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Let's be clear: this is the puppet who is stupid.
The main attraction of King KongNow officially open to the public at the Broadway Art Deco Theater in New York, is of course the long-awaited wonder of the world, 20 feet and 2,000 pounds, which has been shipped from Australia and we can all admire. And it does not disappoint. Except when that is the case.
Critics, of course, will lament the death of our musical tradition (again) with the eruption of King Kong as in the sacred landscape of Broadway – as every time someone innovates to appeal to a wider audience. And rightly so. With Disney firmly rooted, Harry Potter raking in the dough on 42nd Street and now adding what appears to be an attraction attraction of Universal Studios, the worries are not lost. Times Square looks more like Orlando every day – except that you can walk around every attraction and feed a family of four for less than $ 300.
Located in the city of New York at the time of the Depression, the songs and lyrics of this musical never really inspire, in part because it does not have to be a musical. The only character that really has something of value to express is the star – but, fortunately, he does not have to sing a melody. So while the talented actors are desperately trying to outdo the next attraction, we all expect to marvel at Kong. When his fangs are seen for the first time above the stage, it is formidable when he comes out of the shadows. There are other interesting moments, such as when the scene becomes the boat that leads everyone to Skull Island, but it is especially that it is about preparing a big hairy animal to make its entry.
The decision to make Fay Wray's character, Ann Darrow (Christiani Pitts) a liberated woman seeking success in showbiz, rather than a damsel in distress, was well-intentioned – though that does not solve the fundamental problem of the story of King Kong. "At least I'm not owned by a man," sings Darrow in a song called "Queen of New York," but her main love interest remains a hairy monkey, a nauseated couple, no matter how hard her entertainment industrial complex seems "normal" with some The beauty and the Beast rationalization. She gave terrible sentences – like, "You just brought me here to show me around?" Give a drink to a girl, show her your apartment. Well, are not you the ladykiller? I do not really hope, "jokingly about setting up a house in his skeletal cavern. Moreover, she never gets a scream. Instead, she "rooooaaaars" – but who cares? Leave that to Katy Perry.
In the end, I found myself torn between admiring the creature's know-how (designed by Sonny Tilders and "directed movement" by Gavin Robins) and the extreme endurance and courage of the 14 puppeteers who exploited it and being disgusted that the producers and the director and all those involved do not trust the wild beauty and aesthetic strength of their wonderful creation. Rather than letting him attract attention only by his hulk and his majesty, they record him in sequences with such numerical complexity that sometimes Donkey Kong ground through the Matrix cinema machine. In Act 1, he starts running, then flying? And later, it's unleashed in the streets of Manhattan and we have to anticipate Rampage Dwayne Johnson coming for a cameo.
The last time Broadway saw such virtuoso puppeteers, it was Battle horse, another magnificent production with a saccharine history, this time about a boy and his horse. Handspring Puppet, based in South Africa, was able to give life to almost skeletal puppets trotting and whispering on stage. Kong obviously does not look like these elegant steeds. It has two floors and two tons. It may be monstrous, but there is something magical about seeing a huge creature bellow and sniff. After being flooded with CGI magic, we aspire to have that thrill of fear in a real environment. That's why I refuse completely King Kong as theatrical production – it satisfies so much what the public wants when it goes into a dark room with hundreds of strangers looking for a transformative experience. The series fails when it tries to do too much – just let the magic work, do not waste it with too much techno magic.
The most confusing of all is the climactic and triumphant ballad "The Wonder" that Darrow and his company sing after Kong's death and his fall from the skyscraper. Rather than letting her accept what she's created, we're suddenly faced with an enthusiastic rising number that looks like Christina Aguilera's ballad of power coming out of nowhere. Why Darrow sings: "We did not know that love would do it / Shine / Your wonder at the top of the world / You must have seen a little girl / Who gave everything to / The wonder in me … "We can never really understand beyond the need to have a potential pop hit that could end up on streaming sites. At least during the call of the curtain, we have another glimpse of this wonderful creature. That's all we wanted anyway.
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