
One of the most iconic movie figures of the 1930s is now a hip-hop MC.
King Kong is a new musical theater that tells the story of label executives who go to the South Bronx in the late 1970s in search of Kong, a genius of rhyme.
Randy Weiner co-wrote and co-directed the production with Alfred Preisser. Weiner said the play drives parallels with how hip-hop got to the mainstream 40 years ago. "If you look just at the history of hip-hop music it's unbelievable to think that this music started in this tiny place in the south bronx and would go on to, you know, be spread around the world and in a way that was the work of this Jewish record executives," he said.
King Kong is part of SummerStage and it will be performed at several venues including Von King Park in the Bronx on Tuesday the 30th, and Central Park on Monday August 5th. Performances go until August 22nd and are all free.