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‘King Kong’ Eying Spiderman’s Foxwoods Theatre as Broadway Home?

‘King Kong’ Eying Spiderman’s Foxwoods Theatre as Broadway Home?

“King Kong,” a big budget musical that soon will open in Australia, is eyeing the huge Foxwoods Theatre for its Broadway debut as early as 2014. The only problem is “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” is currently playing in the space, and producers of that production say they have no plans of leaving.

The upcoming production of “King Kong” is set to open in Melbourne in June 2013, and has a budget of more than $30 million. The musical features a 20-foot tall silverback Kong that weights one-ton, explaining the need for a large theater to house the production. Foxwoods is seen as one of the best venues for a production of this size because of a large backstage area and state-of-the-art technology.

The New York Times cites three unnamed sources as revealing the news that the new show wants to take over Foxwoods, and that theater’s general manager, Erich Jungwirth, said in an interview earlier this week that he has been contacted by the producer of “King Kong,” Carmen Pavlovic, but that he doesn’t see his theater as being available in 2014.

“I’m more bullish than some others about ‘Spider-Man’ and think it could run on Broadway for more than just a couple of more years,” he said. “If ‘King Kong’ is a success in Australia in mid-2013, it’s not crazy to think that it will show up on Broadway sometime in 2014, and I don’t see the Foxwoods being available in 2014.”

Pavlovic himself, however, says that the production has no plans for Broadway just yet.

“We are looking at a multitude of options following the launch of ‘King Kong’ in Australia, including possible runs in New York, London and other major theater markets around the world,” she said in an interview with the New York Times. “Of course New York City, being the home of King Kong is really important to us! Right now, however, all our focus is on opening the production in Melbourne next year and we haven’t set a timeline for anything beyond that. We are extremely flattered that so many traditional and nontraditional theatrical venues are interested in hosting the show.”