A captivating account of an interracial jazz opera that took apartheid South Africa by storm and marked a turning point in the nation’s cultural history.
In 1959,
King Kong, an interracial jazz opera, swept across South Africa and became a countrywide phenomenon. Its performances sold out, its LP record was widely heard, and its cast became recognized celebrities. Featuring an African composer, cast, and orchestra but predominantly white directors and producers, this interracial production seemed completely distinct from any other theatrical production in the country’s history. Despite being staged over a decade after the enacting of apartheid, the interracial collaboration met widespread acclaim that bridged South Africa’s racial, political, ethnic, and class fissures.
Widely considered a watershed moment within the history of South African theater and music,
King Kong encapsulated key currents within South African cultural history. Author Tyler Fleming’s gripping narrative unpacks the life of the musical, from the emergence of the heavyweight boxer ‘King Kong’ Dlamini to the behind-the-scenes dynamics of rehearsals to the musical’s 1961 tour of Britain and the later experience of cast members living in exile for their opposition to apartheid.
Opposing Apartheid on Stage: ‘King Kong’ the Musical explores the history of this jazz opera and its enduring legacy in both South African history and global popular culture.
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Introduction
‘Marvelous Muscles’: A History of Ezekiel Dlamini, the Real ‘King Kong’
Creating a ‘Back of the Moon’: The Union of Southern African Artists and Interracial Collaboration Behind the ‘All-African’ Musical
‘Quickly in Love’: Popular Receptions of 1959
King Kong and Entertaining the Possibilities of a Different South Africa(s)
‘Kwela Kong’: The Trials and Tribulations of a South African Musical Abroad in 1961
‘Sad Times, Bad Times’: Issues of Exile, the
King Kong Cast, and South African Jazz in Britain, 1961-1980
‘The Boy’s [and Girl’s] Doin’ It’:Moving to America and Re-Discovering Africa, 1960-1989
‘Death Song’: The 1979 Remake of
King Kong And the Power of Cultural Memories Under Apartheid
Bibliography
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TYLER FLEMING is Associate Professor in the Departments of History & Pan-African Studies at the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY. He received his Ph D in African History from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009.
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