‘Kong’ Began As A Dare, Returns As A Thrill

Kalinda Gray as Ann Darrow in Maverick Theater's "King Kong" / Photo by Jessica Peralta

If the old theater adage Dying is easy, Comedy is hard is true, then staging King Kong in a small community theater and making it so much fun must be next to impossible.

But once again, Fullerton’s Maverick Theater pulls off a gem of a production, wrapped in a clever staging. The adaptation, like the previous two, is a direct adaptation of the classic 1933 film — with a touch or two of Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake. That might be part of the charm. But it’s also the simple nerve of the thing.

“This began as a dare between me and a buddy over what’s the most insane thing to try and put on stage,” says Maverick founder and Kong writer/director Brian Newell. “I wanted to do Jaws, but we couldn’t get the rights.”

It’s worked out fine. A compositing technique that utilizes miniatures, green screen, rear projection and a guy in a gorilla suit, delivers thrills and laughs throughout. The process works from the early scenes of 1930s New York, to the reveal of Skull Island and later, Kong himself. All the way to the final scene atop the Empire State Building.

One Sunday evening when the big fella first appears, an all-age audience mostly new to the production cheers and laughs in a span of about five seconds, as if on queue. It’s a sign the audience has completely bought in.

Of course, that might be true even when the tech is less than stellar.  Two nights earlier, nothing is going right and the actors often appear in front of a blank screen. The cast discovered just how well they knew their characters and how that could lead an audience.

“It feels a lot more organic now because we’re so comfortable. There’s more space to play and we can listen more,” says Kalinda Gray, who plays Ann Darrow. “Every single performance is different. The audience realizes this is live and I love that challenge.”

But most nights, the challenges are just the normal ones and that works to sweeping effect.

“It’s a big journey in a small amount of time,” says Paul Zelhart, framing it a bit like his character, showman Carl Denham. “If you get caught up in the moment. It’s great. It’s inspiring, and this run I keep getting hit with different emotions.”

Gray loves the pure escapism of the tale, and the production’s homage to a classic most of us saw as kids makes it as important a tonic for our times as any more somber examination of the world.

“Right now, it’s important to have something that brings us back to our childhood,” she says.

And for Newell, this journey in fact started in his childhood.

“This movie made a big impression on me as a kid. It was a paradigm shift in movies,” he says. “I like the fact that somebody wouldn’t expect to see this on stage. That just thrills me.”

Apparently, the dare was worth it.

“I’m so happy to pull it off. I feel good I took the risk and it inspires me to think, ‘OK, what’s next?’ I’m moved every time,” Newell says.

Well, Jaws is still out there.

The Gory Details
King Kong
Fridays-Sundays through Sept. 3
Maverick Theater
110 E. Walnut Ave.
Fullerton, Calif. 92832
Tickets $15-$30
mavericktheater.com