The short-lived King Kong musical from Australia is set to return to the world, and now on Broadway! Producers Global Creatures (CEO Carmen Pavlovic) and Roy Furman have announced King Kong will open in the fall of 2018 at the Shubert Organization’s Broadway Theatre.
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Carmen Pavlovic said, “I’m thrilled that King Kong will be coming to Broadway next season led by Drew McOnie and Jack Thorne, who will bring a new dimension to the telling of Kong’s story. Drew’s physical world will allow Kong to live in ways we never thought possible, propelled by Jack’s text and the score and songs written by Marius de Vries and Eddie Perfect.”
Producer Roy Furman said, “King Kong is a quintessential New York story and I’m proud to be involved in this historic production. Our team is creating a theatrical experience that we hope will astound audiences, while delighting them with its heartfelt storytelling.”
The King Kong musical is written by Jack Thorne, who is no stranger to adaptation having penned the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (for which he won the 2017 Olivier Award) and the critically-acclaimed play adaptation of Let the Right One In.
The show will be directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, an Olivier Award winner for the London production of In the Heights and an Olivier Award nominee this year for Jesus Christ Superstar.
The score for King Kong is composed by four-time Grammy nominee Marius de Vries (La La Land, Moulin Rouge, and Romeo + Juliet) with songs by Helpmann Award winner Eddie Perfect, composer and lyricist of the Broadway-bound Beetlejuice, Strictly Ballroom The Musical and Shane Warne The Musical.
Pioneering creature designer Sonny Tilders developed Kong for the show, bringing together the worlds of animatronics and puppetry that has never been seen on stage before. Tilders was honored by the Helpmann Awards, Australia’s highest theatrical honor, for Outstanding Theatrical Achievement.
Based on the novel of the original 1933 screenplay, the stage show of King Kong is a contemporary take on the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast.
The King Kong musical design team for Broadway will include Peter England (Set Design), Sonny Tilders (Creature Design), Roger Kirk (Costume Design), Peter Mumford (Lighting Design), Peter Hylenski (Sound Design), and Gavin Robins (Aerial and King Kong Movement Director).
Casting, additional members of the creative team, and ticketing details for King Kong will be announced at a later date.
