Wow- Rob Evan

[Mistress_Spouzic]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 6:20pm

Ok, yall know I love Tarzan but Shuler Hensley was always a weak link (ha) in my opinion. Today was Rob Evan's first day as Kerchak and he was already miles better than Shuler. Shuler always seemed bored to me but Rob showed that Kerchak has a range of emotions. He had great chemistry with everyone, especially Merle. The scenes where they fight and follow it with affection were completely believable. Also, you believed that he was conflicted when he was sending Tarzan away. He also has a powerhouse voice. He can only get better!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 6:32pm

whoo! I'm sure Rob is fantastic. I love Shuler Hensley I think he was outstanding in Oklahoma!, and it's neat that he did Tarzan for his girls (I think I remember him saying that in one of the videos), but it just wasn't right for him. I can't wait to see him in something more appropriate.

[JPNP132]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 9:54pm

thank you for sharing, ive seen shuler twice i thought he was ok but i like horace v rogers better when i saw him as an u/s in feb. Im excited to see rob i am going sat night, cant wait!

[Mistress_Spouzic]

Posted: 3/29/07 at 12:27am

Ive really liked Shuler in other things too thats why I have to assume hes just tired of the role, because I think he couldve been doing a great job.

[Shakespearean]

Posted: 3/29/07 at 9:48am

I’m a Shuler Hensley fan and have enjoyed his work in Tarzan, but I’ve also seen Rob Evan in J&H and Les Mis so how could I not try to be there for his first night as Kerchak? I wanted to leave early in the hope of getting a student rush seat but work, the subway, and the fates conspired against me and I ended up number 23 on line. Next stop, TKTS, which only had 9th row Mezzanine available, unacceptable for such an august event. So, I rewarded myself for recently finishing my first two classes with As and bought a first row Orchestra seat across the aisle from the seat I have sat in at student rush three times. Irony.

I’d spent days reminding myself that Shuler wasn’t the only one allowed to play the role, that he had to share it with the other kids, and they might play differently. Still, I was worried because I saw Horace V. Rogers as Kerchak one evening and while I absolutely love his voice, and wonder why he’s not understudying Terk, he seemed to lack the physical presence required for Kerchak.. I wanted to like Rob Evan and see the show maintain its place in my opinion as the finest ensemble performance on Broadway. I didn’t like his performance.

I loved it. He made the part his own, and ran with it. He showed a deeper tenderness but remained completely believable as being capable of the strength and violence his role as leader of the tribe required. He has an impressive physical presence and had the ape mannerisms down, but it was the voice that sold me. He’s still got it. Merle was, as always, ethereal and their voices blended beautifully. There was a definite chemistry there that was thrilling to watch. He had the same intensity and twenty mile gaze that Shuler had, reminding you that he’s always on the lookout for the next threat to his family. They need to work on his sound levels a bit more, but it was his first day and the sound team on this show is excellent, so I am sure it will be sorted out after a few days. Most importantly, he seemed to be having fun!

Overall, the rehearsals for Rob were beneficial for everyone and the show was running tighter. Josh and Jenn were their usual awesome selves and Chester was especially endearing last night. I think they must have worked over Clayton’s parts a little because Donnie’s timing was dead on last night, by far his best performance yet. Tim was having some mic problems, it almost seemed like it was coming on a word or two into each line, which was interesting to hear because I was sitting six feet away from him much of the time. His performance was fine, though, and we got to chat about My Fair Lady a bit at the door after the show. Dylan continues to grow in the Young Tarzan role, and his acrobatics and tumbling get better and better. He also had the two girls sitting behind me in tears during ‘I Need to Know’.

After picking up my autographed BC/EFA window card, I decided to hit the stage door. I’ve only done that once before, but this was my chance to get a playbill signed by Rob and Dylan (Alex was on the other one). Last time, Shuler was the last one out. Rob was outside when I got there and was absolutely charming and approachable. I asked him if he’d had fun and he immediately started talking about the rest of the cast, the sign of a true team player. I hope he enjoys this role for a long, long time. Everyone else were their usual charming selves, especially when you consider this was after their second show of the day. Dylan was especially friendly and there were a few little girls (and women!) there that he completely charmed, a real lil trooper. Oh, and now I have a window card signed by both Rob and Shuler!

[Shakespearean]

Posted: 3/29/07 at 8:44pm

OK, 1 Bump for any Rob Evan fans who may not have logged in until tonight. The morning posts are already buried on Page 3 :)

[pharmer2000]

Posted: 3/29/07 at 8:56pm

Shakespearean,
GREAT post !!! I now MUST see Tarzan again. Those who know me are gonna laugh, since they know how many times I have seen Tarzan already. Oh well, I love the show. What can I say. By the way, I have seen fine tuning in all aspects of the Tarzan production with each time I have attended a performance. I wish for continued success to Shuler, and the same for Rob as he begins his role as Kerchak.

[Shakespearean]

Posted: 3/30/07 at 12:12pm

I agree, they do seem to do a lot of tuning and tightening up. I've referenced this in several of my mini-reviews. Perhaps the most improved is Donny as Clayton; it's hard to add depth to a cardboard character, but he's been doing an awesome job lately. I see no reason why shows can't continue to evolve and I imagine that with the Amsterdam show opening, we may see some 'Hey, you know what looked really cool?' stuff acrried over.

Still, I dream of an ending with more impact. Literally. I had a dream about a month ago that the final scene was playing, only you could see the ship, and they were loading the animals from the Lion King on board at gunpoint. I guess that's what happens when I don't take my medication :)