Annie Bader
VISTA, CA– Moonlight Amphitheater’s 2023 ‘Disney’s Tarzan The Musical’, is a fun and heartfelt production with a passionate, diverse cast of performers. Locally paying tribute to the classic story with interactive aspects such as bird callings within the audience the PG musical on its third week of showings is exciting for all ages. The impressive young Tarzan and the actors behind Terk, Kala, Kerchak, Tarzan, and Jane actively work together on stage to wildly swing, fly, and jump during the performance. This nostalgic Moonlight summer production is visually, audibly, and emotionally magical.
Watching either from the grass or more immersive amphitheater seating, the stage structures and colorful changing lights focus on the work of the performers. With an almost full show each night, the movements of the ensemble cast, dedicated to moving like apes, and the somewhat seamless combination of actors singing, acting, and swinging from a rope audibly excites young audiences. The accompanying music composed by Phil Collins is played by Moonlight Amphitheater’s orchestra located below the stage and closest to the audience. They produce each powerful song, to every small yet essential sound effect in the musical.
Moonlight’s Tarzan’s vibrant colors within lighting and set design were especially prevalent within the scene of Janes first appearance where the ensemble acted as live plants and parts of nature. Opening with a flying performer depicted as a butterfly, each scene is almost entirely unique from the next. A whole set design is torn down in one, where plates and props are thrown by the family of apes. With the attention to detail combined with memorable musical numbers, “You’ll Be In My Heart,” “Strangers Like Me,” and “Two Worlds,” Tarzan’s world is achieved.
The diverse cast ranges from 12 years old to 40. All of the actors voices wonderfully combine to tell the story. Jad Marrewa, the youngest of the cast from the San Diego Performing Arts Directory delivers multiple impressive songs and scenes as “Young Tarzan.” Moonlight’s “Terk,” Jacob Haren, a principal vocalist, is a previous Broadway performer and honored for making LGBTQ+ Disney Channel history. Patrica Jewel who is returning to Moonlight for Tarzan, plays “Kala with a wonderful vocal contribution that is beautifully witnessed live. Margie Mays, familiar with BroadwayWorld LA as “Jane Porter” perfectly captures the character while she’s accompanied by Nathaniel Dolquist, “Tarzan” and Yale alumni who trained with rugby and olympic coaches. Dolquist trained aerial straps with Cirque du Soleil aerialists, and learned animal locomotion and it is evident!
Kayla Quiroz, a lifetime performer and recent UCI Musical Theatre graduate–rushing on her graduation day to the first rehearsal expressed her excitement for the entire process that makes up Moonlight’s Tarzan.
Able to answer a few questions from the North County Daily Star before August 2nd’s showing at the amphitheater, Kayla described the musical in one word as: ‘Eclectic’. Her past work in comedy fairs and performing for a Shakespeare festival, prepared the Long Beach local for her first-time professional musical gig at Moonlight. Quiroz notes the ‘controlled chaos’ of the production and how her ensemble family comes together to tell the story.
Nostalgic of the story herself, Kayla Quiroz explained the experience of not only watching, but performing Tarzan. Themes of identity and family, and multiple points within the performance reflect the message of chosen family. The time the actors spent rehearsing over the summer of 2023 mirrors that of every summer spent at Moonlight Amphitheatre beginning in 1980 during its opening. The countless theater families that have grown here since are what makes each opening night special for both audiences and performers.
Moonlight Amphitheater’s production of “Disney’s Tarzan the Musical” is an exciting and emotional summer performance you don’t want to miss. The showings end this coming Saturday night after three weeks of performances: Disney’s Tarzan The Musical | Moonlight Stage Productions Live local theater is a fun family event and supports passionate communities!
