King Kong the Musical

Dave13 said: "King Kong looks like it could be great or a flop."

This was posted on another thread, but thought I'd start a new thread to discuss this upcoming production in more detail as it is getting closer to its fall opening. This happens to be one of the few shows I'm looking forward to this season. Dave13, what a perfect way to describe this one. I couldn't agree more. I think it could become a spectacle beyond spectacles, or it could struggle and become a great flop.

I've read that there were some book/music issues in Australia but I've also heard they've made significant improvements to both since then, so I'm interested to see if they can pull this one off. For me, I can't get over how amazing the puppet looks in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8YJwRUTK7Y

My early prediction is that this one starts off doing so-so financially (as people think, King Kong the musical? Really?), but then as people see the puppet first hand word of mouth could start spreading. How strong that word of mouth becomes is what will make or break the show.

I feel like tourists want to come to New York and see a spectacle (one reason my friends will still come and see Lion Kong... oops, I mean 'King'... despite my recommendations to see some of the great lower budget shows of incredible artistic quality) and at least from watching the video, I feel like this has the potential to be a spectacle unlike anything we've ever seen on Broadway to date.

And has anyone caught the irony that King Kong is being brought to a NY theatre and put on display (isn't that the classic story of King Kong and what leads to him ending up on the empire state building?).

Updated On: 7/31/18 at 12:21 PM

This in Melbourne Australia was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen ( and I saw Cyrano The Musical ) yes the puppet is grand, but after twenty minutes the magic wears off and you are distracted by the puppeteers pulling the strings.

‘I’m fully aware that is a new updated version, but unless something truly stunning and involving happens on that stage this has no hope.

I'm really curious about this one as well. I have to imagine it's an almost completely different production from the one which opened in Australia, considering the director, choreographer, book writer, and songwriter are all new. It looks like the only creative who survived the transition is Marius de Vries, and even then it's not clear what exactly his contribution versus Eddie Perfect will be (the former is credited as "composer & music producer" while the latter is "songwriter" ). And considering it's been five years since Australia, there may be improvements/changes to the design of the puppet, even though the original designer is still credited for the Broadway production.

The short clips that have been released of the rehearsal process/developmental labs are intriguing, and seeing who's in the cast is as well: puppeteers, b-boys, contemporary dancers, acrobats... it should be interesting, at least.

Updated On: 7/31/18 at 01:18 PM

You might want to correct the thread title. . .

CaseyBrent41 said: "The problem is the main attraction is the ape and we've already seen it in promo videos and pictures. If Phantom was only about the chandelier and the material wasn't good (Which sure, debatable, but it has its place)then it wouldn't be as successful as it is, if Les Miz were JUST about the turn table or Miss Saigon the helicopter well that wouldn't keep people going back.

I think this is a big mistake as a show, because there's only one reason to see it and once that's spoiled there's not much there."

I don't really understand this critique. This isn't the Universal Studios ride where, yes, you spend 10 minutes of your life waiting for a 30 second reveal of the giant ape. It's a musical. Like with the movie, you know you're going to see a giant ape, but you decide whether or not to spend your money and time watching it based on how the ape is used in the story, the special effects, the action sequences, etc. It's the same here: yes, you want to see a huge gorilla puppet on stage, but audiences also understand it's going to be part of a story, musical numbers, etc. People still went to see Spider-Man, even after they'd seen clips of the flying sequences.

I am looking forward to this! I wish Eva Noblezada was with this production like she was in the very early stages

CaseyBrent41 said: "I think this is a big mistake as a show, because there's only one reason to see it and once that's spoiled there's not much there."

I wouldn’t go that far. Beyond the spectacle the source material does have a beautiful story when it’s told well. Granted, it’s another variation on Beauty and the Beast just as Phantom is. The question is whether or not that story will be told well or just be a mess and get lost amid the spectacle.

Curious that Eddie Perfect, a cult figure in Australia but utterly unknown and unproven in the West, wound up attached to two different major musical adaptations this year... here's hoping Beetlejuice turns out well, anyway!

With King Kong in the might be great or might flop category, is anyone curious enough to buy preview tickets yet?

I have been hoping for a Broadway production of this musical.

Can't wait.

I heard one of the songs; The Monkey On My Back and I found it to be very emotional.

Updated On: 8/9/18 at 06:03 PM

was the monkey song from the Australian version or the new musical?

There is also a soft shoe number which is quite cute called Don't Monkey With Me.

But despite some cute musical numbers I think the show is the worst idea in musical theatre history. But the times we live in are a changing.