TARZAN Musical in 2 Acts. Music and lyrics by Phil Collins; Book by David Henry Hwang. Based on the story "Tarzan and the Apes" By Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Disney film, "Tarzan" Richard Rodgers Theatre, Broadway - Opened 10th May, 2006 STORY Barely surviving a shipwreck off the West African coast, a young English couple constructs a treehouse to protect their newborn child. Nearby, among a tribe of gorillas, the silverback bull-ape Kerchak guards his mate Kala and their infant. The peace is shattered when a leopard runs off with the tiny ape then descends from the treetops to kill human parents. Mourning her lost son, Kala hears a lonely cry from above and rescues the human baby from the leopard. Kala names the hairless creature Tarzan and is determined to give him a home, despite Kerchak's refusal to accept the orphan as his son. Kala lavishes love and encouragement on Tarzan, but the awkward ape-boy cannot keep up with the tribe. Kerchak sees Tarzan as a threat, but the lighthearted Terk befriends the boy. When Kerchak discovers that Tarzan has innocently fashioned a spear, heexiles the boy from the others. Knowing her son won't survive alone, Kala heads off to find him, despairing by the water's edge. Kala assures the boy that, though he looks different, under the the skin they are just the same. Yearspass. Tarzan grows athletic and resourcful. Kala tries to convince Kerchak to accept the adult Tarzan, but the bull-ape is resolute — until Tarzan snares and °kills the leopard that has terrorised the tribe for so long. When gunshots blast through the jungle, the apes run off, but Tarzan investigates. Elsewhere, naturalist Jane Porter is overhelmed by the thrillingly diverse jungle life. Just as a giant spider bears down on her, Tarzan swings in to save this foreign yet strangely familiar creature. Tarzan and Jane carefully assess each other as the curtain falls on Act One. Terk and the apes "redecorate" the Porter expedition site. Returning to camp with Tarzan, Jane is stunned by the presence of the gorillas, until Kerchak arrives, dispersing them. Jane tries to convince her eccentric father, Professor Porter, and their mercenary guide, Mr. Clayton, that she has discovered a wild man and a tribe of apes. Kerchak forbids contact with the humans but Tarzan is irristisibly drawn to Jane again and again. Porter notices Jane's transformation from bookish girl to a woman in love, a change that stokes Clayton's jealousy as Jane teaches Tarzan more and more about humans. As she grasps that the apes are indeed Tarzan's family, Jane's affection for this gentle "wild man" grows. Jane begs Porter to scrap plans to capture gorillas — but Clayton, itching to bag some apes, tricks Tarzan into leading the humans to the nesting grounds. Terk agrees to help Tarzan by keeping Kerchak away. But Kerchak appears, scattering the humans, and demanding that Tarzan decide who he is. Kala leads Tarzan to the treehouse, and the belongings of his human parents. Resolved to go to England as a man Tarzan consoles Kala, but after Clayton kills Kerchak, the leaderless tribe needs him. There is no other way. Jane, then, must grapple with a timeless question: What makes a family? For her and Tarzan, the answer is obvious.
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