"King Kong" Review: Broadway Musical – Variety

"It's not a movie, it's a theater!", States the director in the musical "King Kong", when he realizes that the powerful creature he is about to capture is best presented on the scene.

After a previous production in Australia and the addition of a largely new creative team, the producers (led by Global Creatures) of this $ 35 million Broadway epic, inspired by the classic 1933 film, have reviewed the story in striking theatrical terms. , using dazzling projections, oversized puppets and lush underlines to create a sensational show. At the top of the list of visual wow is the magnificent, moving and oh so expressive title character who, unfortunately, is not eligible for a Tony.

The term "musical" is not mentioned in the marketing of this musical, which is probably a good idea. The show, directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, disappoints in its mishmash of musical styles – "42nd Street", "The Last Ship", even Mel Brooks comes to mind as production runs its course. The individual songs of Eddie Perfect ("Beetlejuice") are both generic and forgettable, although Marius de Vries' score and Christopher Jahnke's orchestrations give the series a kind of cinematic sweep, transient cover and emotional foundations. .

Jack Thorne, an expert in screenwriting shows of a huge size, sweeps and amazes – he wrote "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" – here's a minimalist narrative, focusing the big story on a trio of characters – and another talk at all. Kong does not sing or dance, but you can tell he has one of the best 11 o'clock figures when he approaches the stage deck to break through the fourth wall.

There are also more than a few shots and a pretty amazing editing. "We are following a map acquired from a Norwegian on an island that I do not know much about," said filmmaker Carl Denham (Eric William Morris). Uh-huh.

But Thorne also makes wise choices. The indigenous tribe of the film, the human romance hokey and the helpless model of damsel in distress, a surpassed certainty for this era of women's empowerment. In its modern redesign, the production presents a Wonder Woman by a heroine impressed by Christiani Pitts.

Unlike the movie, this Ann Darrow is more than the sum of Fay Wray's cries. This tireless new lady can, and does not, thanks to the guys, save herself and others, again and again. In one of the devious turning points of the movie, this Ann even struggles to show her terror, much to the frustration of Denham, who needs her star to be only a victim in a tight dress.

Not this girl. Thorne moves from Denham's pursuit of Kong's film to Ahab's resemblance to the film, to the personal journey of Darrow, who recently arrived in Gotham, with the dream of becoming a big actress. (Yawning.) But without pause, she finds herself homeless and standing in a line of soup from the period of depression. Things change when his path crosses with Denham, charming and mischievous, played with pen and sung by Morris, who promises to make her a star in a mysterious movie project. In a flash, they crossed the Atlantic – with Denham's gofer, Lumpy (kindly played by Erik Lochtefeld) – for the now uninhabited island of Skull. Here, the musical finally wins momentum, in suspense and fascination for the appearance of Kong and the new love story of the series.

The giant creatures are works of art in themselves, designed with enough detail and enough abstraction of Sonny Tilders and manipulated by a dozen puppeteers on stage and a quartet of animatronic operators, one of which living farmer. Peter Lumford designed lighting and Peter Hylenski's soundscape of these mysterious worlds on sea, on land and in the air, as well as the Empire State Building. Kong's furious run in 34th Street with Ann on the back – who's at the top now? – is one of the highlights of the show.

But it's not just the mammoth Kong that helps bring the show, but also Pitts, who plays Ann's marathon role with endless resilience and resolution and who sings heroically.

The show is expected to attract showgoers and curious fans of the film. That's an emotional connection with the audience to ensure a long and profitable tour on Broadway could be based on those big dark eyes of the main character. And they are rather dreamers.