KING KONG - Previews- Page 5

[Daddy Warbucks]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 4:03am

John Adams, thanks for responding.  I too respect Whizzer's opinion and am so glad he attended the show and posted the review.  And thank-you to the others who have chimed in -- I've been anticipating hearing everyone's opinions (good and bad) from the preview.  With all due respect, I analyze people and words for a living and your initial post almost gave off the whiff of some sort of bias or inner hope that the show fails when you started by saying "It's bad. REAALLLY BAD. period. BAD.... Look at Whizzer's review, [look at Dan6's review]."  I didn't get the same vibe from Whizzer or Dan6 who gave critical opinions.  Do you have some sort of personal beef with the show?  Did your girlfriend cheat on you with King Kong?  Cause I would totally get it if so.  



John Adams said: "PS: Daddy Warbucks
If there's any chance that you ARE a Daddy Warbucks, and might subliminally be proffering an option for paying my expenses to see the show... COUNT ME IN!"

Ah Annie, so now you want to see the show!    

Updated On: 10/6/18 at 04:03 AM

[John Adams]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 4:08am

LOVE your response!!

Nahhh. No personal bias... Just overtly strong opinions!

[John Adams]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 4:18am

Warbucks2 said: "Ah Annie, so now you want to see the show! "

Well, c'mon... it's a MONKEY PUPPET (who can resist?)

All kidding aside, I'm enjoying the conversation. Thanks for not being a troll 

[brian1973]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 5:07am

Alarm bells rang for me when they decided to use 4 poster designs.,.. who’s stupid idea was that? Any moron knows that for a big show like this to get noticed, it needs to have clear branding. ONE clear brand.

sorry to saw but Drew McOnie is just too inexperienced to helm a show of this scale. Any other director would have demanded the score be rewritten. 

[binau]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 5:11am

This has the makings to be the next Spider-Man. When it inevitably crashes and loses everything, I hope someone will pen a ‘tell-all’ story to let us know what the hell has gone on with all these creative changes, mountings/productions.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 5:24am

How is the set? Is there any spectacle to the physical production outside of the obvious puppet?

[DrewJoseph]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 6:43am

Is there any set at all? From all the photos from the melbourne production and now broadway, it looks as if it’s just a giant led wall and thats it. Is there any set for skull island? Or is everything projection and video?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 7:56am

Rosscoe(au), Some of it is off-stage/some on. I’ll go into some details, but LIGHT SPOILERS warning first:

 

Kong is brought out on stage in chains during the Broadway show within a show. He breaks the chain on his right arm and the curtain comes down instantly. Some chorus girls are trotted out to perform a number in one to “distract” us from the roaring and shooting going on behind the curtain. It’s very Phantom- let’s distract them with the ballet from act five! (Another near Phantom moment is Kong’s first meeting with Ann...there’s lots of fog on stage, she’s dressed like Christine, taken to his lair and I swear to god I thought he was going to start humming Music of the Night.)

After the Chorus girls run off screaming, the curtain comes up to reveal Kong out in the street causing destruction in New York before finding Ann and ascending the Empire State Building (which was a cool effect). 

Drew, There isn’t much of a set. The giant LED wall that you saw in photos does account for probably 3/4 of the set. There are a few pieces in the opening number that aren’t really utilized. A couple interesting scrims, lots of fog machines. The thing is, the puppet is SO massive, there really isn’t room for a set. Skull Island has a lot of vines drop down, but terrain of the island is projections. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 7:39am

At first, I had no interest in seeing this. Then I saw all the video of the puppet and became quite intrigued. Now? Only if I can go for an incredibly cheap price. {Scampers off to tdf}

Updated On: 10/6/18 at 07:39 AM

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 8:03am

A cinematic disappointment.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Director/choreographer Drew McOnie shared remarks at the top of the evening.

"Thank you for arriving with passion, to have the first glimpse of what the world is about to see, our hero. You are the last piece of the puzzle, to make what live theatre is all about. A community. You guys are brave! Enjoy! Anything can happen tonight. Turn your phones off and dive into 1931 New York. Let this story give you the confidence to roar."

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Soon after the opening timpani roll, and a thick synth sound, we were transported to old New York. The upstage, wrap-around LED screens were nearly IMAX size with images of steel and cranes. Two towers of metal girders slowly dropped in.

The choreography was a mixed bag of male athleticism and feminine follies. There's even a breakdancing apple seller.

Latecomers were seated after "Queen of New York".

From row M in high mezzanine in a $49 seat, the film-like visuals were wonderful, but by the time a fourth FULL moon appeared, I realized that timekeeping was not on anyone's priority list.

The MeToo references were weak. "The story ends when you're someone's wife," said Ann Darrow.

As the ship left NY for Skull Island, the ship had the same response to both tranquil waters and choppy waves.

Skull Island had lasers! Its jungle is thick spaghetti seaweed.

The biggest applause of the night was Kong's entrance. "You gotta see it to believe it," Carl Denham would later say.

When a python wraps itself around Ann, the battle of ape vs snake was too difficult to stage. It's certainly suggested that Kong won.

Act 2 opens with schmaltz and cheesy showbiz. The female ensemble wore silver glitter on black while shaking red cheerleader pompoms. I immediately wished we were back at Skull Island.

Chorus line of sailors, anyone?

When the chained King Kong first appeared in front of the 1931 NY audience, mayhem ensued when he breaks free. Did the dancers escape the stage in time?

As Kong raced through the streets of NY, he picked up one random woman in white, then dropped her to the street below. This was the one glitch of the evening: when Kong released the woman, she remained suspended for 2 seconds before freefalling.

Kong spotted tonight's live audience and gingerly inched forward to the lip of the stage. I loved it when everyone in the mezzanine lurched forward in unison.

Kong's ascent on the Empire State Building was cool.

Overall, the Kong puppet was amazing! But the book, songs, and orchestrations were lacking. I do not need to see this again.




 

Updated On: 10/6/18 at 08:03 AM

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 8:26am

Thanks Whizzer , that's the same crap they pulled in Australia. What should be the biggest moment of the show, is still the worst.

They should just post the closing notice now

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 9:15am

Even with terrible reviews, this will probably run through the Spring. How long did the Australian production run?

[raddersons]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 9:39am

Does this cross over into “so bad it’s good” + puppet territory, or is it boring?

[Danielle49]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 9:40am

Yikes. These responses make me regret using my AR points on this. Well, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory got awful reactions as well, but I enjoyed myself. Let’s hope I can just grab a drink and let the effects make the night a fun one.

[Dan6]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 9:41am

rosscoe(au) said: "Thanks Whizzer , that's the same crap they pulled in Australia. What should be the biggest moment of the show, is still the worst.

They should just post the closing notice now"

SPOILERS AHEAD:

I will say that the chorus girl number in front of the curtain was very funny, with the dancers trying to smile through their increasing panic and tears, and one of them getting grabbed and dragged back under the curtain. The audience seemed to enjoy it. But yeah, especially sitting in the front rows, that was the moment that I expected to be most thrilling...I was waiting for Kong to tear down the curtain and threaten the audience...and I felt cheated by having it all happen offstage. 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 9:49am

It really would have been amazing if Kong had been able to break across the stage and climb up the inside wall of theater- that would have certainly topped the over-the-audience flying fight scenes in Spider-man. As absolutely impressive as the puppet is, if there is one downside to him being so large and taking so many people to move him around, it’s that he isn’t very mobile and can’t move quickly. The fight between the python and Kong was almost happening in slow motion. I think they’re kind of limited with how much they can move him around and therefore the breaking out of the theater sequence falls a bit flat. 

I would be shocked if this closes too quickly. Despite what I assume to be the enormous likely running costs, I think there will be enough people who feel like they’re getting their money’s worth with the puppet alone and this will keep the show running through the Tonys, where it is destined to pick up some technical awards (and maybe even make an appearance on the broadcast). 

[John Adams]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 11:26am

WhizzerMarvin said: "It really would have been amazing if Kong had been able to break across the stage and climb up the inside wall of theater- that would have certainly topped the over-the-audience flying fight scenes in Spider-man. "

The Kong puppet weighs 1.1 ton (per the introduction in this video). I can't find the source where I first read, or viewed that when he's not at stage level, he's suspended in the flies over the stage. Neither can I find the source for where the weight of the overhead puppeteering mechanism was disclosed (but it's also very heavy).

Spider-Man and Cirque du Soleil have proven that no matter how much care is taken regarding prevention, accidents do happen; some pretty terrible accidents. 

I would very much prefer that this version of Kong reside within a ride at Universal Studios, at ground level, where the same spectacle can 'wow' an audience, but no one has to have 1.1 ton of monkey puppet suspended over their head. (What if he poops?) 

[Tom5]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 11:29am

Carl Denham was a very bad dude. He was directly responsible for countless deaths on Skull Island and New York City. I hope in this version Kong squashes him as he did in the Jessica Lange version. (Great John Barry score there too)

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 11:52am

If junk (and badly reviewed) shows like PRETTY WOMAN can run, mostly thanks to tourists and the bridge-and-tunnel crowd who still think that women being portrayed as prostitutes with a wannabe Julia Roberts are entertaining, then KK should run forever. Thanks, Whizzer, for your always insightful comments.

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 12:05pm

This was my most anticipated musical of the season, Im a little disappointed now. I just dont understand the fact that, if It didnt work in Austrilla, what makes you think its gonna work on Broadway??

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 12:12pm

jayinchelsea said: "If junk (and badly reviewed) shows like PRETTY WOMAN can run, mostly thanks to tourists and the bridge-and-tunnel crowd who still think that women being portrayed as prostitutes with a wannabe Julia Roberts are entertaining, then KK should run forever. Thanks, Whizzer, for your always insightful comments."


Yeah, but Pretty Woman probably has a much smaller weekly overhead and much lower production budget than King Kong.

I will be curious about how Kong's grosses are through previews and after opening. Spider-Man had a daily deluge of press to keep it in the conversation, and that made it a must-see show. But once the grosses dipped, it closed quickly. Kong doesn't seem like it will have that type of press coverage (thankfully).

How many pieces are in the orchestra, by the way?

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 12:24pm

Bwayfan292 said: "This was my most anticipated musical of the season, Im a little disappointed now. I just dont understand the fact that, if It didnt work in Austrilla, what makes you think its gonna work on Broadway??

"

How can you be disappointed by a show you haven't seen yet? It's fine to hear what other people think, but make up your own mind. Just lower your expectations, and you might be pleasantly surprised. Regardless of the show's failings, it still sounds like the puppet is a must-see. I'm looking forward to it. 

[Famebroadway2]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 12:26pm

How many pieces are in the orchestra, by the way?"

19 

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 10/6/18 at 12:33pm

CT2NYC said: "Bwayfan292 said: "This was my most anticipated musical of the season, Im a little disappointed now. I just dont understand the fact that, if It didnt work in Austrilla, what makes you think its gonna work on Broadway??

"

How can you be disappointed by a show you haven't seen yet? It's fine to hear what other people think, but make up your own mind. Just lower your expectations, and you might be pleasantly surprised.Regardless of the show's failings, it still sounds like the puppet is a must-see.I'm looking forward to it."

I meant Im disappointed in the reviews, as I expected the show to do a little better. But im still really excited to see this puppet! 

Posted: 10/6/18 at 1:44pm

The Ferryman was terrible. I'd rather sit through Kong again.