May 10

May 10, 2006 – The Disney Musical Tarzan Opens on Broadway

“Two worlds, one family…”

On May 10, 2006, the Broadway Musical Tarzan opened at the Richard Rodgers Theater, after more than a month of previews beginning on March 24^{tthe h}. The musical was based on the 1999 hit animated film of the same name, and workshops for the show began in 2004. Few changes were made to adapt the film to the stage, including changing the character of Terk from female to male, and cutting the character Tantor. Musician Phil Collins, who did the music for the original film, was brought back for the Broadway production, bringing nine new songs to the show: “Jungle Funk,” “Who Better Than Me?,” “No Other Way,” “I Need to Know,” “Sure as Sun Turns to Moon,” “Waiting for this Moment,” “Different,” “Like No Man I’ve Ever Seen,” “For the First Time,” and “Everything That I Am.” The musical received mixed reviews, and was closed on July 8, 2007, after 486 performances. The original cast included Josh Strickland as Tarzan, Jennifer Gambatese as Jane, Shuler Hensley as Kerchak, Merle Dandridge as Kala, Chester Gregory II as Terk, Tim Jerome as Professor Porter, Donnie Keshawarz as Clayton, and Daniel Manche and Alex Rutherford splitting the role of Young Tarzan.