Magic Of Live Theater Alive Once Again With 'Tarzan: The Musical' At Elmwood Park Zoo
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- You may call this the perfect setting for a stage production of "Tarzan." The Prism Theatre is performing an outdoor, socially-distanced production at the Elmwood Park Zoo.
For months, the magic of live theater has been reduced to a memory.
In Montgomery County though, art is alive once again.
Thursday was the last rehearsal before "Tarzan: The Musical" opens in Norristown. It will do so on a custom-built outdoor stage on the grounds of the Elmwood Zoo, where almost all rehearsals have been held.
Due to bad weather, the final run-through was moved indoors -- just another way the cast and crew with the Prism Theatre Center have had to adapt.
"First of all we were going to open in July, then in August. Then we were going to open inside, then we were going to open outside," said Troy Cooper, producing artistic director with the Prism Theatre Center.
It was the decision to partner with the zoo that allowed this performance to survive in a pandemic.
"Once we figured out that we could try to do this in a matter that would be as safe as possible for our cast we went ahead and moved forward," Cooper said.
"We have had social distancing incorporated into our blocking as well as sanitizing, masks obviously worked into the costume," said Ruthie Chandler, who plays Kala.
And prior to all rehearsals, temperatures have been taken.
"Our show is all about chosen family and I think that banding together as a group of artists to try to do the work at a time when people need an outlet so much, I think it brought us closer together," Chandler said.
Audience members will have two ways to watch -- either from socially-distanced outdoor seating 30 feet from the stage or from their vehicle drive-in style.
"You will actually tune to an FM station. We will let you know what that FM station is when you pull in," Cooper said.
Friday's performance begins at 8 p.m. The show runs Thursday through Sunday evenings until Sept. 27.
