Producers Global Creatures and Roy Furman have announced that King Kong will arrive on Broadway in 2018 at the Shubert Organization’s Broadway Theatre.
King Kong’s first preview, press opening, and on-sale dates will be announced in the coming months. King Kong will play the Broadway Theatre following the limited engagement of Miss Saigon which will begin its North American tour in September 2018.
King Kong is written by Jack Thorne, who received the 2017 Olivier Award and the Evening Standard Award for Best Play for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and wrote the critically acclaimed play Let the Right One In.
The show will be directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, an Olivier Award winner for the London production of In the Heights and an Olivier Award nominee this year for Jesus Christ Superstar. McOnie directed the U.K. premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom The Musical, and the recent London productions of The Wild Party and On the Town.
The score for King Kong is composed by four-time Grammy nominee Marius de Vries (the films La La Land, Moulin Rouge, and Romeo + Juliet) with songs by Helpmann Award winner Eddie Perfect, composer and lyricist of the Broadway-bound Beetlejuice, Strictly Ballroom The Musical and Shane Warne The Musical.
Pioneering creature designer Sonny Tilders developed Kong for the show, bringing together the worlds of animatronics and puppetry that has never been seen on stage before. Tilders was honored by the Helpmann Awards, Australia’s highest theatrical honor, for Outstanding Theatrical Achievement.
“I’m thrilled that King Kong will be coming to Broadway next season led by Drew McOnie and Jack Thorne, who will bring a new dimension to the telling of Kong’s story,” said Global Creatures CEO, Carmen Pavlovic. “Drew’s physical world will allow Kong to live in ways we never thought possible, propelled by Jack’s text and the score and songs written by Marius de Vries and Eddie Perfect.”
Based on the novel of the original 1933 screenplay, the stage show of King Kong is a contemporary take on the classic tale of beauty and the beast. It is one of the few modern tales to stand beside the ancient myths for its power to inspire wonder, fear and romance in equal measure.
“King Kong is a quintessential New York story and I’m proud to be involved in this historic production,” said Producer Roy Furman. “Our team is creating a theatrical experience that we hope will astound audiences, while delighting them with its heartfelt storytelling.”
King Kong’s design team for Broadway will include Peter England (Set Design), Sonny Tilders (Creature Design), Roger Kirk (Costume Design), Peter Mumford (Lighting Design), Peter Hylenski (Sound Design), Gavin Robins (Aerial and King Kong Movement Director), King Kong is authorized by the Merian C. Cooper Estate.
Casting, additional members of the creative team, and ticketing details for King Kong will be announced at a later date. For more information, visit: www.kingkongaliveonbroadway.com for details.
Image: King Kong (supplied)