Members of the Tamaqua Area Drama Club will be flying high during their upcoming performances of “Tarzan.”

The shows will be presented at 6 p.m. Nov. 9; 7 p.m. Nov. 10, and at 3 and 8 p.m. Nov. 11. Tickets are available online at tamaqua-area-drama-club.ticketleap.com/tarzan/. To buy tickets in-person, visit the Tamaqua High School Auditorium from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 1.

Students have been preparing for the performances since the school year began but just recently, a theatrical flying company came in to help Tarzan and others swing through the jungle.

With ropes, pulleys and other equipment, actors are learning in-the-air moves to bring the performance to a higher level.

“It’s definitely an experience,” said Denny Krell, a junior who’s portraying Tarzan. “It is like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

When sophomore Cecilia Ulicny learned that Tarzan would be presented in the autumn, and that some students would have the opportunity to “fly,” she knew she had to audition.

She scored the role of “Jane.”

“There is a lot of singing, a lot of great music - and dancing,” she said. “I think the flying adds to it. It’s an amazing play as it is. I love doing these shows with my second family.”

The Drama Club has just under 70 cast and crew members from sixth to twelfth grades. All of them are working together on the performance, said Johanna Ulicny, the club’s marketing director.

While the flying is one part of the play, the students have been hard at work preparing the stage, devising makeup techniques for the actors - and even learning how to walk like gorillas in furry costumes.

“They’ve been working on (the set) since August, since the first day of school,” said stage manager Ruth Gardiner.

The students have created the jungle scene, right down to the tiniest of flowers, by hand. They added bamboo, which they fashioned from PVC pipes, and leaves and grass.

“We hand carved the pipes little by little with Dremels, then painted and shellacked them,” Gardiner said. “They learn power tools. They paint - they do all the painting. The kids are learning different crafts and skills.”

The crew even assembled - and tried out - the flying mechanism, Gardiner said.

Actors and actresses have hidden “lockers” under the set, which makes for easier costume changes. The stage crew built those, too.

“Every set is different. We always try to do some fun stuff,” Gardiner said.

For example, several of the 25 gorillas will hit the top of the set to bang on drums. The “drumming gorillas” will add percussion to the play’s soundtrack.

And a new scrim curtain, or a woven length of material, will allow the club to project images toward the stage and thus, add another dimension.

Director Adriane Drum believes the play will appeal to all ages.

“We don’t always do kids’ shows, and this is the first upbeat show since SpongeBob (the Musical)” in 2021, Drum said. “We really tried hard to make this a spectacle” from the flying to the costumes and face paint.

Drum’s sister, Caitlin Miller, watched videos to learn intricate makeup. She taught the craft to the students, who’ll be able to ready themselves and others for the shows.

“There is just a lot to look at and take in,” she said.

In addition to Krell and Ulicny, leads include Bradyn Brothers, Stephen Behun, Timmy Berg. Grant Johns and Maximus Najarro.

Staff also includes Colleen Koppenhaver, choreographer, and Randa Ray, vocal director.

Upcoming performances include “Sweeney Todd” scheduled for spring in the district’s auditorium and a Tamaqua Area High School courtyard show of “Floyd Collins.”