ATP Kids holds auditions for 'Tarzan the Musical'

Kids from across the Flathead Valley are invited to swing into action when ATP Kids, the educational outreach program offered by the Alpine Theatre Project, holds auditions for its fall session, culminating in a production of a musical version of the popular Disney film, “Tarzan the Musical.”

Auditions for “Tarzan the Musical” will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center on the corner of Spokane Avenue and Second Street in Whitefish.

The session is open to all Valley students in first through eighth grade. Students will be given material at the audition to sing in groups. Callbacks will be held that evening. Classes/rehearsals will take place after school two to three times a week in Whitefish from 3:45-5:30 p.m. Performances will take place at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center on Oct. 21-22.

Based on Disney’s epic animated musical adventure and Edgar Rice Burrough’s “Tarzan of the Apes,” “Tarzan the Musical” features heart-pumping music by rock legend, Phil Collins, and a book by Tony Award-winning playwright, David Henry Hwang. High-flying excitement and hits, like the Academy Award winning “You’ll Be in My Heart,” as well as “Son of Man” and “Two Worlds,” make Tarzan an unforgettable theatrical experience. ATP Kids is bringing in ZFX, Inc., the world-renowned flying effects company, to assist with the intricate vine swinging in the production.

The musical tells the story of an infant boy who washes up on the shores of West Africa and is taken in and raised by gorillas who name him Tarzan. Apart from striving for acceptance from his ape father, Tarzan’s life is mostly monkey business until a human expedition treks into his tribe’s territory, and he encounters creatures like himself for the first time. Tarzan struggles to navigate a jungle, thick with emotion, as he discovers his animal upbringing clashing with his human instincts.

Now in its ninth year, the ATP Kids program has become a popular theatre education program in the Valley, with over 1,200 students participating to date. Led by ATP’s Broadway professionals, ATP Kids is an after-school program of theatre education through performance. Students learn theatre basics and creativity through improvisation, storytelling, movement, and games, as well as rehearsal on a production to be performed at the end of the session ATP Kids aims at entertaining kids while fostering self-confidence, teamwork and self-expression.

The ATP Kids program is truly inclusive, meaning no student is ever turned away.

A $120 tuition fee is required for participation, but full and partial scholarships are available to students who require assistance, thanks to donors and sponsors of ATP’s Educational Programming. Interested parents and students can contact ATP at 406-862-7469 or info@atpwhitefish.org for more information.