
Opposing Apartheid on Stage
King Kong the Musical
Tyler Fleming(Author)
University of Rochester Press
Published on 19. March 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
428 pages
978-1-64825-079-8 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
This is an extraordinarily rich and ambitious work, and quite unlike anything in recent African historiography. . . . Opposing Apartheid on Stage is a spectacular achievement and a pleasure to read. * AFRICAN STUDIES REVIEW * Fleming examines every aspect of the play, from its sonic genesis in the cultural ferment of Sophiatown - the area of Johannesburg where a rich musical, social and literary world blossomed until the district was bulldozed to make way for a white suburb called Triomf (Triumph) - to the fates of the musicians and actors who chose exile, and its ill-fated and forgotten restaging in 1979. . . . As Fleming makes abundantly clear, the story of King Kong is about much more than just musical theatre. * THE WIRE *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Rochester
United States
Publishing group
Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 151 mm
Width: 230 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
612 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-64825-079-8 (9781648250798)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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E-Book
08/2020
1st Edition
Boydell & Brewer
€72.99
Available for download

E-Book
08/2020
1st Edition
De Gruyter
€72.99
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Book
08/2020
University of Rochester Press
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Person
TYLER FLEMING is Associate Professor in the Departments of History & Pan-African Studies at the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY. He received his PhD in African History from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009.
Content
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
"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