Stories come in
many varieties and a fine way to take one in is through theater.
The Hale Theater,
a community theater in West Valley City, put on Tarzan, a show set in the
jungles of Africa. It was wonderfully staged with talented actors, beautiful
costumes, and amazing use of the stage in this theater-in-the-round. But what
stood out was its adherence to the components of a well-crafted story,
especially in terms of character development.
The main
characters are both animal and human. Tarzan is separated from his parents at
the same time a gorilla family loses a baby to a leopard and we are immediately
drawn in. In the agony of her loss, Kala, the mother gorilla, adopts the young
human infant. Her husband, Kerchak, is opposed and eventually bans the human.
Kala leaves the family to help the young boy survive. When the adult Tarzan
saves the apes from a leopard attack, Kerchak allows him back.
There is so much
internal character conflict. Kala is torn between her husband and adopted son. The
boy Tarzan wonders why he is so different than his gorilla siblings. Kerchak
remembers humans that slaughtered his family when he was young. His need to
protect the clan comes at the price of losing his wife.
Then enters Jane.
An enthusiastic observer of Africa, she is with her father, a university professor studying ape behavior. Tarzan is intrigued by these
humans, more like him than the family he grew up with. Jane teaches him
language and he shows her the wonders of the jungle. The two become smitten
with each other.
With Jane comes
the gun-toting Clayton, the kind of human Kerchak fears. It is Clayton’s desire
to capture several gorillas and take them home and exhibit them for profit.
(Spoilers ahead.)
As Jane and her father are set to return to England, Tarzan is in conflict. He
loves his ape family yet feels a connection with these humans. He decides to go
with Jane, but not before Clayton tricks him into revealing the whereabouts of
the gorilla family he has kept hidden. Clayton decides displaying the ape-man
Tarzan would be a better prize and generate higher revenue. He kills Kerchak in
an attempt to capture Tarzan and is overpowered by him. Tarzan sees the ugly
side of humans and chooses not to leave Africa. Jane, torn between the love of
her father and Tarzan decides to stay with him.
The stakes are
high for multiple characters and the plot turns on the choices they make. This
is classic story telling at its best.
1 comment:
You know, we (or at least I) often ignore the more pulpy side of the literary world, but when I go there, it often amazes me at how well plotted and exciting those stories can be. Rightly or wrongly, I put Tarzan in that pulp category, so this is a good reminder. I have access to a number of old stories like that, and dig into them every once in a while (but hardly ever), and when I do, I might not always be impressed on a literary, classic-reading, English major level, but there is some excellent story telling that all writers can benefit from.
Post a Comment