Broadway: King Kong to Japan, Bettlejuice to New York

Besides being genre, there’s not a lot that King Kong and Beetlejuice have in common. But the stars have aligned just so in order for the both of them to get time on the Great White Way.

Beetlejuice will begin previews March 28 at the Winter Garden Theatre, with Alex Brightman, Sophia Anne Caruso, Kerry Butler, Rob McClure, Leslie Kritzer, and Adam Dannheisser all reprising their roles from last year’s production in Washington, D.C.  The show officially opens April 25.

Brightman stars as Beetlejuice, with Caruso as Lydia. The show is directed by Alex Timbers, with a score by Eddie Perfect, book by Scott Brown & Anthony King, and choreography by Connor Gallagher.

Meanwhile, Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment is taking the musical King Kong to Japan, to be staged in a soon-to-be-built large venue as part of a new Hard Rock entertainment resort on the island of Hokkaido.

Kong is a very popular character in Japan. In 1962, following two knock-off films of the original King Kong from 1933, Toho licensed the character for its own King Kong vs. Godzilla, which remains the highest-attended film in the entire Godzilla franchise with over 12,550,000 tickets sold. That includes re-releases.

However, Broadway critics weren’t taken with the giant gorilla’s musical outing produced by Global Creatures. According to Forbes, the show may be trimmed from two-and-a-half hours to ninety minutes before making the trek around the globe with Nederlander.

“When we talked about shows to open the new development, we were looking for something currently on Broadway or planning to be on Broadway that would appeal to a Japanese and an Asian audience,” explained Robert Nederlander, Jr., president of Nederlander Worldwide. “Of course, King Kong is a well-known brand with its own successful track record in film,” he said, also noting that “that combination makes it ideally suited for a mixed-use development center in Japan.”