also some interactions between tarzan/jane, and kerchak/kala (by the way, rob evans is doing a phenomenal job as kerchak!).
"You're NUTS if you don't fall asleep at night thinking about Josh Strickland in TARZAN. I do!"
Bless your heart honey! I hope Josh gets the restraining order by June. It might be dangerous for you to meet him. You might explode. He's a wonderful person and vocalist though.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
Tarzan was mildly entertaining, the singing was okay, except for Chester Gregory II whose voice I really enjoyed, but the music wasn't really that great. The show was saved by the amazing effects and acrobatics and Josh Strickland's dead sexy body.
He put his arm around me, hehe. I'm never washing that jacket...