What happened to King Kong?

[CollegeDreamer]

Posted: 10/12/16 at 10:23am

I haven't hear anything about the show in a while. Anybody know if they still want to bring it to Broadway?

[newintown]

Posted: 10/12/16 at 10:28am

'Twas beauty killed the beast.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/12/16 at 10:31am

Awful show, unless they rewrite everything, it wouldn't make it past the second preview.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 10/27/16 at 3:51pm

http://www.broadway.com/buzz/186506/after-nine-drafts-writer-marsha-norman-departs-king-kong-musical/

Yikes.

[Cfried]

Posted: 10/27/16 at 9:24pm

Seems like it's probably dead for good now that Marsha Norman has left the project. 

[10086sunset]

Posted: 10/27/16 at 10:34pm

Norman makes a great point - "We exhausted the possibilities, I believe, of what I could do in writing a book where the main character doesn’t speak or sing,”

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 12:07am

Pretty sure one of the articles mentioned that they were continuing with the project and they found a "new format" for the show 

[whatdoesntkillme]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 12:08am

broadwayboy223 said: "Pretty sure one of the articles mentioned that they were continuing with the project and they found a "new format" for the show 

 

"

Just like Nerds is going out on a national tour

[gypsy101]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 2:59am

what is Nerds, is that about candy

[whatdoesntkillme]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 3:44am

gypsy101 said: "what is Nerds, is that about candy

 

"

http://www.broadway.com/buzz/184080/system-error-nerds-a-musical-dot-comedy-calls-off-broadway-bow/

[newintown]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 8:15am

"Seems like it's probably dead for good now that Marsha Norman has left the project."

You must be joking - they can still go through Peter Parnell, Charles Busch, Lisa Kron, Joe DiPetro, Bob Martin, Rachel Sheinkin, Arthur Kopit, Tom Meehan, and Terrence McNally. They can keep this project "in development" for years, just like the Betty Boop musical.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 10:35am

They CAN, but that doesn't mean they should.

Kron and DiPietro are two of my favorite librettists of recent years and I'd be sick if they actually thought this was a good idea! Lol

[newintown]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 10:45am

I imagine that Lucas and Norman felt that money was a good idea.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 10:49am

I don't think it's a bad idea at all.  If every musical that sounded like a "bad idea" were abandoned, we wouldn't have much to talk about and Sondheim would have half of a career.  Structuring the book and score is definitely a major challenge, but I think it could be quite compelling in the right hands.  The story is classic and from the clips I saw of the Australian production, the visuals looked breathtaking.  And the idea of a non-speaking/non-singing central character is not so far-fetched.  War Horse did just fine and it's not as if Marsha Norman is the only viable option for this project or any other book to a musical.

[newintown]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 11:10am

I find it rather difficult to imagine places where the story sings without it becoming a camp joke, a cliché, or a pointless bore.

Does each of the three leads get their own establishing number? Or would it be some sort of counterpoint trio?

Another trio on the boat, each expressing what they expect/want from the island?

There's the nasty pitfall of a racist "tribal" number.

Terror is hard to sing - does Ann Darrow sing as she sees Kong approaching? Do the ship mates, Denham, and Driscoll sing as they pursue Kong and get picked off by monsters?

A lullaby for Ann to Kong? Too camp?

A Paramour-style production number when Kong is presented to the public?

Ann's 11 o'clock number to Kong, exhorting him to not die? Too silly? Definitely too silly - in fact, the language of musical theatre, or even theatre, isn't really well-suited to the terror aspects of this exceptionally cinematic narrative. The psychology of King Kong is just too two dimensional.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/28/16 at 12:40pm

The psychology of King Kong is just too two dimensional.

I think that is somewhat true of the basic narrative of the original film, but I think both remakes started to tap into some deeper themes that are deserving of deeper exploration.  It's just that both tended to skim these ideas to make way for more action/special effects or approach them in an entirely superficial way.  And in this day and age, the essence of the story and its concepts of the fear, control and exploitation of the unknown, while disregarding the emotional/psychological core of the perceived adversary is still very relevant.  And these are things that could be expressed in song.