KING KONG Reviews — Page 8

Just got back from the show. Let me state the obvious so it can eliminate the snark of some people but yes everything is my opinion.

Eddie perfect should be barred from broadway. He clearly didnt get the vibe of time and place nor can tjat boy write a song that isnt trite as hell. I still dont understand what "pressure" was for.

The music composed by Marius de Vries was markedly better. Setting a feeling and connection to the peice. Unfortuneately it was always interrupted by an Eddie "song"
And what the hell was that closing number. It brought the show from this could have been good to what the hell is this.

Ms. Pitts is not strong enough to carry a show and especially this show. She has one emotion and one only. No matter the situation there she was. Chip on her shoulder. There is a point she has to be softer ormore vulnerable. Open up let something affect you or the relationship with the ape doesnt work. Full Moon Lullaby would be a good point. We get it. You're not a damsel in distress. You are woman hear you roar. Bla bla well theres no warmth no connection. The character comes off as a self serving bitch. That maybe for actress and director to work on. And i could understand maybe 10 percent of what she sang. Diction girl.

Over choreographed and under directed. The man has 10 moves and feels the need to repeat them in every scene. Why if this gorilla is chasing u down in the street are u doin a dance break. It was this disjointed mix of jellys last jam meets the martha graham dancers.

I feel the creatives failed to decide on time and place and design all to it. Even though they have one listed.

Unfortuneately the only one on that stage with any emotion or vulnerability or life was the big rubber gorilla. O feel bad for him. He deserves better and should get his agent on the phone immediately.

Updated On: 11/14/18 at 11:37 PM

"Make no mistake. King Kong is big and scary, with a fierce set of chompers, overdeveloped shoulders and hands that could crush SUVs. His effect on you is real. The expressive eyes, though, stamp him as more human than anyone else onstage. Ann tells him he looks sad; I'd say, it's more like worried."

Poor King Kong, an ape trapped in a chicken outfit

There is mention above about some songs being good, and some bad, depending on who wrote them. I found it to be such a weird mix of musical styles. Where can I see a list of who wrote which songs?

I only went to see how they'd pull off animating a giant puppet with any degree of credibility and in my opinion, they more than succeeded. The impressive spectacle of King Kong running through the streets was enough to make me forget the completely out-of-place choreography and weak songs. The Ann Darrow character never once showed fear - she couldn't even scream! - so it was hard to care about her. However, the true tragedy of this musical was not King Kong falling to his death, but the overblown production number called The Wonder that followed. It was unnecessary and illustrated just how amateurish this show was. It's no The Band's Visit, but somehow I still recommend it for the technical wizardry.

Updated On: 11/16/18 at 02:35 PM

Saw it this afternoon. Beyond bad. I have never in 40 years left at intermission. I sat thru Raggedy Ann. The news and today I left at intermission. The music the acting was something so amateurish I felt ripped off. The puppet was interesting for a brief moment. The leads ...just awful she is not strong enough to carry a show..her voice is average and her acting is basically being bitchy or stiff....The dancing ..she actually did a hip hop type shoulder roll at the beginning of her song..isn't it 1929 ???? the rest of the dancing is very blah. I did like the ship but that went on way to long...and then the Ape...interesting briefly but I swear I was falling asleep..my friend next to me was out cold I had to knee him to wake up...and not a memorable song in the entire 1st act..i just could not see sitting through the ROAR over and over...and watching the guys in black moving his hands and fingers..(very distracting for me) also that snake LMFAO...

Updated On: 11/19/18 at 07:59 PM

PatrickDC said: "Saw the scene broadcast yesterday during the parade. I would love to see the puppet live, the movement looks wonderful, especially the little movements made by the nostrils, lips, etc. I'm a big fan of the original film and loved Peter Jackson's interpretation even though it was so heavily CGIed.

I wonder though, would the Broadway production be better as just a play rather than a musical? The song on the parade broadcast did nothing for me. And from what I've read the score overall is weak. Even in a straight play they could add music and even fully musicalize the unveiling of KK in the theater toward the end.

So, could this work better as a play, or is the concept just wrong for the stage?

(I didn't read through this entire long thread so apologies if this was already discussed.)"



Saw this today and I felt similarly. I can’t remember a single song, but the puppet was quite impressive and I felt like the show could have used more development than ballads from Anne. I wonder how it would have been as a play, since it seemed like there wasn’t an actual musical style that I could discern and I didn’t feel like many of the songs added much to the show.



Green lasers were weird, I didn’t really get that. I actually enjoyed act 1 but I felt like act 2 was slow and didn’t add much. None of the characters were particularly redeemable, especially Anne feeling bad for getting Kong captured when what’s his face pretty much told her to sell out and scream to lure him out. I would have preferred if they manupulated her to get her to scream or something. I’m not sure.



I won the lotto seats and they were rear mezz row O. Pretty far back but a full view of the stage. I feel like I would have been more sorely disappointed if I had spent any more than the $49 I did. There were quiiiite a few empty rows so I’m not sure it’s catching on with the touristy crowd

I know the music wasn't the best ever but has anyone heard if/when we'll be getting a cast recording?

I saw this yesterday. I was very vocal in a different thread about this potentially being a surprise and begging folks to give it a shot before prematurely judging it. I'm sorry.

As many others have already stated, the show itself is poorly cobbled together. The scoring is sometimes fine, sometimes utterly jarring and even laughable (seriously, that scene near the end of act one where Kong flies through a Windows PC screensaver circa 1998 to a random techno song was hysterically stupid). The book is weak. Perfect's songs are generic at best, grating at worst.

Pitts had only one level and one emotion. The puppet seriously emoted more than she did in her book scenes. McOnie's direction is almost not even there. I liked the choreography at first, until it was repeated ad nauseum and during scenes where it made no sense to have choreography, especially awkward bicycle lifts.

That dang puppet though. It's incredible. Even from the mid-mezzanine I got every eyebrow raise, nostril flare, frown, and head tilt. It was amazing. As much of a disappointment as the show is, I would probably pay just to see the puppet again. Someone above mentioned that it should have been a play with a score rather than a musical, and I think that would have made it much better. The sung parts take you right out of the show, considering their disparate styles and the fact that they don't move the plot along (or make much sense, in the case of that pressure song). Leave the number in act two where Carl is planning the stage show, add more underscoring, take out everything else, and develop the book a little more, and this could have been better.

The whole time I kept thinking, "There's no way in hell this version is better than whatever Jason Robert Brown and Marsha Normal came up with." That to me is the most confusing part of this whole show and why I was originally hoping people would give it a chance; it's been in development for so long, gone through so many iterations and creative teams and labs and workshops and full productions, and this is what they arrived at as the best version, the one that should open on Broadway? How does that happen?