Marc Kudisch, Robert Creighton, and More Perform Industry Reading of King Kong
(© Belinda Strodder)
King Kong, the long-in-the-works musical adaptation of the famous monster movie, is inching toward the Big Apple. On Friday, February 19, an industry presentation was held at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, with Tony nominee Joshua Bergasse (On the Town) joining the production team as choreographer.
Directed by Eric Schaeffer (Gigi), the cast featured Marc Kudisch as Carl Denham, Robert Creighton as Benny, Euan Morton as Jack Driscoll, Lora Lee Gayer as Ann Darrow, Sam Foster as King Kong, Benny Elledge as Voice of Kong, and Cole Edelstein as Young Jack.
The ensemble also included James Brown III, Chris Critelli, Ashley Blair Fitzgerald, Jenny Laroche, Cory Lingner, Nathan Madden, Barrett Martin, Skye Mattox, Harris Milgrim, Fred Odgaard, Adam Perry, Clifton Samuels, Charles South, Sam Strasfeld, Tanairi Vasquez, Charlie Williams, Cody Williams, Michael Williams, Mikey Winslow, and Ryan Worsing.
The production features music by Marius de Vries, with additional songs by Tony winner Jason Robert Brown (The Bridges of Madison County) and a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman (The Bridges of Madison County).
Inspired by the classic film as well as the Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace novella of the same name, the musical will include a 6-meter-tall gorilla, controlled by a group of puppeteers and aerialists.
A former incarnation of the musical, helmed by Daniel Kramer, had its world premiere in Melbourne, Australia, in June 2013.
