Disney Theatrical Productions and Stage Entertainment have announced that Tarzan will open at Holland's Circustheatre next spring. The companies will also co-produce a production of the musical in Germany in 2008.
Beginning with their first international production of Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida in 2001, Disney Theatrical Productions and Stage Entertainment have mounted six Disney musicals that have played to an audience of over 10 million people in Germany and Holland alone. Disney/Stage Entertainment shows have grossed over $400 million in ticket sales. Stage Entertainment currently has five Disney productions in their theaters, including The Lion King in its fifth year in Germany and its third year in Holland, Beauty and the Beast on tour in Germany and Holland and Aida on tour in Germany.
In Tarzan, a shipwreck leaves an infant orphaned on the West African shore. The helpless baby is taken under the protection of a gorilla tribe and becomes part of their family. When he eventually encounters his first human—Jane Porter, a curious young explorer—both their worlds are transformed forever. The stage show, based on the animated Disney film of the same name with a screenplay by Tab Murphy, Bob Tzudiker and Noni White and the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel Tarzan of the Apes, features a book by David Henry Hwang and score by Phil Collins. The tuner, directed by Bob Crowley, opened on Broadway on May 10.
