King Kong or Moulin Rouge?

[Mr. Wormwood]

One slot left to fill in my trip in July, would you suggest King Kong before it closes or Moulin Rouge in previews?

 

Don't suggest other ones besides these two please, I've either seen them or will see them on this trip or am not interested :)

[BalconyClub]

Tourists vs a new show? No contest.

[Mr. Wormwood]

BalconyClub said: "Tourists vs a new show? No contest."

I'm definitely more interested in Moulin Rouge but I figure that will run for awhile and I'll get another chance if I didn't see it on this trip. I'm just wondering if the puppet in King Kong is worth the trip for a show I'm not otherwise interested in...

[George in DC]

There is nothing in "King Kong" that is worth seeing.

Go to "Moulin Rouge".

[George in DC]

.

[George in DC]

There is nothing in "King Kong" that is worth seeing.

Go to "Moulin Rouge".

[bryan2]

there is nothing at all in KING KONG that is worth sitting through.  complete trash..

but it is closing and you may never get the opportunity to see really bad musical theater again

[CT2NYC]

Even though I had problems with the book of Moulin Rouge! in Boston, there's no denying that it's a gorgeous production, and that alone makes it worth seeing. Because I wasn't blown away by the puppet, I can't recommend Kong.

[magictodo123]

If you're coming back to NYC sometime in the next year,  then I'd say go with Kong. Moulin Rouge! will be around then. Kong is closing, and contrary to many people there ARE fans of the show out there. I'd go with Kong this time around, but maybe buy your ticket for MR! now because later on, after opening and depending on reviews, prices may skyrocket and you might want to secure them sooner rather than later. I say Kong for this trip! 

[rlj1010]

I'm coming to NYC next week and seeing 5 shows during my stay:

Hamilton
Dear Evan Hanson
Beetlejuice
Hadestown

and for my 5th show, I was also torn between King Kong and a preview of Moulin Rouge... but after reading the King Kong reviews, I gladly booked Moulin Rouge instead.

I don't really care if KK is closing and I never get to see it. Some of the worst reviews I've ever read and it's pretty unanimous.

[bwayphreak234]

Moulin Rouge!... King Kong is easily one of the worst things I have ever seen on Broadway. It is ghastly.

[dramamama611]

The puppet is pretty wonderful, but i atill wouldn't recommend it inkess your curiosity about seeing the puppet is consuming.

See Moulin Rouge - at least you wont be waiting for a set oiece to come back.

(But while imperfect- from Boston- it IS entertaining.)

[Dollypop]

There are plenty of things wrong with KONG but I left the theater feeling elated. The puppet truly touched me.

[Impossible2]

I would rather be eaten by Kong than sit through Moulin Rouge, so I'd go for King Kong x

[Mike Barrett]

Moulin Rouge is pretty much irresistible entertainment imo. May not have the strongest book ever but its nowhere near the worst book ever either. The visuals, choreography, music, lightings, set, cast are all A+. I expect it to be a big contender at the Tony's next season. So if that matters at all to you, then Moulin Rouge for sure. 

[Lot666]

With the exception of "Queen of New York", I didn't find the King Kong score to be particularly memorable and I wondered why they decided to make it a musical instead of a straight play.

I thought the projections were brilliant and the scene in which the boat approaches Skull Island was particularly well done. I also thought the initial reveal of Kong was very well executed, but the experience went downhill from that point.

The staging of the reveal is relatively dark and the audience slowly begins to "perceive" Kong, as opposed to having him suddenly appear onstage, and this approach is suspenseful and thrilling. Unfortunately, the puppet subsequently appears in far too many scenes, some of which have him doing little more than sitting there for extended periods. Worst of all, after the initial reveal, the lighting designer often illuminates the puppet with numerous, high-wattage fixtures and makes absolutely no attempt to disguise, or even mitigate, the extensive rigging that gives him life. By the end of the first act, I was completely desensitized to Kong and no longer found him impressive. This was a case of "too much of a good thing", and I thought the show would've been much more successful if they had cut the puppet's stage time - and its lighting - in half.

[SpookyFish13]

Lot666 I couldn’t have said it better!
“Queen of New York” was great even though some of the lyrics were a little cringe. I honestly can’t remember a single other song (besides that nice little dance audition song in the first couple minutes. That was cute)
Another thing is I just COULDN’T get over the lazy projection effects. They could have made the environments SO much more vivid, but unfortunately it just looks cheap and slapped together. Imagine how cool that jungle could have looked! But instead we got little more than green spaghetti...