Konnnnnnnnng!
Thursday night we took in the preview of Violet Crown Radio Players' lost and restored Lux Radio Theater adaptation of KING KONG, at the Hideout Theatre. First, a little full disclosure: we won a book during intermission called Mouth Sounds, authored by none other than Fred Newman! He's the guy who does all the cool sounds on Prairie Home Companion. Yes, we're excited. Yes, we're geeks. But do you know how to do a Hawaiian Nose Whistle? Didn't think so.
Anyway, there were plenty of interesting sounds to be heard at The Hideout on Thursday. This was our first time experiencing "live radio" done Violet Crowns style, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. It's hard to imagine seeing King Kong without, well, seeing King Kong. Then again, we've formed a permanent, mental picture of the enormous gorilla after seeing so many versions of the story (including, of course, King Kong vs. Godzilla), so it turns out that conjuring Kong isn't difficult at all.
And this is especially because the Violet Crowns performed this adaptation of the classic story with enthusiasm, commitment, and plenty of talent. The always-excellent Deneen Frazier shined in the role of Ann Darrow. This version is from the 1930's, and in some ways it hasn't aged so well -- one being that there's not much meat to the only substantial female role. During the journey to the island, Darrow blithely agrees to mend the costumes, and it's a foregone conclusion that this is her duty because she's the only woman on the ship. Nevertheless, Frazier does a fine job at playing vulnerable, sweet, and a tad naive. We always enjoy her work.
Similarly, Christian Huey turned out a solid performance as the tough-as-nails Jake Driscoll. Like Frazier's Darrow, his role is a cookie-cutter -- in this case, the beefcake. He is the hero, sent to rescue the damsel in distress. Huey was solid and unflappable, and his voice suited the role perfectly.
In the other lead male role, Roger Frazier was compelling as Carl Denham. Frazier has an amazing voice. His face was obscured by the microphone much of the time, but we didn't mind this at all because his voice was so charismatic and animated. Denham is the most fully formed character in the script. He is the talented, driven, risk-taking director who throws caution to the wind to complete the Kong project, and Frazier depicts him with depth and intensity.
The supporting players were also excellent. The stage was crowded with people. We were particularly amused watching the "Sounds Effects Crew" work. The table was chock full of all sorts of strange objects, as seems to always be the case with foley artists.
However, the show was spotty in a few places. Some of the sound effects didn't work at all (much anticipated fire bombs came off as soggy thuds), and others were skipped altogether. When a radio script mentions gunfire, we expect gunfire! The VCs attempted to explain some of this away with an awkwardly performed meta-story that falls flat. But once the players get going, and sink their teeth into the fantastic story of King Kong, the show really flies.
Lastly, seeing and hearing the radio version of King Kong is a great way to prime the pump if you plan to see the Peter Jackson film, coming out on Dec 14. The script is an adaptation of the 1933 movie, which is also what Jackson pays much-hyped tribute to. We're a huge Jackson fan (from his Feebles days), and we anticipate his blockbuster all the more now that we've refamiliarized ourselves with this story, and have gotten our imaginations working on the depths and shallows of all that is Kong.
King Kong has only four more performances, this Sat/Sun and next Fri/Sat at 8pm.
