"Tarzan" swings into the Morgan Theater

Disney’s musical “Tarzan” opened at the Morgan Theater at Utah State University Tuesday.

Because of the aerial work in the production, USU reached out to aerial specialists for help.

“Once the show was chosen, I contacted Foy Flying out of Las Vegas,” said Kenneth Risch, the director and theater department head at USU. “The company has been safely flying performers in stage productions for decades and has had an impeccable safety record.” 

The theater department knew it was taking on a lot when it selected “Tarzan” and that was just fine, Risch said.

“We all knew going into this that it was a big and complicated project,” Risch said. “But we were trying a lot of new things that made it even bigger.” 

Those things required attention to detail and safety according to Matthew Stowe, the fly captain and technical director.

“So what that means is that Foy dictated to us that we had to have operators that did not move off the line at any point during the show,” Stowe said. “Meaning we don’t have people swapping lines so we don’t have operators running around back stage trading. They are where they are and that’s where they stay so the consistency is there and no one gets hurt.”

The first act is one of the most physically demanding of the show, according to Stowe. The choreography and precision required to execute the movements while delivering lines called for extra hours of practice and dedication.

“Kenneth Risch, the director, did a fantastic job timing all of the flights,” Stowe said. “In fact, when he gave us our flight sheets, it’s down to the measure, the beat.”

The role of Tarzan as an adult is performed by Michael Francis, who has the most fly time in the show.

“It’s a blast. It’s an absolute blast,” Francis said. “Definitely the most difficult show I’ve been in. We rehearsed all the runs, all the flights, over and over and over again.”

Stowe said that the first 15 minutes of the show are very fast with approximately 29 flights and that the cast shows up an hour before each performance to warm up on the ropes.

“All of those kinds of things we do so that they’re warmed up and ready to go," Stowe said. "Because if they were to come in and the first time they were to touch the ropes was the first flight of the show, that could be a disaster.”

Both Risch and Stowe agreed that they are pleased with the results.

“There are no elephants,” Stowe said. “No bigness like that, but it’s very personal, it draws you in. It’s a very good show.”

The musical's last show will be on Saturday with a matinee performance before the theater is closed for renovations.