Tony Award-winning composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown (The Bridges of Madison County, Parade, Honeymoon in Vegas) has been tapped to collaborate on the score with original Australian creative team member Marius de Vries ("Moulin Rouge" and "Romeo + Juliet").
Brown will be reunited with his Bridges of Madison County collaborator, Tony and Pulitzer winner Marsha Norman, who will write both book and lyrics.
The Australian premiere included a handful of revamped 1930s Broadway classics like "Get Happy," "I Wanna Be Loved By You" and "Brother Can You Spare a Dime," as well as contemporary additions from artists like Sarah McLachlan and The Avalanches.
It was not revealed which musical material, if any, would stay.
A late October developmental lab of King Kong will take place with Tony nominee Eric Schaeffer (Follies, Gigi, Million Dollar Quartet) at the helm.
Tony-winning producer Roy Furman has joined Global Creatures' Carmen Pavlovic on the producing end.
A timeline for King Kong's Broadway arrival is not in place.
King Kong's Australian premiere was directed by Daniel Kramer and featured a book by Craig Lucas. Director John Rando had previously been courted to shepherd the project for American audiences.
The musical's centerpiece is a one-ton, six-meter-tall silver back gorilla, controlled by a group of puppeteers and aerialists who bring the massive puppet to life on stage.
Reviews for the production, which can be read here, were mixed.
Here's a look at Kong in Australia:
