While the sound of swinging on vines, secretly vandalizing human property, and being the only man in a family of apes could be rather terrifying in your mind, for Tarzan, this was his chance to show his true strength along with tackling the past he never had. On March 10th at the Panther Playhouse, I attended to see the Disney Musical Tarzan, based off the original book by David Henry Hwang and featuring music by Phil Collins. The musical centers around a man named Tarzan, who was found by an ape mother named Kala after his parents were inevitably shipwrecked on a jungle and killed. As an audience, you get to see Tarzan grow from an infant to a man in order to prove himself towards the leader of his family pact, Kerchak, as well as befriending …show more content…
Along the way, an exploration group arrives from England, giving Tarzan the first chance of meeting humans and the difficult choice of who to choose between. Overall, I enjoyed this musical. While I did have problems throughout watching, the way Tarzan was put altogether, the effort shown, how the story was conveyed by the cast was what drove me to like this musical. In fact, although I’ve seen numerous high school plays, Tarzan was the first high school musical I’ve ever seen, and I believe it’s safe to say that I’m happy with that.
Looking back, if the cast in Tarzan were any different than what it was, I don’t think I would’ve liked this show as much as I do. The actors were excellent; they were what made this show great. My major problems with this production of Tarzan contains mostly orchestra and story, but not once did I have a problem with the actors. The flaws I had in Tarzan were largely fixed by the stellar performance the cast gave the audience. From the cultivated sequences of Tarzan going up against the Leopard to the crazy, wild ensemble of apes led by Terk singing “Trashin’ the Camp” to the simple yet emotional talks between Tarzan and
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First, the orchestra did an outstanding job with the music. The music felt appropriate with the actors singing, especially with “You Be in My Heart” hitting me in the guts. The problem with the orchestra though was where they were and the sound. I watched this show on the third row of the left side of the auditorium, and being right behind the orchestra, anything that was on the left of the stage was something I could not see because the orchestra was in the way. I’m aware that the placement of the orchestra was the only available space, but during my watch, I was bothered that I wasn’t able to see things that weren’t elevated on left stage. My other problem with the orchestra is that, whenever a song kicked in, the music was louder than the actors singing. A lot of times, I wasn’t able to hear what the actors were saying because their voice was overshadowed by the orchestra in front of me. The only times I was able to hear the actors singing was if the music was soft and quiet or times when the actors had to belt. Like I said earlier, I felt like the story was made up for by the stellar performance of the cast, but that doesn’t mean I forgot about how I felt. The overall story of Tarzan felt rushed to me; I felt that the story forced more music rather than fleshing out the characters for the audience to understand. When you finally get to meet the Jane,
The music has rather suspenseful and at times over intensified the overtone of the moment instead of accessing the undertones of the moment. The acts were extremely exaggerated including Irene Papas who played Clytemnestra. During her acting at times it felt as though she was being extra exaggerated making it awkward to watch. That being considered there was never a moment that occurred when you felt as though she did not genuinely care about every moment. The actor for Agamemnon Kostas Kazakos there were times that it would have been more appropriate to add more feeling into his scene. Often was a viewer it felt as if he would not make a decision for himself but instead was constantly waiting for someone to react. The setting was incredible. It seemed as if it was truly taped in ancient Greece. It was beautiful and embodied what I would image ancient Greece would look like. The soundtrack was over exaggerate. It would be nice if there was not as much drums. Often times it made the scene have an increased moment of anticipation when nothing major was really
One of the main products of this movie that popped out to me was the stars. They all seemed to be great actors even though I only knew one of them. For example, I thought that Ian Michael Smith did a great job portraying Simon Birch. He made the movie cute and funny all at once. I also thought that Joseph Mazello did a great job portraying relatable feelings in the movie. You could tell by his facial expressions what his mood was. All the actors did a great job and I can’t pinpoint one of them who did worse than the
The dynamics were played out excellently by the use of unity of time, place, and action. The climate was heated and so too were the members of the jury as the story progressed. The characters grew to understand each other and the audience learns more and more about the individuals. Perhaps, the motive for that said characters verdict or backstory on the matter. A few characters were highly stereotypical and the actors did a worthy job in portrayed them as accurately as possible. For such a short production, it was an extremely elaborate one. The absence of an intermission also played an important role in keeping the audience submerged in the action. The use of the thrust stage made the acting and situation feel more real. The message was powerful and received well by the audience.
...te Choir did a very poor job with emotional projection (tone); they never smiled or even suggested a hint of feeling in their voices. I found that this made their performance somewhat uninteresting because it wasn’t relatable or something that made me curious. It think that the conductor did a good job making sure that the choir watched her and she guided them through the songs, but I thought it was a bad idea she joined them in the mambo during “One Goal”. The choir did a good job holding up their harmonies and staying in tune. I think that if this choir had a better knowledge and understanding of dynamics it would have made their performance a lot better, especially if they had taken chances. I wish that this choir would have annunciated more so that we could hear the message that they were trying to convey. Still, I think that the choir did respectably overall.
I have no negative comments about the play. I really enjoyed this production of Guys and Dolls and believe that the director's vision was clearly dispayed on the stage by the actors, the musical ensemble and the production team. I thought the set design was amazing and that the costumes perfectly portrayed the style of the 1940s. All of the hard work and dedication put into the play, showed through the actors and the set resulting in a wonderful musical worthy of Broadway.
One of its numerous strengths was the costuming and set. This musical would not have been the same had these elements not come together to transport the viewer. In addition to the costuming and the set, the actors were very well cast. Each actor was in a role that fit them and they portrayed their characters very well. For example, the man who played Glen really seemed like a greedy Wall Street worker. The choreography was also well done. It fit true to the style of dance in the 1980s and added to the immersion experience. The only thing that could have made this experience better would be to add more music. This may just be a personal preference, but when I see a musical I like for the music to be central like it is in Hamilton or Les Miserables. However, this musical was very good and not much could be added to enhance the
Throughout the musical, the prowess of each individual performer was on display. Every performer, with the exception of Kristine, expressed a power and vibrato that was breathtaking; the highest notes lilting and the lowest notes thundering. I was in awe during a majority of the performances because of the commanding singing in each performer.
One neat thing about the play is that all of the sound effects were made by our backstage manager (Lisa Mitchell) and other members of the cast. An exception for the clock chiming at the end of the play. People who have seen the play tell me that it is a very heart moving play. I did not get that feeling because I was always backstage or onstage. Either way, I didn’t get to watch the play so I couldn’t see what was so moving about it.
...xcited to have this experience. Part of the drama of the concert at first is felt when the musicians come in and sit down and begin tuning up their instruments. I would not be able to comment on the performance of the orchestra. During the performance, I seen the audience were moving with the music, but I felt like that everyone seems knows more music than what I learned throughout this semester. After I went home and did some of the research on these music I finally understand why these people like to attend the orchestra concerto, it was because that every piece of music has a history behind it. The Los Angeles audience seemed to me to be people who know music and who will listen to something new in a respectful way. All the same, when the more familiar sounds of the last piece were heard, I could feel a little sense of relaxation and fun coming into the room.
The characters were very funny and were developed well over the musical. The costumes were excellent for the musical and were not only well made but fit the musical perfectly. One costume that stood out to me was Jesus’s costume, which was a simple white robe but had a cross like pattern of lights on his body. The Mormons were also dressed in the stereotypical Mormon missionary outfit with the pants and the tie. The set was very well made and I really like the interactions the people had with the village set. However, the best aspect of the show was the music. Each song not only contributed to the development of the story excellently, but also had the audience laughing at every song. The pit orchestra (the heroes of every musical) had many very talented musicians and contributed significantly to the musical.
Overall, I was very impressed by the concert and I feel that the rest of the audience was also impressed. The expectations for the members of the Chamber Orchestra are high and those were met, but I feel that the expectations for the choral group were not as high. My expectations for the choir were not very high and they were immensely exceeded. The level of talent in that group was something that I was really not expecting at all.
Tarzan begins with Jane and her father adventuring to explore a new world to study the animals there. This led them to meeting a man that was raised by apes and is culturally different from Jane and her father. Jane and her father teach Tarzan to be a man with their cultural world ideas and eventually reject this. The men that brought Jane to the land sees a resource that they want and they first try to gain the trust of Tarzan in order to get their resource but when the time comes they believe that they can use their weaponry to allow them to dominate that wild world and take what they want. Jane eventually tries to relate more to Tarzan’s views and starts to want to help him and wants to be with him in his
The production had many elements which for the most part formed a coalition to further the plot. The characters, the three part scenery and costumes represented well the period of time these people were going through. As far as the performers entering and exiting the stage, it could have been more organized. There were a few times when the performers exited at the wrong times or it seemed so due to the echo of the music. At certain moments the music was slightly loud and drowned the performers. Many of the songs dragged on, so the pacing could have been more effectively executed. Though the music was off at times, the director's decision to have most of the songs performed center sage was a wise one. Also the implementation of actual white characters that were competent in their roles came as a great surprise to the audience and heightened the realism.
As an audience member, I completely fell in love with the story of the Woodsman. Every time his wife panged on his chest to remind him that he had a heart, mine fluttered in unison. The sound and lighting only made the most intense moments more so, and it joined the characters together, whether it was when the flashlights were lightning bugs or when the main characters “la-la-ed” together to understand the beat of chopping down a
I thoroughly enjoyed watching ‘The Greatest Showman’ and I applaud its excellent use of colour, music, and words to capture my attention; teach me valuable lessons; and leave me wanting more. As someone who pays particular attention to detail; works meticulously with every task given; and plays music, I appreciate the detail Michael Gracey put into the film - using carefully chosen colour, impassioned music, and small yet significant events, such as the old hag handing an apple to a young P.T. Barnum which inspires him to create the circus. The flamboyant costumes and dances ensure that the audience never loses interest and that they receive the grand display they expected from the opening scene and more.