You'll LOVE King Kong!

Kid Review of King Kong on Broadway
by Waverly W., 10 years old and Mom, 50 years old!
The Mom here! King Kong has once again taken over New York City, but this time, it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen, heard, or experienced. Yes, it’s definitely an “experience” and if I had to describe it in one word, the word would be WOW. You just have to see it to believe it. The anticipation begins the moment you walk into the stunningly beautiful Broadway Theater. There’s an air of suspense as you listen to the orchestra tune up and feel the mystery of the dark, shadowy stage…and you just can’t wait for that curtain to go up so you can meet King Kong, that roaring, terrifying, menacing….Sweetheart. And when you do, it won’t take long for you to love him.

Wave here! We went on a Wednesday afternoon, so I had to leave school early. While I was in school, though, the only thing I was learning was that I can get really hyped up about things, like Broadway shows! Who wouldn’t get hyped up about seeing a two thousand pound gorilla?? I was a little nervous, actually – I knew he was going to be fierce and very realistic! He was definitely fierce, very realistic, but like my mom said, he was also just a sweetheart underneath it all. We think that you will LOVE King Kong – not just the show, but King Kong himself.

You’ll also love “Fearless Woman” Ann Darrow, played by the super talented, beautiful Christiani Pitts. She’s an actress who comes to the city to become “The Queen of New York” but it doesn’t go so easily for her at the beginning. Then she meets Carl Denham (the also super talented Eric William Morris) and he promises her he is going to make her a star.

The problem is, he can only do that if she does it his way, not her way, and at first she agrees and goes with him to a mysterious place with no idea of where it is or what will happen. Carl feels that the world has lost its sense of wonder, and his motto is “we’ll find nothing if we never try.” So he takes them all on a dangerous journey across the sea. That was a really cool part in the show – suddenly the stage turned into a ship and everyone on it was literally sailing in rough waters to Skull Island. It was so amazing! This show has so many unbelievable parts that you really do have to see to believe, and that was one of them. (Mom here – yes, the set design was spectacular).

During the song “Pressure Up” the dancers added to the suspense and drama and we felt like we were right there with them, not knowing where we were going or why we were going there, although we knew we were going to meet King Kong soon….and when we did…WOW. No picture can do him justice and no words can really describe him or his roars. We got chills when we heard his first low roar, and everyone in the audience was definitely feeling the exciting thrill of knowing that King Kong was coming out soon. But first, all we saw was flashes of his teeth! I grabbed my mom’s arm and squeezed it so hard! And then there he was with lots of really loud and lifelike roars – you would SWEAR that this was THE REAL King Kong! Like the commercial says, he is definitely “alive on Broadway.”

This is Carl’s big chance to make a terrifying movie – but King Kong’s got Ann…this part was so funny and sweet! They check each other out, and you can tell that underneath all his roaring, he really is just a big sweetheart. Yes, I mean that literally! T’hey interact so well together, it was so amazing to watch! Ann proves she is definitely a fearless woman as she tries to communicate with him, and King Kong proves that although he looks like one, he is not a horrible monster as he feeds her water and saves her life! I will leave that part as a surprise for you, like it was a surprise for us! You will know soon enough, like we did, that King Kong really is not a monster, and you will love him after knowing him for less than a minute! Some of you may know the rest of the story – how King Kong is captured and brought back to New York and how Ann has to decide what is more important, her career or her “humanity.” This part broke my heart and it will break yours, too. But you will learn an important lesson like I did in a very suspenseful, thrilling, and exciting way. Just wait until you see King Kong climb to the top of the Empire State Building and beat his chest – OMG. I think that when you see this show, and meet King Kong for yourself, it will make you think about what is important in life. One look at his eyes and you will know, sometimes it is the humans who are the monsters.

Back to Mom! There are so many reasons to see King Kong on Broadway…on its surface, it’s an incredibly well-done production, a jaw-dropping masterpiece. Christiani Pitts delivers a stellar performance and her singing, especially during “The Wonder,” will give you chills and leave you with questions about your own humanity. Kids (older kids, ten and up, who can handle seeing and hearing a huge gorilla come to life right in front of their eyes) will love it for the action. But there’s so much more. This is a story we all can learn from. It’s a story about friendship, choices, following your own heart and mind, forgiveness, caring, priorities, and ultimately, about doing the right thing as a human being. You’ll love King Kong the show, and you’ll love King Kong even more.