KING KONG - Previews

[ArtMan]

dramamama611 said: "ACL2006 said: "Let's not forget how bad SPIDERMAN was and it ran for over 1,000 performances. Tourists love a spectacle, even a bad one."

I feel as if Spiderman had a TON more press/buzz than this does."

Plus it had a score by Bono and The Edge.  Sidenote:  I actually enjoyed Spiderman.

[Mike3]

BroadwayBear2 said: "They need a major injury or incident to gain some Spiderman level press."

I don’t speak up very often, but I find this in very poor taste.

[kclahar]

The show is a tourist trap. The puppetry is incredible, and so is the set design. I also really enjoyed the instrumentals that accompanied the action onstage. Other than that, there isn’t any reason for a theatre fan to see this show. If they don’t find a way to get a lot of tourists to buy tickets, I think it’s going to struggle. Also, I don’t think you can compare Spiderman to King Kong. Marvel’s fan base is huge. I don’t think you can say the same about King Kong.

[SomethingPeculiar]

dramamama611 said: "I feel as if Spiderman had a TON more press/buzz than this does."


It did.

Spider-Man's media attention cannot be underplayed, and I do not think anything Kong does will come close. It was the most prominent Broadway press since...I don't know what, and certainly the first of the internet/social media age. The audience bootleg of the actor falling probably wouldn't have existed 5-7 years earlier, and that was the moment that grabbed peoples' attention. Even if you lived in rural America and didn't follow theatre, you had heard about the Spider-Man drama.

Since then, Hamilton has eclipsed it (for good reason, not drama!) and a few other shows have had social media buzz, but I think a media frenzy today is something very different than a media frenzy in 2010/11 –– a time when Facebook singularly dominated social media (remember The Social Network?), Broadway hadn't had a juggernaut hit like Hamilton in a decade+ (The Producers? Mackintish/Webber shows?), and politics/real-world matters weren't occupying our daily conversations and news cycles.

If Spidey had been just bad but safe, it would have closed a lot quicker without the national conversation and "what if someone gets hurt??" factor.

[BroadwayBear2]

Mike3 said: "BroadwayBear2 said: "They need a major injury or incident to gain some Spiderman level press."

I don’t speak up very often, but I find this in very poor taste."

I'm not intending it to be rude and wish the cast of King Kong nothing but the best, I am an avid fan of what I have seen so far and can't wait to see it this winter. The reality remains that SpiderMan got national coverage due to the injuries, accidents, technical mishaps, and sabotage that occurred within it's cast. A lot of people went to see Spiderman with a morbid curiosity. My hopes are that they don't go to King Kong for the same reason, but rather to enjoy a night at theatre, free of any metaphorical "falling spidermen".

[joanntom]

I will get only one shot to see this as I'm pretty careful with how I spend my $.  I will wait it out a month or so. My friend who was there at first preview said it best to me  that  "Aren't previews intended for the improvement of the show by opening?". I could be wrong.

So, Are there shows that drastically improved during previews?

 

Besides the puppet , she did say that there really is a show in there and liked some of the songs.  Also, she really liked the leads.  But wished that there was more time or material to really get to the meat of the piece. But said that what works well works. Hopefully the coverage that it gets is because it actually comes together..

 

 

 

[Miles2Go2]

Haven’t seen the show and don’t know when I’ll make it back to NYC, but it seems to me from the posts on here from people that have seen the show that the bulkiness of the puppet would prohibit major revisions to the book especially those that require new staging. And they’ve had years to land on this score so I don’t foresee them pulling out better songs between now and the opening in four and a half weeks.

[angoradebs]

I saw the show on Friday and agree with most of what has been said (although I actually liked the score for the most part). The book is incredibly weak. Kong is amazing (the serpent, not so much - hopefully they smooth out its movements before opening). I guess it may be over-choreographed, but I really enjoyed the choreo, so I didn't mind.

I loved Eric William Morris's performance. I mostly like Pitts, but sometimes I could understand her when she was singing. I thought she got drowned out by the orchestra quite a bit. I also think they tried too hard with the character of Ann and made her too "plucky." I mean, the song "Scream for the Money" is literally about Ann, an actress, being paid to follow a script, which includes screaming, but not wanting to scream because she doesn't want to appear weak? I think? (Like I said, I mostly liked the score...but not that song). I liked the ensemble but wish they had featured more of them.

I sat in the front mezz (row D) and felt like it was the perfect spot to see the puppet and all the effects (especially the boat). I could also see the appeal of sitting in the front couple of rows of orchestra just for the part where he comes up to the front of the stage.

Question: I sat house right, and in the scene immediately after Kong kidnaps Ann, and they have their first "conversation" only to be interrupted by the serpent, Kong was completely obstructed by the screen (also, was that supposed to be glass? It definitely looked like a glass wall that had a jagged broken section, but I don't know why that would be on Skull Island, so maybe it was supposed to just be a cave). Anyway, on house left, could you actually see what was happening between Kong and Ann? Because I could only see Ann.

Also, I really hated the ending. And I don't mean the ending of the story, I mean the actual final seconds of the show.

I was impressed that they didn't have many issues for a first preview. Someone upthread mentioned a woman being suspended in air for a few seconds before actually falling. A couple wardrobe malfunctions (Pitts' wrap dress came undone during Queen of New York; she tried to re-do it one handed, failed, so it gaped open for a bit before she had a chance to close it properly; there was also a hat that flew off a dancer - possibly during Scream for the Money, but I could be wrong. She picked it up and held it). There was a moment where I thought someone missed a line during Bringing the King. Carl sang a line, then gestured toward Ann, but she didn't sing, then after a few bars he started singing again. So I don't know if Pitts missed her cue, or if Morris messed it up, or if it was just a weird bit of music.

Anyway, I'm glad I saw it. I had a good time. I'd say it's worth seeing once for the puppet. I honestly have no idea how it will do. During intermission, there was hardly any chatter in the bathroom. I didn't hear anyone say "that was so good!" I did hear someone say "So that's disappointing." When I left, I heard a little boy (maybe 10/11ish) say it was "really dramatic." I'd imagine it would never be able to tour. I am curious to hear if they make any changes before opening.

[Kad]

Even before the accidents that plagued Spider-Man, it had a massive amount of press. It was Julie Taymor (who, it must be remembered, was still riding adoration for her work on Lion King at the time) and U2 promising you the biggest spectacle ever. Spider-Man was going to be doing his thing right in front of an audience, and the question of “how!?” was tantalizing. 

King Kong has a very impressive puppet. 

[brian1973]

VotePeron said: "brian1973 said: "Running costs are over $1million a week."



Source??"

Er, NO. They work on the show so I’m hardly going to name them,

[seanmcdonagh121]

I managed to get 3 rush tickets this morning. $49 each. I didn’t think I’d get 3 as generally it’s 2 per person but the man in the box office was a gent and said it’s totally cool.

Anyways, I’m excited to see the show. I’m not expecting a good musical but I am expecting an entertaining night (for the puppet alone)

[Kate Monster3]

Where are your rush seats?  I'll be there tonight as well.  I'm going in with an open mind as I tend to like musicals that a lot of people think are terrible.  

[seanmcdonagh121]

Kate Monster3 said: "Where are your rush seats? I'll be there tonight as well. I'm going in with an open mind as I tend to like musicals that a lot of people think are terrible."

I believe the far right of row J! He actually said I could sit in whichever row to the sides but I figured it’d be best to be around the middle of the orchestra 

[Dollypop]

As our neighborhood goblins all grown up and moved away, I think I'll head into the city and see KING KONG on Halloween. Whether it turns out to be a trick or treat remains to be seen.

[yanks02]

seanmcdonagh121 said: "Kate Monster3 said: "Where are your rush seats? I'll be there tonight as well. I'm going in with an open mind as I tend to like musicals that a lot of people think are terrible."

I believe the far right of row J! He actually said I could sit in whichever row to the sides but I figured it’d be best to be around the middle of the orchestra"

Can you report back on how your seats were? I'm thinking of doing rush tomorrow and don't want to miss a lot of the spectacle if the seats are partial view.

[ebizzle]

Does anyone know the approximate run time for the show? I can't find it anywhere and was wondering if it's 2.5 hours or closer to 3

[Allen S Bishop]

The show is about 2.5 hours.   Hopefully, they will cut it down to 1.5, rewrite all the music, extract the uncomfortable Lumpy scenes, re-block the snake fight, change all the weird unnecessary dancing, drain the swamp people and cut out all the forced #metoo melodrama.  Then, they'll have something.

Maybe they should also think about giving Kong a song to "sing".  I mean, it can't get any worse in my book.  Or maybe just an hour and half of Kong running through the streets--that was neat.

People were loving it, though.  Take a dramamine if you get motion sickness.

[CT2NYC]

FYI, rear mezzanine rows M-R are available for opening night, Thusday 11/8, at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $49 with the discount on Telecharge Offers.

[seanmcdonagh121]

40 minutes into the show. Performance has been stalled due to technical difficulties. Just before Kongs entrance (I presume)

So far, I shouldn’t love this show but I sorta am.... some issues with sound and score is serviceable but production wise I love it.

Theatre appears to be a solid 95% full.

[Caye2]

They just stopped the show for a technical issue! I believe Kong was about to make his appearance...

 

Someone just beat me with the post!

[WldKingdomHM]

Here also. Sad he was about to make his entrance

[Kate Monster3]

I'm here too. I hope the show continues. After that last announcement it sounds like we might be waiting a while. Do they ever just outright cancel the show if they can't fix whatever difficulties they're having?

[boonanas]

Director of choreography came out and said the show will continue and that the problem 'never happened before'

[kclahar]

Allen S Bishop said: "The show is about 2.5 hours. Hopefully, they will cut it down to 1.5, rewrite all the music, extract the uncomfortable Lumpy scenes, re-block the snake fight, change all the weird unnecessary dancing, drainthe swamp people and cut out all the forced #metoo melodrama. Then, they'll have something.

Maybe they should also think about giving Kong a song to "sing". I mean, it can't get any worse in my book. Or maybe just an hour and half of Kong running through the streets--that was neat.

People were loving it, though. Take a dramamine if you get motion sickness."

You are spot on.  When I went last Saturday, the only applause throughout the whole show, came when the King Kong action was happening.  It could easily be 90 minutes.  They need to stop pretending that this is a musical.  It’s a theme park show.  They need to just embrace that, and try to make it as successful as possible.

[KnewItWhenIWasInFron]

ArtMan said: "Sidenote: I actually enjoyed Spiderman."

I find this to be in very poor taste.