Eighth Wonder of the World!

Another theatrical highlight for me this year was finally seeing one of my lifelong heroes in person--King Kong! The Broadway musical version of his classic story opened last winter, after an initial run in Australia. Much like Bat Out of Hell, its appeal isn't so much its story (or in this case its songs, either), but its amazing visuals. The King Kong puppet is a true wonder to behold, and by far my favorite performance of the year. He could make me cry with just a twitch of his eyebrows--can't say that's true for any human Tony winners out there. 

Hail to the King!

The musical's story follows the plot of the 1933 film pretty closely, although the Ann Darrow character is updated to be a little less "damsel in distress" than when Fay Wray embodied her. But Kong is still the gorilla we know and love, fighting a giant serpent, rampaging through New York (and up the Empire State Building), and falling much too hard for the lady he loves. The Kong puppet is an artistic masterwork, and the projections and set pieces perfectly animate him within his world. After just a few minutes, you forget that he can't move without a small swarm of black-clad ninja assistants. If you're curious how he works, check out this insightful clip from CBS This Morning.

So far no cast album has been released for King Kong, and the only video for a complete song I can find from the show is the performance of "Full Moon Lullaby" the cast did for the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade last year. The song is pretty sappy, but at least there's some sweet Kong action at the beginning and end of it. This song comes just before Ann betrays Kong's trust by luring him to the men who will capture him. I like to imagine the song ends with Kong smashing her, and he's still living happily on Skull Island today.