Every day is opening night.

Press Contacts:
For The Actors Fund
Rick Miramontez / Alana Karpoff
rick@omdkc.com / alana@omdkc.com

For King Kong on Broadway
Susanne Tighe / Melissa Cohen at Boneau/Bryan-Brown
stighe@bbbway.com/ mcohen@bbbway.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

THE ACTORS FUND
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE JACOB BURNS FILM CENTER
ANNOUNCES A SPECIAL SCREENING OF THE 1933 CLASSIC FILM
“KING KONG”
FOLLOWED BY Q&A WITH MEMBERS OF THE CREATIVE TEAM FROM  KING KONG ON BROADWAY, MODERATED BY DORI BERINSTEIN

TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2018

New York, NY (August 6, 2018) – The Actors Fund announces today that tickets are now on sale for a special screening of the original 1933 film King Kong, in partnership with the Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) as part of their ongoing film series, “Life on the Stage: Conversation and Film.” The screening will be followed by a Q&A with members of the creative team of the upcoming Broadway musical King Kong including: Olivier Award-winning director/choreographer Drew McOnie, Helpmann Award-winning set and projection designer Peter England, Helpmann Award-winning creature designer Sonny Tilders, and lead producer and Global Creatures CEO Carmen Pavlovic. The Q &A will be moderated by four-time Tony Award-winning producer Dori Berinstein who will lead the conversation about King Kong’s fascinating transition from screen to technical marvel on stage.

The screening begins at 7:00PM. Tickets are $15 for members and $20 for nonmembers and can be purchased by visiting burnsfilmcenter.org.

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Producers Carmen Pavlovic (Global Creatures) and Roy Furman are pleased to announce that King Kong will open at the Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway) on November 8, 2018.  Preview performances will begin Friday, October 5, 2018. Written by Jack Thorne with a score by Marius de Vries and songs by Eddie Perfect, King Kong is directed by Drew McOnie. King Kong comes alive through an innovative mix of robotics, puppetry and stagecraft.

Based on the 1932 novel, the stage production of King Kong is a contemporary take on the classic tale of beauty and the beast. The story follows a young actress and a maverick filmmaker as they voyage from the bustling streets of 1930s New York to an uncharted island to capture the greatest wonder the world has ever seen. At the center of this 21^st-century reimagining: a 20-foot high, 2,000-pound gorilla brought to life by a team of seamlessly integrated artists and technicians. King Kong is a larger-than-life encounter with a legend that’s always been too big to contain.

King Kong’s design team for Broadway includes Peter England (Set and Projection Design), Sonny Tilders (Creature Design), Roger Kirk (Costume Design), Peter Mumford (Lighting Design), Peter Hylenski (Sound Design), Gavin Robins (Aerial and King Kong Movement Director). Johanna McKeon is Associate Director and Ellenore Scott is Associate Choreographer.

BIOGRAPHIES

Drew McOnie is one of Britain’s most sought-after emerging directors and choreographers. He is the Artistic Director of The McOnie Company and a proud Associate Artist at The Old Vic Theatre. Drew won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreography for In the Heights and was nominated for the same award for the 2017 groundbreaking production of Jesus Christ Superstar at Regent Park’s Open Air Theatre. Theatre credits as director/choreographer include On the Town, The Wild Party, and Strictly Ballroom.

Peter England is a four-time Helpmann Award winner for Best Set Design, two-time Green Room Award winner for Best Opera Design, Green Room Award winner for Best Dance Design, and a Mike Walsh Travelling Fellow. Theatre credits include Global Creatures: King Kong, Opera Australia: Sweeney Todd, Simon Boccanegra and La Bohème. Peter has also designed for the Australian Ballet, BBC and Global Creatures: Walking with Dinosaurs and DreamWorks Animation and Global Creatures: How to Train Your Dragon, and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Sonny Tilders’ career has spanned some 25 years, in which he has designed and built creatures and contraptions, models and special effects for the film and theatrical industries. Sonny is the CEO and Creative Director of Creature Technology Co., which works with strategic partner Global Creatures. He lead the creature design and build team for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, BBC and Global Creatures: Walking With Dinosaurs, DreamWorks Animation and Global Creatures: How to Train Your Dragon. His work can be seen in films Peter Pan, Ghostrider, The Chronicles of Narnia and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. 

Carmen Pavlovic is the CEO of Global Creatures, which she co-founded with Gerry Ryan. Previously, she was the director of the international production department for Stage Entertainment, where she was responsible for licensing and programming 25 theaters across Europe and overseeing productions in Germany, Holland, France, Italy, Spain and Russia. She’s also worked at various theater companies, including executive producer roles at the Really Useful Company (Australia) and Clear Channel Entertainment (London).

Global Creatures is at the forefront of innovative stagecraft and spectacular theatricality. They’ve worked with the BBC to produce Walking with Dinosaurs- The Arena Spectacular, DreamWorks Theatricals for How to Train Your Dragon- Live Spectacular, and the National Theatre of Great Britain to produce the Tony Award-winning show, War Horse. They recently premiered Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical with the Sydney Theatre Company, and just completed a world premiere pre-Broadway engagement of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. www.global-creatures.com

Dori Berinstein is a four-time Tony-winning Broadway producer and an Emmy-award-winning director, producer and writer of film and television. Dori’s Broadway productions include: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Tony Award); Legally Blonde: The Musical (Olivier Award) and Thoroughly Modern Millie (Tony Award). Her next two Broadway musicals, The Prom (directed by Casey “Book of Mormon” Nicholaw) and Half Time (directed by Jerry “Kinky Boots” Mitchell) will both open on Broadway in 2017 and 2018. As a documentary director, her films include, amongst others: Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did for Love (Emmy Award) and Carol Channing: Larger Than Life.

The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that fosters stability and resiliency and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan. Through offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, The Fund serves everyone in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio and dance with programs including social services and emergency financial assistance, health care and insurance counseling, housing, and secondary employment and training services. Visit www.actorsfund.org.

Jacob Burns Film Center is a nonprofit arts and education hub located on a three-building campus in the New York Metro area. The JBFC brings the transformative power of film to the surrounding community through unique programming and discussion, shared experiences, and educational initiatives. Since opening in 2001, over 3,000,000 people have enjoyed the best of current American and foreign cinema, unique film series, and special events at the five-screen theater complex. A pioneer in visual literacy education, the Jacob Burns Film Center offers courses in filmmaking, screenwriting, and animation for students of all ages at their state-of-the-art Media Arts Lab and develops curriculums for public schools throughout the region.

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