Tarzan in Top 3 most visited musicals in The Netherlands
After nearly 900 shows and 1.6 million visitors the successfull musical Tarzan will definitely close on may 24rd. It was announced earlier that the curtain would drop on March 31st but because of the huge demand for tickets, Joop van den Ende Theaterproducties decided to extend Tarzan's run. The musical Tarzan still brings in full houses, but on May 24th 2009 Tarzan and Jane will swing for the last time in the Fortis Circustheatre. 

Tarzan will enter the Top 3 of most visited open end musicals in The Netherlands after The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera.

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Chantal Janzen returns to Tarzan the Musical as Jane
Amsterdam, - It is definite. Chantal Janzen will return as Jane in the musical Tarzan. Because of its huge success, the musical, which had been schedules to close March 31st 2009, has been extended until may 24th 2009. Due to this, Chantal, who gave birth to son James on January 23rd 2009, will have enough time to rehearse from mid March. A definitive date when Chantal returns as Jane is not known yet. Currently, Bente van den Brand is playing the role of Jane.

Netherlands news submitted by Ron de Laat.
http://www.hollandmeetserb.nl

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Chantal Janzen a mother
Amsterdam - Musical star Chantal Janzen and her friend Marco are proud parents of their son: James. Because of a breech presentation, The little James was born via a Cesarian opration. Mother and child are still in the hospital, but they are doing fine. "We were looking forward to this day", Chantal informed us. "But it is even more beautiful as we ever dare to dream! It is in perfect health, goodlooking little guy". Reported by Ron de Laat
www.erbzine.com/news

Chantal "Jane" Janzen is pregnant!  by Wilma Nanninga
Amsterdam - The 29 -year-old musical star would like to share her secret with Holland. "Many women become pregnant. But now I realize how wonderful it feels. Our child will come at the end of January. I am now three-and-a half-months pregnant. My partner Marco says that I never looked so happy. Not long ago we decided that we would have a baby and now it's happened already. Great! I realize that not everybody has such luck."

She plans to play the role of 'Jane' until her belly becomes visible.

Marco (37) and Chantal have been together for two years. But they've known each other since their childhood from the tiny town in Limburg where they grew up. Chantal: "After years we met again and fell in love. Marco and I were both single, so nothing could restrain our relationship. We had a wonderful life together and very soon we decided to live together. It is nice that Marco doesn't have anything to do with showbiz. It makes him very academic. I am very academic myself, too." She laughs: It is possible to be so in this profession." 

Marco and Chantal complement each other in their two different careers. "I stimulate him in his mercantile job and he in the choices I make. I can talk with Marco about what I want to do. Being a mother will not mean the end of my career. I have good examples like Sophia Wezer. She also plays in Tarzan now. While in "The Wiz" she easily could do a splits when she was in her sixth month of pregnancy."

Chantal is very happy that she is pregnant. "My parents were immediately very enthusiastic. While I was worried about how we would have to organize everything it didn't come to their attention. Their first grandchild is more than welcome. And my elder brother Roger has already noticed my pregnancy. He told me that he could see it in my looks: I was sparkling. Roger is married but does not have any children yet."

Marco is already a father. He was divorced five years ago when he met Chantal again. "We told my children of 17, 13 and 9 years right away. They are very happy for us and that counts most for me." Chantal chuckles: "For Marco it is not his first childbirth... for me it is. He can help me with mine. 

Erwin van Lambaart, managing director and producer of Joop van den Ende Theaterproducties, ordered the technical staff to go through the flying scenes in the musical to be sure that it is safe for his pregnant leading actress. "Chantal and I are going to sit around the table to discuss the situation," he told the press. "Her health and that of the child has the highest priority."

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From Ron de Laat's Holland Meets ERB Website:
http://www.hollandmeetserb.nl

See all the Tarzan in Europe News at:
www.ERBzine.com/europe

Tarzan the Musical to Open in London
Netherlands ~ June 2, 2008
Tarzan the Musical ,which  was elected the winner of the ANWB audience prize as being the best musical, will also be playing in London, England.

Joop van den Ende announced this during the presentation of the Musical Award in Studio 22 in Hilversum. The production will be done by Stage Entertainment and Disney. Where and when the new production will start is not yet known.

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Today the 1,000,000th ticket has been sold!
Netherlands ~ May 20, 2008
Chantal Janzen will remain in the role of Jane in Tarzan the Musical in Holland. Chantal was booked to star in the comedy Boeing Boeing at the end of the year.

However, because of the huge success of Albert Heijn's (chain of supermarket) promotion, the one millionth ticket has been sold and the musical Tarzan will be playing longer than expected. Disney Theatrical Productions have signed Chantal Janzen to extended contract. The lead role in Boeing Boeing will be taken by Lone Roosendaal.

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Tarzan the Musical Celebrates One Year in Holland
Netherlands ~ March 27, 2008
Today, one year ago, Stage Entertainment and Disney Theatrical Productions started the first try-outs for Tarzan the Musical. They had great expectations for the musical despite the fact that in the US the number of visitors were decreasing at that time. For that reason and the fact that Holland's Fortis Circustheatre had more potential, scenes were adjusted and songs were added to insure that the production would be a smashing success.

It became a big hit and the audience still love this musical. Within six months the cast album became gold. There are musical lovers who already have visited this show for more than ten times! Today with more than 825,000 tickets sold it is the most successful musical in the Dutch history.

Like in the old movies being Tarzan is not without risks. In the past Tarzan actors used to have stuntmen (like Paul Stader) or get hurt when they did their own stunts (like Ron Ely). Last week Ron Link, the star of the production, broke his hand while running between two tracks. He  is now at home recovering from this injury. So playing a Tarzan role is not without risk even it is a musical.

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Reported by Ron de Laat of www.hollandmeetserb.nl

ICH TARZAN, DU JANE!: FINALISTS
Tarzan and Jane are chosen for the German production of Tarzan the Musical
Tarzan in Europe News Friday, May 2, was the last live television show of "Ich Tarzan, Du Jane!" from Stuttgart, Germany. The special guest was Phil Collins. There were six finalists, three Tarzans and three Janes and, in the opinion of Collins and the three-man jury, all were fine talents.  It was up to the viewers at home to vote for the ones they thought should be Tarzan and Jane. In the final selection, the winners were Anton Zetterholm, of Swedish extraction, with a great voice and a very athletic and acrobatic physique. Jane is Elisabeth Hübert from Germany and she's a very pretty blonde with a fantastic voice

All the lyrics of the musical have been translated into German. Both finalists can sing fluently in either English or German. The Tarzan Musical premiere is slated for October 18, 2008, in Hamburg. Eventually the show will move to Berlin.

The TV show may be accessed at www.sat1.at/comedy_show/tarzan

 Submitted by Walter Taucer ~ Austria

 
Me Tarzan, You Jane. . .
Mouse Kingdom Blog ~ March 10, 2008
Last Friday the second episode of the casting show “Me Tarzan, You Jane” was broadcast on Sat.1 in Germany. The search for the future Tarzan and Jane in the German premiere of Disney’s musical version of its animated hit movie "Tarzan" played to a  smaller audience. From a total of 1.54 million viewers (5.0% of the market) the show went down to 1.35 million viewers, equaling only 4.4% market-share. 

The second episode was the last episode covering the actual auditioning phase. Starting this Friday the "recall"-phase will begin, in which the jury reduces the number of contestants during singing and dancing classes before viewers will be entering the game later-on in live shows. The segements of MTYJ closely resemble those of Pop or American Idol (auditioning, recall/training, live shows with viewer voting). The jury of MTYJ is very competent (a musical manager, an acclaimed musical actress and a casting director) but lacks a character such as Simon Cowell, who is able to entertain the audience with his comments. A "sorry, I don’t see you as Jane" if a clearly overweight participant has turned in one of the worst singing performances of the whole show is just not cutting it. The jury is just too friendly. 

Next Friday the third episode is scheduled. It moves on to the recall process and based on the short preview at the end of the second episode there will be some tough dance classes and training. More>>>

'Tarzan' swings into regional theaters
Disney musical makes the rounds in 2009 Variety |  Broadway World | Playbill  ~  January 4, 2008
A new production of the Disney musical “Tarzan” will make the rounds of four regional theaters in 2009: Atlanta’s Theater of the Stars in January 2009, followed by stints at American Musical Theater of San Jose, Calif.; North Carolina Theater in Raleigh, N.C.; and Dallas Summer Musicals in Dallas, Texas. The four theatre companies will co-produce with choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett.

The musical is based on the 1999 Disney pic, “Tarzan”  and opened on Broadway in 2006 with a retooled version opening last spring at Circustheatre in the Netherlands where it continues a hit, record-breaking run. A second international production is scheduled to premiere in Germany at the Neue Flora Theatre in Hamburg in October 2008.Music is by Phil Collins and book by David Henry Hwang.  For the new staging of “Tarzan,” the design team includes Kenneth Foy (sets), Ken Billington (lights) and Paul Rubin (aerial designs).

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"Ich Tarzan, Du Jane!" 
Sat.1 is looking for Tarzan and Jane via a new German Casting Show.
The leading actors for the new Disney Musical Tarzan will be cast from January.

Berlin (ots) -  January 4, 2008 - Every year approximately seven million people visit here to attend Germany Musicals. Sat.1, Stage Entertainment and the production company Eyeworks are looking for the main stars for TARZAN THE MUSICAL which will have its German premiere in October 2008.  "Tarzan" will be the fourth Disney Musical from Stage Entertainment in Germany. The first show was "Der König der Löwen" (Lion King) in Hamburger Hafen 2001, which was attended by five million people.

The Casting Show "Ich Tarzan, Du Jane!" will cast the leading roles of the musical based on the original Disney production with music by Phil Collins. The Casting Show will run for many weeks during which time a steady line of  contendors will perform live on stage.

Who can participate?
Talented newcomers and professionals -- anyone who thinks they can excite the audience as Tarzan or Jane with his/her performance and his/her voice. Complete information on how to become a candidate has been available from December 1st, 2007 on www.sat1.de or Sat.1 Text page 585.

In January auditions take place in Hamburg (from 7.1.2008), Essen (from 14.1.2008) and Stuttgart (from 21.1.2008).

In February, workshops will be held in the Joop van den Ende Academy in Hamburg and at the end of February the Casting Show will be held in primetime on Sat1. The participants, the three jury members, and the moderator will communicate via Sat.1. 

After the finals at the beginning of May, five tough months for rehearsals will start before the audience can see Tarzan and Jane on stage.

Matthias Alberti, Sat.1 company director:
"The most popular Live-Entertainment for adults nowadays are musicals. Our audiences have been familiar with Tarzan and Jane since childhood. Now we are searching for the leading man and lady for the big stage. With Stage Entertainment we have the leading musical company as a partner and with Eyeworks we have an experienced Casting Show producer. I am very pleased with this cooperation."

Maik Klokow, director of Stage Entertainment, is also pleased with this joint project with Sat.1 and he encourages young people nationwide to take their chance to become a musical star: "If you believe you have the potential to become Germany's new Tarzan or Jane we invite you to apply at Sat.1!"

Sources:
http://www.presseportal.de/pm/6708/1092798/sat_1
http://www.stage-entertainment.de/musicals/tarzan/tarzan.html

Met vriendelijke groeten / Best Regards,
Ron de Laat
Holland meets ERB!
Created by Ron de Laat.
A website where you can find all material concerning Edgar Rice Burroughs 
which was produced for the Dutch market
http://www.hollandmeetserb.nl

 

TARZAN MOVES TO GERMANY

Source : 28-11-2007 www.musicalworld.nl
Today, Stage Entertainment has announced that in 2008  people can watch the musical 'Tarzan' in Germany.
The main character will be elected via a TV show called "Ich Tarzan, Du Jane".
Stage Entertainment will produce this "election" show  together with Sat 1 and it will be aired on television in February 2008.
A German premiere date for the stage production is not known yet.

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Gold Album Award for Holland's Tarzan the Musical Cast Album
Phil Collins receives the album from Chantal Janzen and Ron Link Source: http://www.musicals.nl/jetp/misc/index_2306.htm
The Tarzan Musical Cast Album has earned Gold status having sold more than 35.000 copies.
Chantal Janzen and Ron Link flew together with Erwin van Lambaart, managing director/producer of Joop van den Ende Theater Productions on a surprise trip this week to Genève. 
There they surprised popicon Phil Collins, who wrote the music and lyrics for the musical, with a golden award. 
Because of the golden CD of the Tarzan musical there will be a limited version of the cast album produced by Universal Music, as well a unique bonus dvd.

A Phil Collins said: 'I am delighted with the golden status of Tarzan's Dutch cast album! It is very special to see this kind of appreciation for your work and to see how the Dutch audience embraces Tarzan.' 
Erwin van Lambaart is also very happy with the result: 'The success of Tarzan is incredible. The cd is gold already and we also have sold 650,000 tickets for the musical!'

For the Tarzan Musical Phil Collins expanded the songs he wrote for the award-winning Disney film animation with nine new songs. Since this was his debute as a stage musical composer, the recordings for the cast album were very important for him. He was very happy that the songs he wrote were sung by the cast members in the way he meant for them to be done. The pop star therefore spent much time in Holland to support the Dutch cast and practice with them. The Dutch translation of the lyrics was done by Martine Bijl. The CD contains the popular numbers 'Jij Woont In Mijn Hart' (You'll Be In My Heart) and 'Everything That I Am', a bonus track by Phil Collins.

The special bonus DVD features: The Making of' Tarzan, The trailer of the musical Tarzan, The act during the Musical Sing-A-Long and The Musical Awards Gala. The excitement, the emotions, the hard work, the tears, the joy, the bad luck and finally the beautiful result; you can follow it on this dvd.

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. Tarzan thuis met gebroken teen
(Tarzan at home with broken toe) AD.NL ShowBizz ~  November 11, 2007
Actor Ron Link, who plays the leading role in the Musical Tarzan, has to take a rest for several weeks because of a broken toe. 

Link broke his middle toe at Friday evening. He collapsed with his bare feet against something and broke his toe.

If he is able to play again next week depends on the recovery process. While Link is recovering, his understudy, John Vooys will perform the role of Tarzan.

News item submitted and translated by Ras Thavas

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TICKET SALES: THE HALF MILLION MARK
Rob Donkers reports from Holland that the Dutch version of Tarzan, the Musical, 
is bringing in the bacon for Disney and the Dutch producers. 
So far half a million tickets have been sold!

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Tarzan entangled in elastics
Amsterdam - From now on, Tarzan is tight by two strings in the Circustheater. After an accident which took place (without injuries) with the vines adjustments were implemented immediately...

Merlijn, an "ape" actor from the ensemble from the musical Tarzan remained unhurt, but got scared last Saturday night. During the flying dance his bungeejump vine stretched too far, the result being that he skimmed closely along the floor.

The show could continue but safety measures were taken immediately to have more security. "The actors are now secured with two elsatics. So that this can not happen again. It is a spectacular show but we don't
want to take any security risks," according a spokesman.

 

Tarzan Treehouse in Holland
www.musicals.nl (translation by Ron de Laat)

Fortis, main sponsor for the musical Tarzan, is creating a special Tarzan treehouse on the promenade of Scheveningen. Ron Link and Chantal Janzen, who are playing the roles of Tarzan and Jane will open "their" new cottage on August 21st. The treehouse is a gift from Fortis to promote the Tarzan musical which is featured exclusively in the Fortis Circustheater at Scheveningen. The unveiling of the Fortis Treehouse takes place on Tuesday, August 21st at 15.30 on the promenade near the Pier of Scheveningen.

The treehouse is provided with spectacular images and junglesounds where the visitor to the treehouse will be in the world of Tarzan for a moment and will experience a piece of the legend. After the opening on August 21st, the Fortis treehouse will be open free to the public until August 26th.

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Video (submitted by: Ras Thavas)
http://www.ad.nl/cultuurenshow/article1602252.ece?service=video