It helps that now, King Kong is a puppet. Not that it makes the show any less impressive.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Inside the one-ton, history-making King Kong Broadway musical
It helps that now, King Kong is a puppet. Not that it makes the show any less impressive.
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6 comments:
I think it's significant that King Kong is able to come and perform on Broadway, considering how close the story is to New York itself. I don't want to say that it's a local story, but the relationship between King Kong and New York City is incredibly iconic. The creatives made sure that New York was portrayed in a realistic way, because as they were saying, a lot of this audience are New Yorkers, they know the layout and can more personally understand this physical path. I think its also interesting how they are showing the city of New York. The use of perspective allows them to realistically include King Kong in the frame, but also lets audiences (even those who think they know New York) experience it in a new way. I also think it's remarkable how Kong's emotions and "humanity" are created not just through the puppeteers, but in the inherent design of the puppet. One of the initial reactions I had when seeing pictures of the puppet was the emotion coming through its eyes. They're just black, but as one of the creators said, "His eyes are so captivating that you just want to make eye contact with him." I totally agree with this, because they're not just fabricated and cold, they give a lot of life to the character, and I'm sure the fellow characters find this very valuable.
This is a production I do really want to see. I am normally not someone who wants to see every Broadway show, but this just seems like something so unique. Warhorse is one of my favorite shows I have ever seen. The way the puppets were used created this life like horse, but in a beautifully artistic way. If the King Kong puppeteering is anything similar to that I am confident that it will be an impressive story. I recently re watched the 2000 version movie of King Kong, and while the iconic image of the giant money hanging on the New York City building is the most widely known part of the story, there is so much more to it. Reading about the care and effort that was put into this production is encouraging that it keeps to the story and tells it in a way designed for the stage.
This is a show we deserve on Broadway, a call back to the shows of the 1980s. Les Mis had the giant turntable barricade, Phantom the chandelier, Miss Saigon the helicopter, now King Kong has King Kong. The giant mechanical marvels that if used well and done correctly can make shows legendary as well as spectacular. Unfortunately I feel bad for the scenic designer, not so much for the media and projection designer. That designer clearly is having a field day creating the entire ruddy world of 30's New York better then a scenic could because of the limited space caused by having a massive marionette marauding across the entire stage.
Speaking of the massive monkey, I could not imagine trying to rehearse without this thing because it is so complicated and obviously dangerous in reality for the actors on stage. My one question is that because this is such a complicated and technically impactful character is there a higher potential of shows being delayed or cancelled because of a malfunction with King Kong? This seems highly likely because there is automation, live computer control, and the physical puppeteers. If one of those things falls out of sync it could cause catastrophe, nothing ruins the run of a show quicker than major injuries, just ask Spider Man.
The idea of King Kong the musical does not necessarily sound so great to me and I love all commercial theatre. I then saw a video of the puppet and I knew I need to see this show. What they are doing on that stage with the puppet is going to be in the Broadway History books. One funny thing they mentioned in the article is the Kong blood which is just white beads that come from a tear in the puppet. I think its cool that they are treating this like a real human. Another interesting point they mentioned is that this puppet needs more than just a daily check in since it’s so extensive. I found it interesting that they do not have any extra pieces nearby at the theatre in case something breaks. I had a friend see this show this week and said it was great and I cannot wait to go and see this 26 feet tall puppet in a Broadway Musical.
I think this sounds like an amazing feat of technological achievements, as well as proper planning on the business side to ensure its success. From this article, it seems like everything the Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark folks should have done, but didn’t. The numerous creators and crews behind King Kong took a phenomenean that they knew people were interested in, recognized that it needed work, and then sent it away to finesse and work out the kinks *before* sending it to the Broadway stage. They also did not leave any details unaccounted for: knowing that major repairs would require a trip to Melbourne from New York, they are very careful to do daily checks and find ways to keep him in top shape 100% of the time. From the very beginning they understood the time and work that was going to be needed to produce this level of show, and they accounted for it. The melding of technology and how it can be used in tandem with theatre continues to astound me, but especially in this case. Knowing that it was such a large part of the show, they even managed to work it into rehearsals so that it didn’t fall under the “we’ll figure it out in tech” mantra that is often heard in theatre. This production sounds very exciting, and I hope to get the chance to see it.
I’ve never much cared for the story of King Kong, I know it’s a classic and all that, but it just never really interested me. That being said, I would pay to see this show just for that puppet. I love theatrical puppets. I would kill to get up close to it and see how it works. It’s funny because I never really cared about other animatronics like Walking With Dinosaurs or other shows of that type, but this is so much more than that for some reason. It feels like a feat of design and engineering and regardless of the show itself this puppet is a mind-blowing accomplishment.
Of course, I hope the show itself is good and that it finds success of Broadway, but even if it doesn’t, that wouldn’t take away one bit of this achievement in my eyes. I actually paused writing this comment to look for tickets to the show and I think I’ll be going over winter break.
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