Tarzan Sets Dates at Broadway's Richard Rodgers; Musical to Open 5/10/06

Disney Theatricals has officially announced a theater and dates for Tarzan. The show, directed and designed by Bob Crowley, will begin previews at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on March 24 in preperation for a May 10 opening. Tarzan will be the final opening of the Broadway season as it opens on the final day for eligibility for the 2006 Tony Awards.

From the start of previews through May 1, Tarzan will play a significantly reduced schedule; the show will primarily play Thursday through Saturday with a couple of Tuesday performances and some Wednesdays thrown in. This schedule is similar to the unusual one employed by the hit London musical Billy Elliot, which opted for an elogated preview period in which it typically only played Thursday through Saturday with Monday performances on select weeks.

More than 90 years ago, Edgar Rice Burroughs introduced the character of Tarzan to the world in the October 1912 issue of All Story Magazine. Disney released the animated film version of Tarzan in 1999. The musical will feature a book by David Henry Hwang adapted from the film's screenplay by Tab Murphy, Bob Tzudiker and Noni White and based on the novel, Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Phil Collins, who provided songs for the film, has written eight new songs for the stage Tarzan.

The tuner will feature choreography by Meryl Tankard, aerial movement by Pichon Baldinu who did the same for De La Guarda, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by John Shivers and orchestrations by Doug Besterman.

Movin' Out, the current tenant at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, is scheduled to play its final performance on December 11.