The big boy’s coming to Broadway. And I don’t mean James Corden!
The producers of “King Kong,” a spectacle from Australia, will soon announce plans for a New York run next season.
The speculation has been that the show will go to the Foxwoods after “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” throws in the towel, rumors have it, in January. But now I’m hearing “King Kong” may wind up at the Broadway, currently home to “Cinderella.”
That show has struggled, though the box office should pick up during the holidays. But January and February, the cruelest months for all but the biggest hits, could see the show wobbling on its glass slippers.
The problem at the Foxwoods is that when “Spider-Man” closes, the theater has to be restored to its pre-Spidey glory. The producers put $8 million into escrow for the restoration, which could take up to two years.
And so Kong has had to set his sights elsewhere.
“The show can fit into the Broadway or the Foxwoods,” a source says. “But that’s about it.”
The budget for “King Kong” is “more than your average musical but not as much as ‘Spider-Man,’ ” the source says.
I’m hearing the figure is in the neighborhood of $30 million.
“King Kong” opened to mixed reviews in June in Melbourne, where it’s running still. Critics praised the special effects — which include a 20-foot gorilla — but were cool to Craig Lucas’ script.
The Herald Sun called it an “eye-popping spectacle” with clunky dialogue. The Age said the effects were “mind-blowing.”
I have a program from the Australian production, and that giant ape looks mighty impressive. He weighs 1.1 tons and contains 500 feet of electrical cable, 1,500 connections and 16 microprocessors.
His face can be contorted into a snarl or softened to reflect his feelings for Ann Darrow. And he eats 1,000 pounds of bananas every day.
He was designed by Global Creatures, which created the immensely successful “Walking With Dinosaurs.” The company is also producing “King Kong,” and has quietly begun raising money from New York investors for the Broadway engagement.
I’m sure the critics will turn up their noses at yet another “spectacle,” but “King Kong” won’t be aimed at them. It’s going for the “Spider-Man” crowd, and at only (!) $30 million, it might achieve something “Spider-Man” never will: recoupment.
Fry with that? Yes, please!
They’re doing a jig in their tights to peppy lute music at the Belasco, where “Twelfth Night” and “Richard III” opened Sunday to rave reviews.
The box office took in about $350,000 on Monday, triple the usual amount.
I haven’t seen “Richard” yet, but “Twelfth Night” is very merry indeed. Mark Rylance, a great physical comedian as well as an actor, scurries around the set as Countess Olivia, hopelessly in love with Viola, played by the excellent Samuel Barnett (“The History Boys”).
Stephen Fry is the best Malvolio I’ve ever seen. Humiliated by Olivia’s court, he delivers his final line — “I will be revenged on the pack of you” — so coldly, it brings a halt to the merriment, and this production ends on an uneasy note.
Tom Stoppard should write a sequel for Fry: “Thirteenth Night, or Malvolio’s Revenge.”