News location:

Canberra Today 27°/29° | Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Canberra talent goes ape for ‘King Kong’

EVERYONE knows about the famous 1933 movie “King Kong” and hapless Fay Wray as the slight maiden Ann Darrow in the arms of the huge love-smitten gorilla.

Ann in the arms of King Kong
Ann in the arms of King Kong
It is surely one of the world’s most eccentric love stories, and now it’s about to become  Australia’s biggest new musical shows with previews beginning in May 2013 in the opening in June exclusively at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre.

The good news is that the show is absolutely chock-a-block with Canberra talent.

The producer, Carmen Pavlovic, is a former St Clare’s college student consulted with designer Peter England to find the story suitable to show off the capabilities of a company Global Creatures.

It wasn’t hard to narrow the options down to “King Kong” and the pair then talked designer Sonny Tilders into designing the great ape for the stage.

The resulting King Kong puppet will be manipulated by 11 puppeteers visible on stage, to be led by Puppetry Director Peter Wilson,  former director  of company Skylark and 1995 Canberra Times Artist of the Year, who has specialised in large-scale puppetry  productions, notably “The Hobbit,” premiered many years ago in Canberra and later picked up by a commercial management.

The musical director will be Daniel Edmonds, a former Canberra Grammar School student who cut his teeth as musical director in  many Canberra musical productions. He will have his time cut out for him directing a score that features “modernised” musical standards including “I Wanna Be Loved By You”, “Brother Can You Spare A Dime?” and “Get Happy”.

A character not in the film, the wandering figure, Cassandra will be performed by former DaramalanCollege student and Canberra arts luminary, Queenie van de Zandt, who has in recent years made her name as a major cabaret star.

You can see  van de Zandt sing one of her songs from “King Kong” by visiting http://youtu.be/nAG2_33sm5I

A member of the all-purpose singing company is another former Canberra star and a member of a well-known local musical family, the gloriously voiced Damien Bermingham.

But if you thought that wasn’t enough, the organisers behind the show have told “CityNews”, “Carmen’s best mate since kindergarten Judy Fuccilli is now the head of Global Creatures HR. Carmen’s brother Stephen Pavlovic (of Modular Music fame) is also a music consultant on “King Kong”. It certainly is a Canberra affair.”

Five years in the making, “King Kong” will feature a cast of more than 40 actors, singers, dancers and circus performers, and of course, Wilson’s team of puppeteers, who will bring to life a one-tonne, six-metre tall silverback gorilla designed by Tilders, the mastermind behind “Walking With Dinosaurs, The Arena Spectacular” and “How To Train Your Dragon Arena Spectacular.”

The future of this new musical looks bright, but if you’d like to be one of the first to judge its potential, you can book online at http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/King-Kong-tickets/artist/1729009

Who can be trusted?

In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.

If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.

Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.

Become a supporter

Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

Helen Musa

Helen Musa

Share this

Leave a Reply

Follow us on Instagram @canberracitynews