Flying Callbacks! Josh Strickland, Broadway's Sensational Tarzan
Swinging above the stage and out over the audience was a bit daunting and many of the would- be Tarzans who came to the audition had second thoughts when they were told what they would be doing. Opting for a part with two feet on the ground seemed a better choice, they thought. But Josh Strickland said, "'get me up there and let me do it. You have to have the confidence in your inner self to let go, and swing to the other side. I thought I did, and besides I had climbed all the way up there and didn't want to climb down, so I put on the helmet and let go. I am fearless by nature," Strickland continued, his smile defining his endearing persona. "But even I wondered what I had gotten myself into when I arrived at the flying part of the audition and was first strapped into a harness." Each night and two afternoons a week Strickland is fastened into that forbidding harness, and with the help of "climbers" who check and recheck to be sure he is clipped in correctly--he flies.
It is common knowledge among Broadway producers that a star's Broadway entrance is carefully plotted and planned. Sometimes it is a great song, a big ensemble dance number, a mysterious search down the line for one among many, or a trip via the center aisle and up a few stairs to the spotlight. In "Tarzan," the Broadway musical at the Richard Rodgers Theatre the story about the baby adopted and raised by the apes is told. We have seen the child Tarzan, played by Daniel Manche or Alex Rutherford, romping with his four-footed family. We are ready for the grown-up Tarzan, half-naked with a mane of long hair trailing behind him to swoop down from the top balcony over the heads of the audience and onto the stage. Now that is one grand entrance! The mythical character that came into being in the classic book by Edgar Rice Burroughs has now found a place on the musical stage.
After fifteen auditions among them flying callbacks Strickland won the coveted role as the most popular jungle figurehead to ever sing and dance on Broadway. Years ago Peter Pan was the first flying "Broadway Star," but her simple choreography was nothing compared to Strickland's circling, weaving, and diving 60 feet above the stage. He must also keep an eye fixed on the chorus of flying apes around him while keeping up with the music of Phil Collins and projecting the classic story recreated by David Henry Hwang, (of "M. Butterfly" fame.)
To the delight of the tweens, teens, and seniors in the audience, Strickland weaves his magic the minute he hits the stage, both swinging through the air, from one side to the other while dodging the other apes, or standing upright planting a kiss on his beloved Jane's willing lips. The twenty-two year old charmer, whose resume previously included a five-month road tour of "Rent," plus being a national finalist on "American Idol," is so polished and secure that the feats of daring he performs eight times a week seem like a day spent in kindergarten. To keep his role fresh and solid and his energy in tact he keeps his days strictly disciplined. His evenings are mostly spent at home. "My friends can't believe how I do it eight times a week," he mused. "I burn thousands of calories every night, so I need lots of replenishment especially protein and sleep. My body needs to know it is going to sleep--and early."
Whether bent over on all fours galumping on the backs of his hands, ("lots of rug burns") or executing multiple flips and other acrobatic challenges, Strickland's role is an exhausting tour de force. "I am not dance trained," Strickland responded to my question without hesitation though his flawless movement manner made that hard to believe. "I had to start with the basics...which meant find my core and make it strong enough to handle the intricacies of the demands on my limbs," he said. "For four months prior to rehearsal I worked with a trainer. Then the cast did a lot of research, watched videos, and absorbed the habits of these animals, how they move, how they eat, how they love.
Our choreographer, Meryl Tankard was insistent that every movement be authentic." Even though the cast is agile and well trained the stage has been reconstructed to go easy on the performers. "The floor is like a gymnastics floor," Strickland explained, "carpeted and with a good spring. The walls are like a big giant air castle padded so we can bounce off them. We have had some near misses....a bit scary," he laughed, somewhat unconvincingly.
Tarzan exudes great physical prowess. He is capable of overpowering his enemies and through his cunning protecting his family of apes. Yet his character, in spite of just about the strangest childhood ever written, has a very human spirit with great emotional depth and a childlike attitude. Strickland's task was to bring all this to the role as well. "This was always in my mind," Strickland admitted. "I wanted Tarzan's capacity to love to meld with his physicality, and I don't have a lot of dialogue to help me." There is a sweet tenderness to his relationship with the women in his life, his mother Kala, played by Merle Dandridge, and his true love Jane Porter played by Jenn Gambatese. Perhaps Jane's Daddy, upon realizing his daughter has fallen in love with Tarzan, says it best. "This man sounds extraordinary," he tells her, as if, by now, she doesn't know.