Tarzan Closing

[wdIMAGINEER1208]

I apologize if there were any other threads about this. It was recently announced that Tarzan would face its final curtain on Broadway on July 8, 2007.

Does anyone know why they are closing the show so soon? I think it might be because of the great amount of mixed reviews it received.

Does Disney have anything up its sleeve to fill the space at the Richard Rodgers or is something else going to take over? I know that there are one (or a few) musicals in development by Disney (aside from The Little Mermaid), but I'm not sure what they are.

This is really a big blow for Disney, from having 4 shows on Broadway to having 2 in less than a month. Hopefully it will all equal out when The Little Mermaid opens.

Here is a link from the story: http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=549980

Bryan

 

[Nemo14]

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=197096&highlight=Tarzan
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=197096&highlight=Tarzan

 

[SDav10495]

Does anyone know why they are closing the show so soon? I think it might be because of the great amount of mixed reviews it received.

No mo' dough flow. B'way is a b'zness.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

Tarzan was losing money every week it was open. Schumacher (president of Disney Theatricals) got tired of keeping the thing afloat. Its reviews were dreadful, and it never really caught on with audiences. Having seen all of Disney's Broadway shows, I can assure you this was BY FAR the worst of the lot.

The Little Mermaid opens at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (formerly the home of Beaut and the Beast, which closes July 22) on December 6 (previews start November 3). The show's out of town tryout begins in Denver on July 26.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Tarzan was losing money every week it was open. Schumacher (president of Disney Theatricals) got tired of keeping the thing afloat. Its reviews were dreadful, and it never really caught on with audiences. Having seen all of Disney's Broadway shows, I can assure you this was BY FAR the worst of the lot.

The Little Mermaid opens at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (formerly the home of Beaut and the Beast, which closes July 22) on December 6 (previews start November 3). The show's out of town tryout begins in Denver on July 26.

yes...hopefully The Little Mermaid is a great show, but I refuse to buy tickets until I have heard more about the show. After Tarzan, I no longer assume high quality from Disney, but Mary Poppins was fantastic, so I certainly have high hopes for TLM...just not enough to spend $120 before I hear more.

 

[Figment82]

Good riddance Tarzan...

 

[Zummi Gummi]

yes...hopefully The Little Mermaid is a great show, but I refuse to buy tickets until I have heard more about the show. After Tarzan, I no longer assume high quality from Disney, but Mary Poppins was fantastic, so I certainly have high hopes for TLM...just not enough to spend $120 before I hear more.

One of Tarzan's biggest problems was that it was directed by a designer. Bob Crowley, who does wonderful work (he designed, and won Tonys for the sets for both Aida and Mary Poppins) is NOT a director. Tarzan was choppy, clunky, and just didn't flow at all. Yes, it looked good, but it lacked any sort of substance.

 

[IcicleM]

That's definitely true... I just... never felt like I was in a jungle. The only time I did was the jungle sounds they played between scenes and such.

Mary Poppins was gorgeous, and it was based more on the book than the original movie (besides the songs) and The Little Mermaid is going to do the same. It's going to be a combination of the two, but focus a lot on the story by Hans Christian Anderson

 

[ToTBellHop]

which is good--a musical that is almost identical to the movie is no fun. We need different content, new music, and I like it when the old music has lyrics and purpose changed (Mary Poppins does this well--many of the songs serve a different purpose than in the movie, and it works well. I loved Jolly Holiday).

 

[wbboy29]

I already have my Mermaid tickets for the very last out-of-town performance in Denver. I can't wait!!! I really wanted to see Tarzan but unfortunately I'm currently out of the country, on tour, and won't be back in the states till Sept :brick: . Oh well, I'm just so stoked I got tickets for Mermaid!!!!:sohappy:

 

[Zummi Gummi]

That's definitely true... I just... never felt like I was in a jungle. The only time I did was the jungle sounds they played between scenes and such.

Mary Poppins was gorgeous, and it was based more on the book than the original movie (besides the songs) and The Little Mermaid is going to do the same. It's going to be a combination of the two, but focus a lot on the story by Hans Christian Anderson

Interestingly enough, the fact that the musical is an amalgamation of the books and film was not Disney's choice, by any stretch of the imagination. Cameron Mackintosh, who has produced Phantom, Cats, and Les Miz, owned the rights to the Mary Poppins novels for use in a stage production. The P.L. Travers estate specifically gave them to him, and not to Disney, because you will recall, they considered Disney's film adaptation "horrid" (their word, not mine). Their main complaint with the film was that Disney made Mary Poppins too sweet and likeable- she comes across as much more stern in the novels. Additionally, the Banks children are HUGE brats in the novel.

Anyway, Mackintosh had been planning a stage musical of Poppins for some time. However, he realized early on that without the catchy tunes everyone knows from Mary Poppins, his production would not sell. So, he approached Disney about securing the rights to use their score. Disney was not going to just turn it all over to him, and eventually they struck a very unique deal- they would co-produce the show. This allowed them to use characters from the novels who didn't appear in the film (Miss Andrew, specifically), and also the Sherman brothers score. Disney agreed to first open the show in London, where Mackintosh is from (note that this is the first Disney musical to premiere in Europe), and then move it to Broadway.

So you see, it was more a marriage of necessity than anything else.

 

[raven]

It's not just Tarzan. If shows don't get nominated for a Tony in some way their fate is sealed. The Tuesday after the Tony Awards I watched 5 shows announce that they were closing by the first part of July. The producers are the ones paying to keep it there and if other shows are going to get the publicity and audience then they will start to loose money. It happens all the time to newer shows. No worry though, most likely it will tour. :wave:

 

[wbboy29]

Interestingly enough, the fact that the musical is an amalgamation of the books and film was not Disney's choice, by any stretch of the imagination. Cameron Mackintosh, who has produced Phantom, Cats, and Les Miz, owned the rights to the Mary Poppins novels for use in a stage production. The P.L. Travers estate specifically gave them to him, and not to Disney, because you will recall, they considered Disney's film adaptation "horrid" (their word, not mine). Their main complaint with the film was that Disney made Mary Poppins too sweet and likeable- she comes across as much more stern in the novels. Additionally, the Banks children are HUGE brats in the novel.

Anyway, Mackintosh had been planning a stage musical of Poppins for some time. However, he realized early on that without the catchy tunes everyone knows from Mary Poppins, his production would not sell. So, he approached Disney about securing the rights to use their score. Disney was not going to just turn it all over to him, and eventually they struck a very unique deal- they would co-produce the show. This allowed them to use characters from the novels who didn't appear in the film (Miss Andrew, specifically), and also the Sherman brothers score. Disney agreed to first open the show in London, where Mackintosh is from (note that this is the first Disney musical to premiere in Europe), and then move it to Broadway.

So you see, it was more a marriage of necessity than anything else.

Actually Hunchback (Der Glockner Von Notre Dame) was the first Disney musical to premiere in Europe (Berlin '99-'02), but it never made it to the states. Which is a shame because the show is AMAZING from what I had seen in the past. I really wish Schumacher would re-look at this production and bring it to the states. Here's a link to a good site all about the Berlin show. http://home.alphalink.com.au/~paga/hunchback/

 

[Zummi Gummi]

Actually Hunchback (Der Glockner Von Notre Dame) was the first Disney musical to premiere in Europe (Berlin '99-'02), but it never made it to the states. Which is a shame because the show is AMAZING from what I had seen in the past. I really wish Schumacher would re-look at this production and bring it to the states. Here's a link to a good site all about the Berlin show. http://home.alphalink.com.au/~paga/hunchback/

You're right! I should have been more specific and said London. I never saw Hunchback live, but from what I have seen/ read, it looked interesting. Not sure how it would have played with American audiences, though.

 

[ISTCrew20]

I heard Aladdin was in the pipeline and will be coming in the next few years. It was just a rumor that I heard, but who knows. Aladdin at DCA is fantastic.

I'm really hoping for Hercules, but I don't see it happening.

I'm still holding out for Nemo to be made into a full blown musical. I really think it could work. Songs could be extended, a few added, and the story spaced out. Hopefully, the Theater in the Wild will be the testing ground for things like that. I believe that's why the theater wasn't themed to a specific land and the theater to a specific story.

 

[raven]

I heard Aladdin was in the pipeline and will be coming in the next few years. It was just a rumor that I heard, but who knows. Aladdin at DCA is fantastic.

I'm really hoping for Hercules, but I don't see it happening.

I'm still holding out for Nemo to be made into a full blown musical. I really think it could work. Songs could be extended, a few added, and the story spaced out. Hopefully, the Theater in the Wild will be the testing ground for things like that. I believe that's why the theater wasn't themed to a specific land and the theater to a specific story.

True. Nemo would make a great full-length musical. There are still plenty of scenes that they could add that were dropped from the movie to fill it in. I just think that Nemo will be at the that theatre for about 5 years before they think about putting in something else. The reason I say this is because of all of the extra stages, thrusts, rigging and special effects that are nearly perminantly installed for Nemo specifically. These things don't go up and come down easily like touring companies.

The song writers for Nemo have already done a Broadway show: Avenue Q. I think possibly they will be doing more for Disney/Pixar in the future.

 

[MickeyJman06]

this is very strange
i went on to disney's ebsite and it says it is true
Beauty and the beast closes in lik 20 or 21 days later
sorry, i kinda knew it might fail:zipit:

closings*:
Tarzan: July 8th 2007
BATB: July 29 or 28 2007
Marry Poppins: August 15 2007
The Lion King: September 8 2007
sad
*2 are fake

 

[Zummi Gummi]

this is very strange
i went on to disney's ebsite and it says it is true
Beauty and the beast closes in lik 20 or 21 days later
sorry, i kinda knew it might fail:zipit:

closings*:
Tarzan: July 8th 2007
BATB: July 29 or 28 2007
Marry Poppins: August 15 2007
The Lion King: September 8 2007
sad
*2 are fake

Beauty and the Beast didn't "fail." It ran for 13 years, and still makes them money. I still wouldn't be surprised at this point (with Tarzan now closing) if BatB rescinded their closing notice- it was only ever closing because of Mermaid's impending opening. Disney would have saturated their own markey by competing with themselves.

By the way, Poppins and Lion King are not closing anytime soon. Both shows played to SRO last week.

 

[disnyfan89]

I find it very ironic that Tarzan is closing so soon because I am visiting NY July 5th-8th and we are seeing every Disney show except Tarzan! :lol: We opted to see Rent instead.

On a side note, does anyone know how one could reach Mr. Thomas Schumacher.

 

[MickeyJman06]

Beauty and the Beast didn't "fail." It ran for 13 years, and still makes them money. I still wouldn't be surprised at this point (with Tarzan now closing) if BatB rescinded their closing notice- it was only ever closing because of Mermaid's impending opening. Disney would have saturated their own markey by competing with themselves.

By the way, Poppins and Lion King are not closing anytime soon. Both shows played to SRO last week.

i know, i meant it for Tarzan, not BATB,
sad BATB is leaving
also the lion king and mary poppins was a joke since two shows were closing the same month