Well, the film is a different story. Since it was, you know, good.
Worst Disney Musical EVER! GO AIDA!
Yes. It was bad. It was THAT bad. With the exception of the first five minutes, there was nothing redeeming about it.
The show was an overall mess after the great opening shipwreck. Josh and Jenn did an amazing job with the vocals and were the only reasons I recommended seeing it.
I read somewhere that this show was not originally conceived for a broadway theater. They were thinking of performing it in the round, on multiple platforms, inside a tent. Might have helped but I don't think they ever got the whole flying on bungee cord thing down. Probably sounded good on paper though...
Updated On: 2/27/08 at 03:48 PM
Understudy Joined: 12/28/07
My family saw the show and loved it.
I didn't see it, but play the CD a lot. Really good music. Must be a show like MACK AND MABLE that has a great score but is not a good show.
It was a crowdpleaser. Saw it from the first row and it was pretty awesome. No it's not Les Miserables or The Lion King but I wasn't expecting it to be.
Something's terribly wrong when people use phrases like "crowdpleaser" or "fun" to define a mediocre or worse show. Just because a show is of lighter fare does not mean the quality should be any less than that of another show.
I think I have to agree with wickedfan on this one. It just sounds like cheap publicity words meant to demean theatre go-ers who don't know any better.
MOM: Oh look honey! Tarzan the musical is playing! And look...they say it's "crowdpleaser" guaranteed to give you a "good" time!
DAD: Well hot dog, Mama! That sounds good!
TIMMY: Wait a sec....what do they say about the staging and cast?! Mom...is the music even that good?
MOM and DAD: Shut up TIMMY!
Seriously, I'm just glad that Scott Porter passed on playing Tarzan so he could go on a play a cripple football hero on a show that is about to be cancelled. Life isn't fair.
The opening of the show was very exciting and worked very well. The rest was kind of sloppy. But I don't know if one can say it's worse or better than the Little Mermaid because I think they have the same problems what with a poor book and huge problems with the climax and resolving the conflict. Just basic story problems. But I think Tarzan did better with sets and costumes than Little Mermaid. About 80% of the sets, props and costumes in Little Mermaid look like they were bought at Toys R Us.
I also think the new songs in both Tarzan and Little Mermaid are evenly matched. The original songs from both movies are great. But the new songs in both shows offered about 2 or 3 good ones and the rest were lame and forgettable.
I didn't hate Tarzan though. I thought there was enough to enjoy in the show to keep me from wanting to walk out. With Little Mermaid, I couldn't help being disappointed.
I have only been suicidal twice in my life. The first time was when I tried getting through an episode of Yes, Dear. I turned it off midway to save my life. The second was sitting through Tarzan. I'm very lucky to be alive. It was that bad.
The music was attrocious, the lyrics were worse, the book was god awful, the design was tacky, the actors awful and the direction bland. Broadway is better without it.
I'm hearing the OBCR.........there are beautiful songs.
In Germany the show has incredible succes
I took my younger brother to see it and he loved every second (except for the thunderstorm which scared him). I wasn't nearly as enamored with it as he was, but I didn't think it was HORRIBLE.
I loved it - all of it. I thought Josh Strickland was incredible. Six months later and I still listen to the score frequently. If Strickland took it on tour, I would definitely go again. I honestly don't know what more people were wanting from it.
The music was attrocious, the lyrics were worse, the book was god awful, the design was tacky, the actors awful and the direction bland. Broadway is better without it.
I thinks you did not like it, even if it was a great box office.
"In Germany the show has incredible success"
That's because Europe is a musical theatre wasteland.
Broadway Star Joined: 2/23/08
I love th soundtrack. I guess I'm a sucker for Phil Collins.
Oh, and B3TA07, just shut up.
At this point, it really just feels like people are trying to be trendy when they attack me. I apologize to the good people of Europe, but given the way they flock in droves to such dreck as the french "Romeo & Juliet" and "Gone With The Wind," as well as other musical like "Atlantis" and "The Ten Commandments," in conjunction to their unyielding affection for Frank Wildhorn's shows (though who knows; maybe the translations make the lyrics good?), I stand behind my assertion.
I stand behind you B3T.
I can't stand the music.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/14/04
"The music was fun. The show was utterly boring and Josh Strickland couldn't act his way out of a paper bag.
Jenn Gambatese wasn't too bad though."
Rentaholic, it's you! I tried to register with that name years ago and was dubbed Rentaholic2....I've always wondered where the original Rentaholic was. Nice to see you are still around and I didn't get the "2" in vain.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/14/04
wait, seriously??? We both joined on the exact same day? weird...I missed it by minutes!
Amalou -- your description of the LM and Tarzan is PRECISELY my comments on the whole thing.
In all honesty: I like Tarzan more than LM, but that's not saying a whole lot. Dissappointed is def the word to use to describe LM.
I have only been suicidal twice in my life.
Not funny. Incredibly offensive, in fact.
"In Germany the show has incredible success"
That's because Europe is a musical theatre wasteland.
At this point, it really just feels like people are trying to be trendy when they attack me. I apologize to the good people of Europe, but given the way they flock in droves to such dreck as the french "Romeo & Juliet" and "Gone With The Wind," as well as other musical like "Atlantis" and "The Ten Commandments," in conjunction to their unyielding affection for Frank Wildhorn's shows (though who knows; maybe the translations make the lyrics good?), I stand behind my assertion.
I don't think it's trendy to attack you. I just think you deserve it with regards to specific things you say. You attack all of Europe initially because Tarzan is having success in Germany. But then you compare the European import to a few original French musicals and what is mainly Joop Van der Ende's (not Europe's) affection for Frank Wildhorn (though I like J&H and Scarlet Pimpernel).
While I don't care for the French spectacle shows (and not all the ones you listed were that successful), I acknowledge that they have different tastes in theatre and not all of them are bad (Ali Baba is quite fun). And you don't mention the successes of some of their well-respected shows such as Les Miserables, Elisabeth, Rebecca or Tanz der Vampire. Not to mention that many many many other American transfers have also enjoyed enormous success including the NUMEROUS sit-down and touring productions currently being performed. So I don't understand this portrait of the European "musical wasteland" you are trying to paint. It's pretty insulting.
Mister Matt-
I'm not going appologize about my little joke that you didn't get because I find it funny. But how is it offensive?
i am one of the few that loved tarzan..i saw it 3 times and liked it very much
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