King Kong For A Wild Night Out On Broadway
A Wild Night Out
These days as a mom, a wild night out might mean nothing more than dinner and a drink with a friend where we stay out past 10pm. Even that type of a crazy night out is an extremely rare occasion which is why when King Kong the Musical offered complimentary tickets to see their show, I hopped at the opportunity to make it a mom’s night out. Cuz what could be wilder than seeing the re-make of this film featuring a beauty and a beast on Broadway (without kids)? OK so I can think of a couple of things but this would have to do for now.
The Star Of The Show
What a treat it was to be at the Broadway Theater and witness Kong come alive on stage. Despite being cast alongside Broadway talents such as lead actress, Christiani Pitts, King Kong truly was the star of the show. At 20 feet tall, he towered over everyone too! I found myself with my mouth gaping down to the floor on more than one occasion. That roar! It was visceral and shockingly loud. Kudos to the sound design team for so powerfully projecting his prowess!
Some of the most creatively produced scenes involved Kong climbing the Empire State building, jumping in slow-mo and falling to his death.
And I couldn’t get over his animatronic, yet life-like expressions! He looked almost human-like. You truly feel his pain when captured and depressed.
That massive marionette puppet was such a breathtaking spectacle that he more than made up for the lack of memorable score. This may not be the kind of musical you’ll leave whistling or singing the songs to but it is one you will never forget!
What I Learned
After the show, the invited bloggers were invited to stay to meet and greet some of the cast and puppeteers for an intimate Q&A session. That’s where we learned that this show started in Australia before moving to NY (to launch last November). They went through 3 renditions of this primate puppet (what a massive expense that was!) And there was a mighty 12+ person team of aerialists/gymnast/dancer/actors controlling every coordinated Kong move including “voodoo operators” controlling his body and face movements via hydraulics. Gavin Robins, credited as Kong’s movement director, is the show’s behind-the-scenes MVP. Just moving Kong’s heavy steel arm up in the air, required such force, strength and agility! The choreography involved with each step seemed mind-boggling and it was truly fascinating to hear their stories of how they trained for their unique job.
A HUGE thank you to the King Kong troupe for spending time with us to answer so many behind the scenes type questions, and to King Kong Broadway for inviting us and for making this all possible.
The show runs until September 2019. And you can use this discount code KKPVM129 here for your own tickets!
Know Before You Go
Running time: 2hrs 15mins. One intermission.
I would not suggest this show for kids 5 and under. Monstrous King Kong with its overbearing size, sound and beastly qualities may scare small children and even give the bigger kids nightmares. Know your child and decide for yourself.
The theater does have seat risers for younger kids to see the stage better.
This post is made possible by support from King Kong Broadway. All opinions are my own.
Juliet likened it to Harry Potter and Disney Descendants. What a smart summary! Like Harry Potter, these kids have magical powers that they have to go to a special school for (or in this case, camp half-blood). And like Descendants, these kids are descendants of powerful characters (in this case Greek Gods).
Through the musical, I received the most entertaining education on Greek mythology ever imaginable. With rock/pop tunes, delightful, charismatic characters, and lots of special effects, it kept the audience entertained throughout.
I do think that because of the slightly complicated plot and long duration, that kids 6 and under and/or those without an interest in Greek mythology or Percy Jackson’s books may have to think twice about this one. Juliet at age 6 in the end thought it was too long for instance. But she laughed and enjoyed the comedy of it all and overall, she thought it was a fun mommy and me night out.
It’s on Broadway for just 16 weeks (tickets are on sale until January 5th, 2020). Get tickets 
