Full Moon Lullaby

Silence overtaking, Darkness overhead 

Shadows now are waking, Monsters in the bed 

Bid our hearts are aching, Heaven knows just why 

But look the clouds are breaking,  Full Moon Lullaby

I'd forgotten that King Kong was actually a musical until looking for pieces for today's theme.  I then had a vague memory of reading articles about the show when it ran on Broadway.  The show opened on Broadway in November 2018 and closed in August the new year after 324 regular performances.  Although the mechanical King Kong puppet impressed the critics, most overwhelming hated the book, songs, characters, and what were noted as 'shrill, one-note performances.

Adam Lyon

The Broadway version seemed doomed from the start.  It was originally set to open in 2014, but was re-worked and re-written several times.   There was a decent book and song list from the Melbourne production which opened in Australia in 2013 to more favorable reviews.  The images in this piece are from the Melbourne Production. 

The Australian production took five years of planning and over five months of rehearsals. Originally booked through 28 July 2013, the musical extended its booking period three times, closing in February 2014 after an almost nine-month run. The show was produced by Global Creatures, which partnered with animatronics workshop The Creature Technology Company, who designed the six-metre animatronic silverback title character.

Engineered, designed and built by Global Creature Technology in West Melbourne, Australia, the title role was the largest puppet ever created for the stage. The 2013 press notes stated that Kong was "a highly sophisticated animatronic/marionette hybrid that will be controlled by the integration of hydraulics, automation and the manual manipulation from a team of puppeteer/aerialists. A group of 35 on-stage and off-stage puppeteers worked to manipulate the large-scale puppet. 

The Melbourne production featured Esther Hannaford as Ann Darrow and Adam Lyon as Carl Denham.  The Australian cast also had a hunky cast of supporting actors and dancers who helped bring the show quite a bit of a attention.  In addition to a spread in DNA Magazine, the male cast members also took part in creating a 2014 beefcake calendar to promote the show.