King Kong the Musical- Page 2

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 5:00pm

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.

[Daddy Warbucks]

Posted: 8/30/18 at 4:06pm

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-TV-Shes-the-Queen-of-New-York-Watch-Christiani-Pitts-in-New-Music-Video-for-KING-KONG-20180830

This clip gives me hope that the music could sound modern and fresh.  Does anyone know if this is representative of the orchestrations and sound that will be in the actual stage version, or if this is more of a pop version just for the teaser clip?  

[Clyde15]

Posted: 8/30/18 at 4:11pm

The song sounds like it comes directly out of In the Heights. I can picture Vanessa singing this. And while I like the song I don’t know if it’s right for a King Kong musical? But maybe with this is what it needs to survive on Broadway

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/30/18 at 4:12pm

I feel like that may just be like pop rendition than what the orchestrations will actually be.

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 8/30/18 at 9:11pm

I’m hoping that all of the music is just as fresh and vibrant as this. When I heard this today I was actually blown away and very surprised. Based on the clips I’ve seen from previous productions I was not at all expecting this. I hope the costumes and sets match this vibe.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 12:08am

YvanEhtNioj said: "I’m hoping that all of the music is just as fresh and vibrant as this. When I heard this today I was actually blown away and very surprised. Based on the clips I’ve seen from previous productions I was not at all expecting this. I hope the costumes and sets match this vibe.

"

 

Personally I laughed through that, horrible music with a talentless female singer and dancers jumping all around her. If she is the star of the show, I'll pass.

 

[Sho-Tunes-R-Us]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 12:23am

South Fl Marc said: "YvanEhtNioj said: "I’m hoping that all of the music is just as fresh and vibrant as this. When I heard this today I was actually blown away and very surprised. Based on the clips I’ve seen from previous productions I was not at all expecting this. I hope the costumes and sets match this vibe.

"

IMHO they can't bring on the big, hairy guy fast enough!  Oy.



Personally I laughed through that, horrible music with a talentless female singer and dancers jumping all around her. If she is the star of the show, I'll pass.

"

 

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 2:25am

I just think this is one of the silliest ideas for a musical in my life span.  Lord take me now.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 4:19am

Nobody has mentioned yet the new director/ choreographer, whose Strictly Ballroom for Global Creatures has just flopped massively in the West End.

His productions are typically cluttered with over-busy chorus business and weak story-telling.  Neither producers nor director have yet managed to successfully tell a story of this scale on stage.  A musical is so much more complex than a dinosaur theme show.

[Gizmo6]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 5:01am

devonian.t said: "Nobody has mentioned yet the new director/ choreographer, whose Strictly Ballroom for Global Creatures has just flopped massively in the West End.

His productions are typically cluttered with over-busy chorus business and weak story-telling. Neither producers nor director have yet managed to successfully tell a story of this scale on stage. A musical is so much more complex than a dinosaur theme show."

I wanted to see Strictly when it began out of town at the West Yorkshire Playhouse but couldn't get up north. Then when I heard it was transferring I was delighted, great movie, great music what could go wrong? 

The rumours dripped through, they had stopped all the actors singing the songs and were stunt casting a 'Narrator' character who was going to sing all the songs at the actors while they danced. I passed. 

How to kill a show in one fell swoop. 

[Dave28282]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 6:24am

I actually like the lead actress to have some class and star quality. 

This clip comes across as quite generic, cheap and trashy to me. Is this what represents "leading lady" nowadays? It feels like desperate attempt to copy exchangeable tunes from the charts, hoping to be accepted by the current youth.

I hope they present it in a very different way in the show itself.

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 6:30am

Lol. I get it. The general consensus is that you are all hoping for it to fail, or at least anticipating that it will. But I thought it was cute. The sing gave me In The Heights tease. So me, personally, I liked it. I’m willing to give it a shot.

If they realeased a clip of stuff that sounded like the old Sydney production, I’d pass. This makes me wanna know more about the score and vibe of the show. I’m looking forward to it. **shrugs**

Updated On: 8/31/18 at 06:30 AM

[Lot666]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 8:22am

South Fl Marc said: "horrible music with a talentless female singer and dancers jumping all around her. If she is the star of the show, I'll pass."

That seems harsh. She may not be a classic Broadway soprano, but I'd hardly call her "talentless". I thought the song was catchy and, while not the sort of show music that I'm usually drawn to (I lean heavily toward the ALW style), I liked it. I'm curious how it fits into the context of the show, and whether this is a "pop single" version of a track that will be arranged for orchestra in the musical.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 8:31am

Well... that song is definitely... something else. Not what I was expecting for a King King musical. I’m still excited to see this regardless.

[Kad]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 12:11pm

The fact that this project is on at least its third creative team- and its current one is its least noteworthy, after having canned people like Craig Lucas, Marsha Norman, and Jason Robert Brown-  is a very bad sign.

Whoever has been funding this is tenacious.

Updated On: 8/31/18 at 12:11 PM

[joanntom]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 12:49pm

Star quality is in the eye of the beholder. I thought that she did a great job in A Bronx Tale. This role is an amazing next step. This song clearly says that this is not the Melbourne production and  I am excited to see what Jack does with the book. My read was that the music video was a song from the show and clearly not the show (right?).  I get excited and hopeful every time I see the words " a new musical". I'm hoping for some classic elements to the show..

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 12:56pm

This... may have actually gotten me interested in the show.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 2:31pm

This song makes me feel things. Lots of things. As a song itself, I like it. It's nothing spectacular but it's catchy, upbeat, and has fun lyrcis. I could bob my head along to it. But then I step back and think about the show this song is coming out of and I cringe a little. I hope that this is the 'lure them in' orchestrations because to have this song smack in the middle of a 1930's setting risks being a MASSIVE clash of style and tone. Which was, if I recall, one of the things on the laundry list of criticisms of the Melbourne production. I mean, we have not seen anything of this new reworked production so... maybe the altered design calls for a song that sounds like it fits into "In the Heights" in the middle of a production meant to be set in the era of cultural known for big band, jazz, and swing? I mean the clash of old and new has worked before but more often they result in odd misses and killer hits.

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 2:45pm

Is the show still going to be set in 1930? If so, the song might sound a little out of place

[Daddy Warbucks]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 2:50pm

Unless they are going for something unique. It worked for Hamilton and others.

[freewilma]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 2:58pm

YvanEhtNioj said: "Is the show still going to be set in 1930? If so, the song might sound a little out of place"

Here's the last paragraph of the article.  While poorly written and somewhat confusing...it does sound like 1930s is the era.  

Based on the 1932 novel, the stage production of King Kong is a contemporary take on the classic tale of beauty and the beast. The story follows a young actress, Ann Darrow, and a maverick filmmaker, Carl Denham, as they voyage from the bustling streets of 1930s New York to an uncharted island to capture the world's greatest wonder. At the center of this 21st-century reimagining: a 20-foot high, 2,000-pound gorilla brought to life by a team of seamlessly integrated artists and technicians. King Kong is a larger-than-life encounter with a legend that's always been too big to contain.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 4:02pm

That music video was simply terrible and that girl is nothing special. Who is she and what has she done?

Where are they showing it? The audience is not on BWW that's for sure! Who are they targetingmfor this? When my friends ask me what is new and coming to Broadway and say King Kong the musical...they all laugh and say seriously?

I sense a BIG FAT FLOP!

[Impossible2]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 4:05pm

Kad said: "The fact that this project is on at least its third creative team- andits current one is its leastnoteworthy,after having canned people likeCraigLucas, Marsha Norman,and Jason Robert Brown- is a very bad sign.

Whoever has been funding this is tenacious."

Are you aware of something called a 'tax write-off'?

A lot of these shows are little more than that.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 6:08pm

When I originally read "contemporary take" I thought like, updating the plot a bit so it's a bit less dated. You know, Ann's not just a girl waiting to be saved. Being a bit more sensitive to race and culture. Things not that so.... early 1900s. I didn't think set in modern day because YIKES. And the wording still leaves a grey area between what exactly this show is going to be. I mean I REALLY hope it's the former and not the later because it didn't work for them when they updated the story to be set in the 80s for the remake movie and part of the appeal (to me at least) is the look of that period. The stylized design of the 1930s, the fashion of it. I don't want to see Ann running around in a fuzzy feathered jacket, shorts, and high heels. Oh god what IS this show going to be?! What is that music video IS the style and setting of this musical?

[Daddy Warbucks]

Posted: 8/31/18 at 6:45pm

Robbie2 said: "When my friends ask me what is new and coming to Broadway and say King Kong the musical...they all laugh and say seriously?"

I've had the same reaction from my friends.  However, then I show them a youtube clip of the puppet and they see its potential to be a Broadway spectacle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGBGfR-qrZM

I've said elsewhere that I think this one is going to start slow and the question will be whether the word of mouth of the spectacle (which I believe it will be a very unique spectacle) will spread fast enough before it gets sunk by its operating costs.  And the key to how fast and well the word of mouth spreads is going to be dependent on whether the production itself has a very good book OR score.  My theory has been that it needs at least one or the other in combination with the spectacle.  The music video in my mind tells me that the score appears likely to be sophisticated and interesting.  This first song at least doesn't sound hokey or outdated.