Producers head off trouble with a politically correct King Kong THE producers of King Kong kept out of the racism row that engulfed Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, who suggested last month that indigenous footballer Adam Goodes could do publicity for the show. McGuire's comments were not related to the marketing drive for the multi-million-dollar musical that had its world premiere in Melbourne on Saturday night. But the story involving a white girl, an anthropomorphic giant gorilla and savages on a remote island was enough to convince producers that they needed guidance through a potential minefield of racist stereotypes. Carmen Pavlovic, chief executive of production company Global Creatures, says the company engaged an African-American theatre adviser, Sydne Mahone, to assist the creative team in the early stages of the show's development. "We brought in a dramaturg to help us navigate some of those issues," Pavlovic says. She has been "acutely aware" of potential sensitivities about race, particularly as the show has been developed with an eye on the US market. Kong appears on stage as a 6m silverback gorilla, operated with animatronics and puppetry. Actor Esther Hannaford, who plays heroine Ann Darrow, says her character has a "compassionate" relationship with Kong that is not romantic or sexual. She had worked with one of the puppeteers, Harley Durst - who operates Kong's facial expressions - to enact an empathetic relationship between beauty and beast. "It's like two actors," Hannaford says of her work with Durst. We are still able to improvise and be in it together every night. If I hadn't worked with Harley I would have found it very hard. Pavlovic says it is intended that King Kong tour internationally, and there has been interest from presenters in Europe and North America. She says she hopes for a Broadway run when the right theatre becomes available. Pavlovic won't be drawn on the cost of King Kong, but says it is "well and truly less than half" the $US75 million reportedly spent on Broadway's Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Global Creatures is producing with Baz Luhrmann a stage version of Strictly Ballroom, due to open next year.