One of the highlights of working at Broadway Inbound is getting an inside look at shows before they come to Broadway, and one of the most exciting sneak peeks we’ve had recently was a visit from Roy Furman, the lead producer of King Kong.
Anyone in our office will tell you that I have been talking about the puppet used in the production for months. Though the puppet was, unfortunately, not in attendance at our Q&A, I’ve been assured that this was for the best possible reason: it wouldn’t actually fit in our office.
The idea of a 20-foot-tall gorilla that takes 16 puppeteers to operate commanding the stage of the Broadway Theatre is huge – and not just in size. This project pushes the edges of the ways we’ve used puppets in the past, blending traditional on-stage puppeteering with animatronic features controlled from a booth. The result is a massive and shockingly expressive character, that challenges us to be more inventive in the ways we are incorporating technology in our storytelling.
Roy graciously answered all of my questions about the puppet, and delved into the scale of the production itself. King Kong has a cinematic legacy that spans generations, and the creative team is doing everything they can to be sure they live up to it.
He also shared the news that Christiani Pitts (who you may have caught as Jane in A Bronx Tale) will be joining the cast as the iconic Anne Darrow. You can hear the rest of Roy’s answers in the video below – and book your tickets to King Kong by visiting the show page!