Strickland, Gambatese, Hensley Head Tarzan Cast
(Photo © Lyn Hughes)
Josh Strickland, Jenn Gambatese, and Shuler Hensley head the cast of Tarzan, the new Broadway musical based on the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs novel and the 1999 animated Disney film. The show will begin performances on March 24 at the Richard Rodgers Theater and will open officially on May 10.
Two-time Tony Award winner Bob Crowley (Aida, Carousel) will direct the show and design its sets and costumes. The score is being composed by six-time Grammy Award winner Phil Collins, who wrote some songs for Disney’s Tarzan film, and the book is being written by Tony winner David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly).
The cast also includes Merle Dandridge as Kala, Chester Gregory II as Terk, Timothy Jerome as Professor Porter, Donnie Keshawarz as Clayton, and Daniel Manche and Alex Rutherford alternating in the role of Young Tarzan. The ensemble will feature Darrin Baker, Marcus Bellamy, Celina Carvajal, Dwayne Clark, Veronica deSoyza, Kearran Giovanni, Michael Hollick, Joshua Kobak, Kara Madrid, Kevin Massey, Anastasia McCleskey, Rika Okamoto, Marlyn Ortiz, Whitney Ostenoski, John Oyzon, Andy Pellick, Angela Phillips, Stefan Raulston, Horace V. Rogers, Sean Samuels, Nick Sanchez, Niki Scalera, Natalie Silverlieb, J.D. Aubrey Smith, and Rachel Stern.
Strickland will make his Broadway debut as Tarzan. He was a contestant on TV’s American Idol and Star Search 2004, and appeared in a national tour of Rent. Gambatese, who will play Jane, has starred on Broadway in All Shook Up, Hairspray, and A Year With Frog and Toad. Hensley, who will play Kerchak, received the Tony, Drama Desk, and Olivier Awards for his performance as Jud Fry in the Trevor Nunn-Susan Stroman revival of Oklahoma! and most recently starred in The Great American Trailer Park Musical.
Tarzan will have choreography by Meryl Tankard, aerial movement designed by Pichon Baldinu, lighting by Natasha Katz, sound by John Shivers, vocal arrangements by Paul Bogaev, and orchestrations by Doug Besterman. The show is being produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, which is currently represented on Broadway by The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast.
