'King Kong' Musical, With Eye on Broadway, Opens in Australia The new Australian musical "King Kong," which may be the next big-budget spectacle to hit Broadway, opened on Saturday night in Melbourne to mixed reviews. There were awe-struck descriptions of the 20-foot-tall Kong and the elaborate puppetry that brings him to life, but less enthusiasm for the book by Craig Lucas and the mix of original music and contemporary songs of the score. A New York spokesman for the musical's producer said on Monday that there was no news about a Broadway run, though the plan has been to bring the show to New York at some point. One major newspaper serving Melbourne, The Age, described the show as a "unique and visionary theatrical event" and "mind-blowing," yet gave it only three and a half stars (out of a possible five) to reflect concerns about the transitions between dialogue and music and the lack of narrative momentum in the lyrics. Another top newspaper, The Herald Sun, said "King Kong" was "an eye-popping spectacle designed to appeal to 21st-century audiences that demand relentless action, color and movement in their entertainment," but found fault with "lackluster dialogue" and some stage action laden with special effects that were "overwrought, busy and dizzying." The Guardian and several Australian theater blogs were also impressed with the design work by Global Creatures, which is also the musical's producer, and the artistry and athleticism of a dozen or so puppeteers while criticizing the fundamentals of story and song. The lead producer of the show, Carmen Pavlovic of Global Creatures, has been talking to Broadway theater owners over the last year about a home for the show, which has a reported budget of more than $30 million. One obvious candidate would be the Foxwoods Theater, which has a large stage and enough fly space to fit the King Kong puppet, but it is now home to another expensive spectacle, the $75 million "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark." While ticket sales for "Spider-Man" have been softening over the last several months, the producers just celebrated the two-year anniversary of the show's opening and have no plans to close, according to a spokesman.