Tarzan, North’s first musical, performed in front of six sold out audiences. The performances were on November 6-8 and November 12-14 in the Black Box theatre.
“I think that the hype of North doing their own show, along with Tarzan being a classic for most of this generation, caused the shows to sell out very quickly,” said senior Kyle Fisher, who played Tarzan.
The hard work by both cast and crew made the show possible. For months they practiced and rehearsed until the show was ready. The story is mostly told through songs.
“The number, ‘Son of Man,’ is by far my favorite moment in the show. It is really our big celebratory, ‘pump-up’ song. The kids get to ‘ape-out.’ There is some really beautiful choreography, and some of our leads get a nice singing feature. Most exciting is the big reveal of adult Tarzan. With the silk, we were able to make this really impressive entrance with Kyle swinging in from the platform onto the stage floor; it is certainly a crowd pleaser,” said the choreographer Cheryl Schwartz.
There are challenges that come with putting on shows, though. The Black Box is not as big as other theaters, which can cause problems. The set was built in a way so that pit band could fit beneath it.
“Some of our challenges were about how to fit the pit in the Black Box and how to have Tarzan swing; but challenges come with every production and it is what makes seeing the final product worthwhile,” said the director Clare McConville.
One unique challenge the show faced was finding a young Tarzan. Freshman Michael Wentz was chosen for the role and faced some of his own challenges in the show.
“Personally, as young Tarzan, it was difficult to come into the Black Box after acting on a classic stage in an auditorium. Also, the range needed to sing a few of the songs was quite high. Luckily, Mr. Nielsen lowered the key,” Wentz said.
Overall, the show had a lot of support from the audience.
“Since we had seven different performances, each went differently from the next, but overall every night we got great feedback from the crowd and it was super fun,” said student Amy Cappelli, who played Jane.
Preparation for the winter show, All My Sons by Arthur Miller, began December 1 with the production on Feb. 18-20.