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I mean, the monkeys amazing.
And we came for the monkey, right?
Theatergoers and theater-makers often complain about criticism that doesnt take a play on its own terms.
Does anyone remember that I didnt likeBrighton Beach MemoirsorAgnes of God?
Money talks, and 20-foot-tall animatronic ape puppets walk.
Its an amped-up blockbuster with largely forgettable songs, many of them of the belt-and-inspire variety.
As with, say, Space Mountain, the idea is just to go along for the ride.
Not that the show is willfully shallow.
Brett Kavanaugh gets a mention.
So do the immigrant children forcibly separated from their families.King Kong, it would seem, is about everything.
But what stands out from Pavlovics essay are its title Why King Kong?
and the sole pull quote.
Could he achieve a chest-beat without punching a hole through his own sternum?
Could he pick up a girl and run with her?
I thought about it all wrong hes theater.
Its a clever line but its also a weird one, because Carl is indisputably the shows villain.
This Ann never screams.
Instead she does her own roaring (because, you know,She Is Woman … !
Im offering you your dreams, Ann Darrow.
Without which, the magnificent, innocent beast survives.
But Thorne hasnt written a flawed, conflicted character, and director Drew McOnie isnt having Pitts play one.
She only messes up because the plot says she must.
Never work with children or …
It hurts to watch him die.
Which just feels flat wrong.
Cool, Im glad you found yourselves.
Were supposed to be dazzled byKing Kong theres a Giant Monkey vs.
Giant Snake battle royale, for Gods sake!
but so much dazzle is almost necessarily blinding.
It starts to obscure uncomfortable questions.
Like, for instance, what can we make of such a blowout commercial endeavor that effectively condemns commercialism?
Is there anything truly new or spectacular going on apart from that puppet?
That puppet, though.
I mean, the monkeys amazing.
