State of the Art

Wagner versus Kong

by Leslie Robarge

The title of Diane Paulus's King Kong, the Musical, Part 1: Lohengrin -- which opens tonight (Thursday) at Harvard University's Loeb Experimental Theatre -- is a bit misleading. The mighty ape of screen legend never makes an actual appearance in this adaptation of Richard Wagner's famous opera, though Paulus promises him in part two if a sequel materializes -- she's considering a take-off on another Wagner classic, Parsifal. But King Kong, the Musical still has its share of unlikely associations, whether it be Wagner aficionados grooving to Parliament-Funkadelic or a mythological knight of the Holy Grail appearing in a production whose score samples both high opera and voodou field recordings.

For this performance -- presented by Paulus's Project 400 Theatre Group in collaboration with a cast and crew of Harvard undergraduates -- Paulus says she chose the Wagner/King Kong juxtaposition because the "dramatic story is less interesting than the action that takes place." She explains that the lack of heavy plot in Kong dovetails perfectly with Lohengrin (or, as she slyly refers to it, Slowengrin), Wagner's operatic adaptation of the story about a stranger who comes to town and defends the honor of a woman charged with the murder of her brother. This production also adds a live DJ spinning not only samples of Lohengrin's original score but hip-hop, the Carpenters, Dusty Springfield, and those voodou tracks.

Paulus says that she began Project 400 with the idea of challenging audiences to redefine their idea of theater. Costumes in Kong/Lohengrin are inspired by the bright color and decadence of a carnival; Lohengrin looks like a hip-hop MC, complete with a posse/entourage when he arrives on stage. And don't expect Lohengrin's damsel in distress, Elsa, to come out like a virgin fräulein. Paulus describes her as a combination of the 12th-century mystic Hildegard von Bingen and the late-20th-century Icelandic alterna-electropop chanteuse Björk. Paulus also warns the audience not to expect this to be a quiet night at the theater. Act one, she says, is staged more like a rock concert -- thus the audience will be standing and encouraged to dance and participate.

Although modernizing classical performance has become a '90s trend -- think of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet and the Broadway musical Rent, which was based on Puccini's La bohème -- Paulus says that Project 400's mission is not to emulate this trend but to expand upon it. "This production is different in that it breaks the boundaries for what theater is and establishes a relationship with the audience."

Besides, the idea of drawing inspiration from vague connections among classic literature, music, and film is nothing new to Project 400. Paulus has also set Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream to a full-fledged '70s disco score; and she's put on Frankenweiner, a burlesque musical adaptation of Frankenstein with original lyrics set to classical piano hits. The group's stated goal is to produce 400 of these cross-genre performances -- Lohengrin being #31. But Paulus says that when and if Lohengrin hits New York, that will count as #32.

King Kong, the Musical, Part 1: Lohengrin is presented May 6 and 7 at 7:30 p.m., and May 8 at 7:30 and 10 p.m. at Harvard University's Loeb Experimental Theatre, 64 Brattle Street, in Cambridge. Admission is free, but tickets are required and are available by calling 547-8300. For more info call 495-8676.