The stage is set – I look at an enormous map of Africa, sails caught up with shipwrecked boxes and listen to the atmospheric opening sounds of the African jungle to soon be pierced by a baby’s cry – Tarzan’s cry, though he is not yet named ‘Tarzan’ – the next two hours will be his story.
TARZAN The Stage Musical has swung into life in Melbourne over the past couple of weeks and I’m so happy to have been invited to one of their final shows for review. I’ve seen three shows this week and this was my favourite – the other two were professional city shows so that’s saying something. My daughter could not believe she had been so engrossed when it was “interval already”. We sat next to one of the ‘Annies’ having a night off from playing her own famous character in the city currently, and when I asked her at interval what she thought thusfar she eagerly replied ‘I’m LOVING it!’ (excited to see her singing teacher in the cast too)
Get on the website to book the last tickets remaining until Sunday 14 Sept.
Ticket link: https://nationaltheatre.org.au/tarzan/
The blurb on the show told me:
TARZAN – The Stage Musical brings Disney’s epic animated film to life on stage in a high-flying action adventure, complete with aerial choreography and unforgettable music to the soundtrack of Phil Collins. Tarzan struggles to find where he truly belongs, torn between the animal kingdom and the human world. With book by Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, at its core TARZAN is a story of identity, love, and the universal quest for connection.
Typically, the Disney TARZAN draws interest of course from adventurous kids, but there were more adults in the audience woo-hooing tonight and much of it for Joshua Russell as ‘Tarzan’ – the exact required look he definitely has and demanding skills for this unusual role; he strongly mastered those vine swings and strode a masterful ‘ape walk’ – his body must now be well adapted to that gait. Same for all the gorillas, excelling in their emulation of animal behavior and their acrobatic and dance which combine to give a seamless presentation of orderly uncontrolled chaos – there is so much going on, it’s exciting!
Usually I have a preference for certain characters by the end of a show, but in this one I didn’t, I liked them all and they were all played exceptionally well.
Seriousness and laughs from Jane and her father Prof. Porter were fun moments, played by Emily Robinson straight out of graduating from the VCA and Drew Holmes with an impressive history in shows too long to list.
Sarah Murr as ‘Kala’ (Tarzan’s ape-mother) is pure curated talent. It did not surprise me later to read about her role recently playing in Hadestown at Her Majesty’s. Matching up Sarah’s talents alongside Devon Braithwaite as ‘Kerchak’ (Tarzan’s ape-father) was perfect casting, and no wonder – he trained at The Boston Conservatory (USA). I’d love to see these two play again together in another show as non-animals after witnessing what they can do with a non-human role.
The scene where the gorillas inquisitively meet Jane and her Dad was both touching and tragic. The loss of one of Tarzan’s ape family had an empathetic music choice and the gun shots were unnervingly real, as was the formidable acting of Nick Eynaud as Clayton, jungle guide who had another goal on his agenda.
Emma Wilby Owers playing ‘Terk’ (Tarzan’s ape-buddy) nailed every line and expression, body movement and reaction. Another one to watch – there’s a heap of stars in this show!
Ollie Pearce as ‘Leopard’ brought the adrenalin rush, well focused with that slyly power and the Ensemble working every bit as hard as all the leads, sometimes more so on the energy required for partner throws and crazy wildness.
Finally, shout out to Young Tarzans, Daniel Lim and Sebastian Dovey Cribbes, both would have had an absolutely unique experience in this script and who wouldn’t want to play ‘Tarzan’ learning how to fruit pick and hang upside down. Whichever youthful Tarzan you see when you go along to watch you have to admire what these juniors in theatre can do and the confidence they have – theatre is so great for kids.
As always, I love the memories theatre can help recapture and looking later at the detailed program for this production, I have a mental flashback to watching a much earlier Tarzan on screen; Olympic swimmer Johnny Weismuller. Certainly not like the vivid colours and amazing action I saw everywhere on stage tonight with hundreds of green hanging vines, twisting and tumbling acrobats, dancers defying what their bodies can do naturally, but those calmer old black and white movies we’d sit down to watch on weekends and after which my brother would disappear to be ‘Tarzan’ in our backyard Willow tree. Yes, this is a story which has stood the test of time in any format with no mobile phones needed (they don’t work in the jungle anyway).
Oh – and hold out for that distinctive Tarzan jungle call, how does one describe that?
Congratulations to all the cast and the James Terry Collective creative team, you have all done yourselves proud!
Playing: August 29- September 14, 2025
Venue: The National Theatre, St Kilda
Website: www.tarzanstagemusical.com.au
CAST
Tarzan- Joshua Russell
Jane – Emily Robinson
Kala – Sara Murr
Kerchak – Devon Braithwaite (alt. Joti Van Carlos Gore)
Terk – Emma Wilby
Prof. Porter – Drew Holmes
Clayton – Nick Eynaud
Young Tarzan – Daniel Lim & Sebastian Dovey Cribbes
Ensemble – Simon Fairweather, Brittany Ford, Josephine Lopes, Sammy Allsop, Matilda Simmons, Ollie Pearce, Liimei Lim, Adriana Pannuzzo Emma Wilby, Gabriel Marsilli, Ayril Borce, Arjun Tiwari, Patrick Friedlander, Nicholas Dugdale.
TARZAN The Musical is Directed by Alister Smith (Elvis a Revolution, The Boys in the Band), Choreographed by Michael Ralph (The Wedding Singer, Legally Blonde), and Musical Direction by Claire Healy (SIX the Musical)
Adapted from the story “Tarzan of the Apes” by Edgar Rice Burroughs and originally Produced on Broadway by Disney Theatrical Productions. TARZAN ® owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Licensed exclusively by Music Theatre International (Australasia).
To book tickets to Tarzan: The Stage Musical, please visit https://nationaltheatre.org.au/tarzan/.
For information on further shows see: https://www.jamesterrycollective.com.au/
