THE RISE AND RISE OF KING KONG
BRYCE HALLETT reports from Melbourne
ONE of the most ambitious and innovative theatre productions to be created in Australia will have its world premiere in Melbourne in June next year (2013). The multi-million-dollar King Kong musical is like no other work developed for the stage, perhaps anywhere in the world given the scale, complexity and time spent on the project.
Produced by Global Creatures, the Sydney-based company behind the hugely-successful Walking With Dinosaurs arena spectacular, King Kong promises to be big on spectacle but not at the expense of emotion. The extravaganza will feature a giant animatronic Kong (model pictured above) - gradually taking shape in a West Melbourne warehouse - projections, an orchestral score, puppeteers and circus performers.
Speaking at the launch on Monday, the director Daniel Kramer said: "Love and loss are at the heart of the story of King Kong… (It is) an adventure, a thriller, a musical roller-coaster. From the classical strings of the ocean waves to electronica, the drum and bass of King Kong running as his fist pounds the earth ... It is essentially a love story, two love stories in fact, that tug at the heart strings. I'm delighted that we found all of the cast in Australia although it looked as though we might have to take the search to North America or the UK at one point."
Although the pivotal beast is yet to reveal himself in all his abundant glory, this week's worldwide launch of a musical destined for Broadway, whetted the appetite of the media, including pop guru Ian "'Molly" Meldrum, who sat intrigued and fascinated by a show involving many musical collaborators, including Massive Attack and the French electro mavericks Justice.
The principal cast announced includes Esther Hannaford (Hairspray) as Anne Darrow, the young actor Chris Ryan, newcomer and recent opera graduate Adam Lyon and seasoned theatre performers Queenie van de Zandt and Richard Piper. One of the songs featured in King Kong is the love ballad Blue Moon Lullaby, sung by Hannaford, and encapsulating the haunting tone of the piece at the climactic moment when Ann sings to Kong atop the Empire State Building before his downfall.
The musical's eclectic score also features The Avalanches and Massive Attack mastermind Robert del Naja, aka 3D, and the Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. At the helm is the acclaimed producer Marius deVries who has worked with The Sneaker Pimps, Bjork and Massive Attack in an illustrious career. In an interview on the show's website, Justice describe King Kong as "'the perfect match for [us]. It has a very theatrical and epic feel."
Global Creatures chief executive Carmen Pavlovic and her husband, the production designer Peter England (School For Scandal, Sweeney Todd, Walking With Dinosaurs), came up with the idea of translating King Kong to the stage when they were looking at possible projects for Global's animatronics arm. The musical is based on a 1932 novelisation co-written by King Kong's creator Merian C Cooper. The American stage and screen writer Craig Lucas is part of the creative team as is the pioneering, highly-skilled creature designer Sonny Tilders (Walking With Dinosaurs, How to Train Your Dragon).
"We've had King Kong in development for nearly five years now, chipping away at what will be one of the most ambitious productions to come out of Australia," said Pavlovic. "The entire production has been conceived on a grand scale, combining puppetry, circus, projections and an amazing orchestral score. Our ambition ultimately is to roll this production out around the world. But first, Australia."
Pavlovic said that Daniel Kramer (he has directed for English National Opera and the London West End) was chosen to direct King Kong because of his skills across a broad canvas and that he was among a new generation of theatrical storytellers. And it was vital, she said, that such an epic adventure should have an extraordinary and dynamic score.
"We had a vision for a score that would travel through genre and time in a way that is contemporary and, I hope, redefining."
When Kong finally make his appearance, the creature will not only be mighty but capable of blinking, running, squirming, climbing and moving his paw with gentle, smooth precision. He will come to life with a combination of cutting-edge technology and time-honoured puppetry.
The cast and crew of King Kong are expected to take up residence at Melbourne's Regent Theatre in December in what is arguably the longest, most labour-intensive of theatre productions to be developed for the Australian stage. There are no plans to tour King Kong to other Australian theatres but Broadway beckons. Spiderman watch out!
