King Kong - Second Media Call - Friday June 14, 2013 - Report and Photos by Joe Calleri.

Melbourne, Friday, 14 June 2013

Early this afternoon, I witnessed a brave and bloodied hero carefully climb a precarious spider’s web on the mysterious Skull Island.

For good measure, I then travelled to 1930’s New York where I was in equal parts entranced and enchanted by a gorgeous, shapely ensemble of high stepping dancers led by a bright new stage star, Miss Ann Darrow.

How was I able to do this, I hear you ask?

Well, I was fortunate enough to attend the second media call at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre for the highly anticipated, high tech, high concept, huge budget production of King Kong.

The spider’s web was skillfully navigated by performer, Chris Ryan, who portrays our indomitable hero, Jack Driscoll. I must say that, Ryan has done a fine job in chanelling Die Hard’s John McClane, right down to the sweat soaked and bloodied singlet.

McClane though, can’t sing to save himself.

Driscoll’s powerful ballad “Face of Forever” (music and lyrics by 3D from Massive Attack, Guy Garvey from Elbow and Marius de Vries), tells of a man who must meet and then conquer his fears as he navigates the many natural perils that exist on Skull Island.

Forget dirt, sweat and grime and cue the bright lights, glitz, and glamour, as a shapely, saucy, all-female ensemble led by Esther Hannaford’s Ann Darrow belt out Marius de Vries’ “Special FX”. And what an eye-popping number this proves to be! It’s all sexy costumes, and dozens of flawlessly executed high kicks, as Ann Darrow discovers that she is, in fact, a sexy starlet, with a dynamite figure and belter of a voice.

I hope the following photos that I took during the media call, do some justice to this wonderfully unique, carefully crafted production.

I, like many Melbournians are fidgety, dry mouthed, and sweaty palmed in our anticipation of the opening night and world premiere of King Kong, tomorrow night, Saturday June 15, 2013, at the Regent Theatre. I will be there. Giant apes could not keep me away!

Until next time …

Esther Hannaford as Ann Darrow (L) and Chris Ryan as Jack Driscoll (R)

King Kong is ferocious!

Chris Ryan sings while climbing a spider's web on Skull Island

Hannaford's Ann Darrow discovers she really is a sex bomb!

The spectacular "Special FX"

Queenie van de Zandt as Cassandra and the High Priestess looks up at King Kong

van de Zandt (L), Hannaford (Middle), Ryan (R)

Channel 7's Emily Angwin interviews Hannaford and Ryan

Channel 7's Emily Angwin interviews Hannaford and Ryan - Kong looks on bemused!

My endorsement of Matty Grey in his Pozible campaign to raise $3,500 to film a DVD of his show, “Age-Less 2: Game On!”

It is with great pleasure that, I lend my whole-hearted support to children’s entertainer, and comedian Matty Grey in his Pozible campaign to raise $3,500 so he can film a DVD of his show, “Age-Less 2: Game On!”, when it’s performed as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival in September, 2013.

I’ve added a link to the campaign:

http://www.pozible.com/gameon.

You see, I reviewed Matty’s kid’s entertainment shows for the Herald Sun newspaper during both the 2012 and 2013 Melbourne Comedy Festivals. And, you better know that I enjoyed watching Matty’s 2012 show, “Age-Less” so much, I actually volunteered to review Matty’s 2013 Comedy Festival show, “Age-Less 2: Game On!”.

As a person and a performer, Matty is a rarity on several levels:

First and foremost, he is a sincere, generous, person. He is then, a sincere, diligent, energetic and highly skilful performer who puts much time and attention in first devising and then delivering his performances.

Matty’s rapport and engagement with his young audiences is a remarkable skill, and quite wonderful to behold. He literally has his young audiences – probably the most difficult audiences to keep entertained - eating out of his hand. The shrieks of laughter at Matty’s shows were at times deafening.

I wish Matty the very best in his fund raising efforts, and hope that you will be able to support him.

KING KONG – MEDIA CALL - Preview + Photos by Joe Calleri.

What – KING KONG – MEDIA CALL

Where and When – REGENT THEATRE - Monday, 27 May 2013

Reviewer + Photographer - Joe Calleri.

Full Disclosure - I attended a media call for this preview.

The 8^th Wonder of the World. The Lord of the Apes. From Skull Island to New York, to the Regent Theatre. King Kong in all of his muscular, mechanical, monstrous majesty is set to marvel Melbourne’s theatre-goers.   

After five years in the making, and an unprecedented 6 months of rehearsals at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne theatre audiences will bear witness to King Kong who is part marionette, animatronic and puppet. One who is 6 metres tall, and constructed of steel, aluminium, lycra and latex. Certainly, a far cry from Willis O’Brien's Kong model which measured a mere 18 inches in length. But, O’Brien’s ground-breaking stop motion mastery meant that, when Kong debuted on film in 1933, the film – still a classic - threw audiences into widespread panic.

At the media call, we first hear Esther Hannaford’s Ann Darrow singing the tender Full Moon Lullaby to a dozy, placated Kong. Darrow, as Kong’s human “love interest” is suitably platinum blonde, and petite. A striking contrast to Kong’s mass. Much of the success of this production will ride on the credibility of the interaction between Darrow and Kong.

The second sequence, The Chase, set to Marius de Vries’s sampling of Justice’s “Genesis”, sees Kong rampaging across the stage.  

Designer, Sonny Tilders, let media into some of Kong’s behind the scenes secrets: the ten “King’s Men”, all circus artists, and former NICA graduates, who manipulate some of Kong’s on-stage movements; and the 3 puppeteers who operate Kong off-stage using “voodoo” controls.    

Audiences will be gob-smacked at Kong’s remarkable range of motion that makes him seem life-like. And when Kong roars, he will make the theatre shake.

Can King Kong become one of the great, enduring theatrical events? Only time will tell. But, for the present, Melbourne audiences should prepare themselves for an encounter with King Kong – a formidable creature, from a far-away island that time forgot, and the likes of which they will never have witnessed.

Esther Hannaford as Ann Darrow with a drowsy Kong

Some of the "King's Men" who operate Kong.

Stunning attention to detail of Kong's features.