NEW YORK—A monster has arrived on The Great White Way in the form of the title character in the new Broadway musical “King Kong.” The 20-foot-high, 2,000-pound animatronics wonder is an awesome sight to behold. Be it battling a giant serpent, running amok in 1931 New York City, or climbing to the top of the not-yet-finished Empire State Building, the effects are akin to a gigantic thrill ride. But the show’s success as a piece of musical theater is another story: The show’s creators invested so much in their gargantuan star that they neglected the corresponding human factor.
Ann Darrow (Christiani Pitts), a young woman from a Midwest farm, has come to New York City determined to make it as an actress—not just any actress, but rather, as she puts it, “the Queen of New York.”