King Kong (musical)
Encyclopedia
King Kong was a South Africa
n jazz
-influenced musical, billed at the time as 'an African jazz opera
'.
The music and some of the lyrics were written by Todd Matshikiza
. The lyrics were by Pat Willams and the book by Harry Bloom
. It 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
.
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 a suicide. He was 36.
This musical was a hit in South Africa in 1959 and played at the Princes Theatre in the West End
of London
in 1961.
The musical launched the international career of Miriam Makeba
who played the shebeen
queen of the Back of the Moon, a shebeen of the time in Sophiatown.
The male lead was Nathan Mdledle of the Manhattan Brothers
. There was a cast of 72.
Others in the cast were Hugh Masekela
, Abdullah Ibrahim
, Kippie Moeketsi
and Thandi Klaasen
, all of whom went on to have successful careers.
Note: The song Sad Times, Bad Times was a reference at the time to the infamous South African Treason Trial
in Pretoria. Among the accused were Albert Luthuli (ANC president), secretary Walter Sisulu
, Nelson Mandela
and Oliver Tambo
. The trial lasted for more than four years before it collapsed with all the accused acquitted.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
-influenced musical, billed at the time as 'an African jazz opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
'.
The music and some of the lyrics were written by Todd Matshikiza
Todd Matshikiza
Todd Tozama Matshikiza was a South African jazz pianist, composer and journalist.-Overview:Matshikiza came from a musical family. He graduated from St Peter's College in Rosettenville, Johannesburg and went on to obtain a diploma in music and a teaching diploma. He then taught English and...
. The lyrics were by Pat Willams and the book by Harry Bloom
Harry Bloom
Harry Saul Bloom was a Jewish South African journalist, novelist, and political activist. Born Solomon Harris Bloom, he was educated at the University of the Witwatersrand and subsequently became an advocate in Johannesburg...
. It was directed by Leon Gluckman with orchestration and arrangements by pianist Sol Klaaste, tenor saxophonist Mackay Davashe, alto saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi
Kippie Moeketsi
Kippie ‘Morolong’ Moeketsi was a South African saxophonist and jazz musician. Born into a musical Johannesburg family, Moeketsi was the youngest of eleven brothers, and one sister who was a nurse of whom all but 4 played an instrument...
and composer Stanley Glasser
Stanley Glasser
Stanley Glasser , is a South African-born composer and academic who studied with Matyas Seiber at Cambridge. His concert music is deeply influenced by his ethnomusicological investigations of native African music...
.
The decor and costumes were designed by Arthur Goldreich
Arthur Goldreich
Arthur Goldreich was a South African-Israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his birth.-Early life:...
, a Jewish communist architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
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 a suicide. He was 36.
This musical was a hit in South Africa in 1959 and played at the Princes Theatre in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1961.
The musical launched the international career of Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....
who played the shebeen
Shebeen
A shebeen was originally an illicit bar or club where excisable alcoholic beverages were sold without a licence.The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland, to Scotland, Canada, the United States, England,...
queen of the Back of the Moon, a shebeen of the time in Sophiatown.
The male lead was Nathan Mdledle of the Manhattan Brothers
Manhattan Brothers
The Manhattan Brothers was a popular South African music group in the 1940s and 1950s, during the Apartheid Era. Their sound drew on American ragtime, jive, swing, doo-wop, and several other jazz strains, as well as African choral and Zulu harmonies...
. There was a cast of 72.
Others in the cast were Hugh Masekela
Hugh Masekela
Hugh Ramopolo Masekela is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.-Early life:Masekela was born in Kwa-Guqa Township, Witbank, South Africa. He began singing and playing piano as a child...
, Abdullah Ibrahim
Abdullah Ibrahim
Abdullah Ibrahim , born Adolph Johannes Brand, 9 October 1934 in Cape Town, South Africa, and formerly known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer...
, Kippie Moeketsi
Kippie Moeketsi
Kippie ‘Morolong’ Moeketsi was a South African saxophonist and jazz musician. Born into a musical Johannesburg family, Moeketsi was the youngest of eleven brothers, and one sister who was a nurse of whom all but 4 played an instrument...
and Thandi Klaasen
Thandi Klaasen
Thandi Klaasen is a jazz musician from Sophiatown, Gauteng. Her career as a singer and dancer began in the mid-1950s. In 1961 she moved to London to work in the musical King Kong. She has since performed with Dolly Rathebe, Miriam Makeba, Dorothy Masuka, and others.When she was a teenager, her face...
, all of whom went on to have successful careers.
Note: The song Sad Times, Bad Times was a reference at the time to the infamous South African Treason Trial
Treason Trial
The Treason Trial was a trial in which 156 people, including Nelson Mandela, were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa in 1956....
in Pretoria. Among the accused were Albert Luthuli (ANC president), secretary Walter Sisulu
Walter Sisulu
Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress .-Family and Education:...
, Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
and Oliver Tambo
Oliver Tambo
Oliver Reginald Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician and a central figure in the African National Congress .-Biography:Oliver Tambo was born in Bizana in eastern Pondoland in what is now Eastern Cape...
. The trial lasted for more than four years before it collapsed with all the accused acquitted.
See also
- King Kong - An African Jazz Opera, Original cast, Gallo, 2003, Catalogue number CDZAC51R
- 1961 Time magazine review - Cry, the Beloved Country