King Kong, the new Broadway mega-musical based on the 1933 monster classic, celebrates its official opening night November 8 at The Broadway Theatre. The production arrives in New York following a 2013 Melbourne world premiere. New York previews began October 5.
The centerpiece of the multi-million dollar musical spectacle is also its titular star: a 20-foot-high, 2,000-pound silverback gorilla that towers over his co-stars, a menacing aggressor whose lifelike face is capable of expressing a breathtaking range of emotion.
The awe-inspiring creature is brought to life by fusing state-of-the-art animatronic and robotic technology with a massive marionette puppet that is controlled by a team of onstage puppeteers aerialists.
The cast is led by Christiani Pitts, (A Bronx Tale) as Ann Darrow, Eric William Morris (Mamma Mia!) as Carl Denham, and Erik Lochtefeld (Misery, Metamorphoses) as Lumpy.
The Broadway creative team boasts Tony- and Olivier Award-winning book writer Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Let the Right One In), Olivier Award-winning director-choreographer Drew McOnie (Strictly Ballroom), and Australian songwriter Eddie Perfect, who is also adapting Beetlejuice for Broadway. Perfect joins the show’s original composer and arranger Marius de Vries (Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet).
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