Montgomery Student to Perform as 'Tarzan' in Disney's Tarzan Musical

Written by Sylvia Harder

Gabriel Harder, 18, has always loved climbing trees. “I remember getting stuck in a few tall ones my mom had to talk me down from”, he says. It comes as no surprise then that he is loving the opportunity to portray the role of Tarzan in Spotlight Youth Theater’s production of the Broadway hit musical of the same name. Cast members fly, climb, and swing through the jungle via an elaborate ropes system they’ve been specially trained on, at the Batavia Fine Arts Center where the show runs May 15-17.

Harder has been with Spotlight since he was 11, playing such roles as Jesus in Godspell, Aladdin in Aladdin, and the evil Bill Sykes in Oliver. While he has had the opportunity to act professionally a number of times as well, Spotlight has definitely made a huge impact on him. “My time here has been very influential in my life”, he says. “I’ve met a lot of my good friends here, and even things that aren’t directly related to Spotlight have been influenced by it.”

One of the things Harder is enjoying most about his current role, however, is the opportunity to share the role with his 11 year old brother, Jonah, who plays a young Tarzan to Gabriel’s grown version. “Sharing a role with him has been really fun – we’ve had a chance to collaborate on a lot of things more than we have in the past, we were able to consult each other on character decisions. It’s definitely the closest we’ve ever worked together in a show even though we’re not really on stage together at the same time,” he says. “So I’m glad I got to have this opportunity for my last show.”

The home schooled high school senior will be heading to Taylor University in the fall. Being in his last production with Tarzan in “bittersweet”, Harder says. “I’m excited to see how I’m going to be spending my time after this, but I’m also sad to leave”.

Please join us as Spotlight Youth Theater presents, Disney’s Tarzan, based on the epic animated adventure of Edgar Rice Burrough’s novel, Tarzan of the Apes. Disney’s Tarzan is full of high-flying excitement and heart-pumping music that will be an unforgettable experience for the whole family!

WHEN: May 15th – May 17th

• Friday, May 15th – 7:00pm
• Saturday, May 16th – 2:00pm
• Saturday, May 16th – 6:00pm
• Sunday, May 17th – 3:00pm

WHERE: Batavia Fine Arts Centre, 1201 Main Street (entrance off of Wilson), Batavia, IL

TICKETS: 847-516-2298 or visit www.spotlight.org $9-$12 presale, + $2 at the door
Group, child, and senior prices available

WHO: Spotlight Youth Theater is a non-profit, educational theater arts program for students 5-18 in the Aurora, Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kenosha, Lake, McHenry, Milwaukee, Oak Park, Orland Park, Rockford Metro, and Shorewood areas and has approximately 6,000 students per year. Each area offers summer camps and after-school classes in dance, voice, drama and theatrical specialties, and performs three fully staged musical productions per year. Spotlight is non- discriminatory and welcomes all children.