Disney's Tarzan Flies Out of Broadway Jungle After 486 Perfs on July 8

Disney Theatrical Productions' Tarzan will close at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Sunday, July 8. Based on the animated film, the high-flying musical will have played 35 preview and 486 regular performances at the time of closing. The European premiere of the musical continues to play at the Circustheatre in the Netherlands, where it opened in April and has won several theatrical awards.

In a statement, Disney Theatrical's Thomas Schumacher said: “I am disappointed that the Broadway production of Tarzan will close earlier than any of us had hoped, and I would have loved for it to have been as successful in New York as it is now in Holland. Despite this, Tarzan was the Broadway debut for two artists I have long admired and respected, and for this I am extremely proud. The opportunity to work again with the legendary Phil Collins, who expanded his film score for the stage production, and with Bob Crowley in his Broadway directorial debut has been hugely gratifying. I know that as we continue to produce Tarzan around the world, audiences will embrace it with as much enthusiasm as we put into creating it.”

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 Collins. The tuner, directed by Crowley, opened on Broadway on May 10, 2006.

Tarzan stars Josh Strickland as Tarzan, Jenn Gambatese as Jane, Merle Dandridge as Kala, Rob Evan as Kerchek, Chester Gregory II as Terk, Timothy Jerome as Professor Porter, Donnie Keshawarz as Clayton and Dylan Riley Snyder and Alex Rutherford alternating in the role of Young Tarzan.