Flowers will dance, leopards will prance and a wild man will fall in love in this year’s spring musical, “Tarzan,” performed in the auditorium on April 24, 25 and 26. The jungle is brought to life before one’s eyes as band, dance, theatre and choir students perform never-before-seen stunts. Birds, leopards and Tarzan himself will be flying across stage.

The show starts dramatically; strobe lights flash from above and create the storm in which Tarzan’s parents, played by Emily Stagg and Brennan Kennedy, find themselves trapped in, all while sounds of thunder roar at the audience. The scene is captivating. The young family manages to survive and finds themselves in their new home: the deep, unknown and unexplored jungle.

They are welcomed in song by the exotic creatures that live here, including flying parrots, wild flowers and of course, a family of gorillas. The stage overflows with beautiful colors, characters and voices as the story of Tarzan’s life begins.

Tragically, a hungry leopard, played by Carolyn Harrington, soon pays a deadly visit to his parents. From their tree house, which is at least two stories high, Harrington throws Stagg and Kennedy off stage to their deaths. Kala, a female Gorilla played by Palak Shah, rescues young Tarzan, and is determined to raise him as her own, defying her husband and leader, Kerchak, played by Lars Johnson. There is something very comforting about watching Shah take baby Tarzan into her hands, and truly touching about her song, “You’ll be in my heart.” However, her vocals aren’t the only thing she manages to perfect–her speaking voice has a stern, yet loving and concerning touch to it which gives her the motherly vibe of Kala.

Johnson’s voice also perfectly fits his rigid character, Kerchak. It is deep and intense, establishing the authority he has over his family, Kala and Tarzan. While his vocals may be intact, his body language does lack a little in the power which he is supposed to display throughout the play.

Something very unique that directors Curt Parry and Mike Doman did with the casting of the show is choosing two elementary school students to play kid Tarzan and young Terk. The young Terk especially charms the stage, and sings two duets with the young Tarzan. The two don’t only bring a sense of reality to this seemingly magical jungle with their young faces, but an element of charm. As they argue, become friends and at last, dance across stage, the two are simply adorable to look at.

However, in another all-cast dance song, the two youngsters are replaced with high school actors Matteo Sabato and Anna Novak for the adult versions of their characters. Novak jumps and dances her way across stage, right before Matteo swings in on a vine.

One of the first things that the older Tarzan does is defeat the leopard that killed his parents, in a very animated fight scene. She dances around him and he kicks her off stage, only for her to come flying back (literally). Since they are using a harness, one might wish that they would have used it to greater advantage. While a reaction surely came from the various throws and kicks, it was easy to see that they were rehearsed, and had a certain rigidity to them.

However, the same can not be said for the scene where Tarzan first meets and saves Jane, played by Morgan Bulger, from a deadly spider, played by Sophie Michael. Michael, an Orchesis member, performs beautifully as she puts up a dramatic, yet elegant fight against the mighty Tarzan. After a quick ballet solo, she is defeated and leaves Tarzan and Jane alone together. And so the romance begins.

Due to the sophistication which Bulger so wonderfully brings to her character, the contrast between the Jane and Tarzan is easy to see. She is ladylike and refined from within, which she displays from head to toe, while Sabato is unmannered, confused and dressed in nothing but a loin cloth. The two perform several of the classic “Tarzan” duets together, and neither misses a beat. Bulger especially has an amazing voice, which effortlessly goes from high to low, pleasing every ear in the audience.

Act two begins with Terk (Novak) and her group of gorilla friends stumbling upon Jane and her father’s camp. While I do wish there would have been some sort of dialogue or introduction before they engaged in an all-ape dance number, this is where Novak lets her character shine. Throughout the musical, she portrays Terk very accurately; her sass level went through the roof. She sings above the crowd of wild dancing monkeys and she does it well.

After the gorillas have left, however, Jane, her father and Clayton soon arrive back to their destroyed camp. Mr. Porter, Jane’s father, who is a funky and earthy character played by Sawyer Jackson, finds this fascinating, but Clayton, a barbaric jungle guide played by Julian Coronado, uses this as an incentive to find and kill the gorillas. But fear not: Tarzan won’t let that happen.

Tarzan (Sabato) and Jane (Bulger) spend more and more time together, until the day comes where she must return to England. They are struck with the dilemma of either never seeing each other again, or one of them leaving their life behind for the other. It seems that neither one can decide.

As the musical’s climax gets closer, Kala (Shah) reveals to Tarzan (Sabato) the long-kept secret of who his parents really were. Shocked by the news, he decides to leave his jungle life behind to travel to England with Jane. That is, until the brutal Clayton (Coronado) kills Kerchak (Johnson) and tries to capture Tarzan. This ignites yet another fight scene, this time between Tarzan (Sabato) and Clayton (Coronado). Seeing the two men struggle is very convincing, with dramatic music played by the band in the background.

Of course, Tarzan wins, and has Clayton locked up and put away in a very humorous fashion. However, this doesn’t change the fact that Jane is leaving. The two say goodbye, and she departs from the jungle, leaving Tarzan behind. Luckily, it doesn’t take long before she has changed her mind and comes running back to him. She has decided to stay in Africa with Tarzan, ending the musical on a ‘happily ever after’ note, as all Disney stories do.

The show has really been a step up for musical theatre at Central–it might even be the most extravagant show performed this year. The amount of time that has gone into creating custom costumes for the entire cast, building the enormous set, timing the live music and perfecting solos is simply astonishing to consider. It is clear that the hard work payed off. The cast, directors, band members and backstage workers now have a great show in front of them, and can honestly say that they will be making history.

Showtimes are:

Friday, April 24, at 7:30 p.m

Saturday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 26, at 2:30 p.m.