King Kong (1959 musical)
| King Kong | |
|---|---|
| Music | Todd Matshikiza |
| Lyrics | Todd Matshikiza and Pat Willams |
| Book | Harry Bloom |
| Basis | the life of Ezekiel Dlamini |
| Premiere | 2 February 1959: Witwatersrand University Great Hallmaver |
| Productions | 1961 West End |
King Kong (1959) was a landmark South African jazz-influenced musical, billed at the time as an "all-African jazz opera". It has more recently been called "an extraordinary musical collaboration that took place in apartheid-torn South Africa.... a model of fruitful co-operation between black and white South Africans in the international entertainment field, and a direct challenge to apartheid." Opening in Johannesburg on 2 February 1959 at Witwatersrand University Great Hall, the musical was an immediate success, with The Star newspaper calling it "the greatest thrill in 20 years of South African theatre-going". It "swept South Africa like a storm", touring the country for two years and playing to record-breaking multi-racial audiences, before being booked for a London production in 1961, by which time it had been seen by some 200,000 South Africans.
The music and some of the lyrics for King Kong were written by Todd Matshikiza. The lyrics were by Pat Willams and the book by Harry Bloom. The musical was directed by Leon Gluckman with orchestration and arrangements by pianist Sol Klaaste, tenor saxophonist Mackay Davashe, alto saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi and composer Stanley Glasser. King Kong was choreographed by Arnold Dover.
The decor and costumes were designed by Arthur Goldreich, a Jewish communist architect and visual designer (who was later arrested during an apartheid clampdown).
King Kong had an all-black cast. The musical portrayed the life and times of a heavyweight boxer, Ezekiel Dlamini, known as "King Kong". Born in 1921, after a meteoric boxing rise, his life degenerated into drunkenness and gang violence. He knifed his girlfriend, asked for the death sentence during his trial and instead was sentenced to 14 years' hard labour. He was found drowned in 1957 and it was believed his death was suicide. He was 36.
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