BECKLEY, WV (WOAY)- You don’t have to swing too far to see the two worlds of theater and high school come together as one family because Woodrow Wilson High School will be putting on Tarzan.
“Tarzan the Stage Musical” is based on the 1999 Disney film of the same name with music by Phil Collins. The story is about an orphaned boy being raised by gorillas in West Africa, but the show’s lead explains that there’s more to the story.
“The whole story is about Tarzan finding out who he wants to be and who he is, basically trying to find out his true self,” said Cohen Shrader, Tarzan. “Like, why am I here? How why am I different than everyone else?”
Mia Houck, who plays Jane in Tarzan, talks about how rehearsals have been.
“Rehearsing is very exhausting. But we all have fun. We all laugh together, so it does go by really fast, and we all enjoy it,” said Houck.
The musical director for the show explained where they started in bringing the jungle to life on the stage.
“We really started with the music. Some of the music first to get them acclimated to, you know, what it was and watch certain clips and things like that,” said Pam Shrader, Musical Director. “And taught them a little bit about the show, the story. Of course, a lot of them knew of Tarzan from being small, you know, when they were little.”
The director adds about what the experience directing this show has been like.
“This has been a really fun show to direct. It’s very different. There are not very many people who put on Tarzan, and there are a lot of things to think about. About how we’re going to do it differently than the other shows that we’ve done,” explained Jerri Stack, Director. “And this is the first time that we’ve ever made our own costumes and set. We usually rent them. So it’s just been it’s humbling, actually, to see all the people that have come together to make it come together.”
The set this year was made by students at the Academy of Careers and Technology. The directors expressed their gratitude for all the help they received in putting on Tarzan. This show will be in your heart cause of all the hard work and community support that went into making it come to life.
Visit the link below for dates and times and to purchase tickets.
https://gofan.co/app/school/WV2696?activity=Performing%20Arts
View the video below for a preview of the show!
If any local theatre group or school is doing a production, whether it be a play, musical, or showcase, Newswatch anchor Serena Davanzo would love to come by and cover it!
As a theatergoer herself, she wants to shine a spotlight on your productions! You can reach out to her via the email address listed below!
Sdavanzo@woay.com
