Lauren Van Kurin, the co-writer, and performer of King of Kong: A Musical Parody, answered some quick questions for @SeeItOrSkipItLA!
1.What about this story made you think, “Yes! This needs to be a musical!”
A: Amber Ruffin and I were big fans of the documentary King of Kong: A Fistful of quarters and she asked me to write a musical with her. It sounded like the best idea in the world. We originally wrote it for 6 men and 2 women, writing parts for us playing their wives. Then we decided we wanted to play all the parts ourselves, because we are GREEDY! Thus, this crazy show was born. A super high energy cross dressing, quick changing, singing and dancing romp!
2.Moment of truth. Is Donkey Kong your favorite old-school video game, or is there a different game that holds that special place in your heart?
A: I loved Contra. Really loved it and up until recently I had never actually played old school donkey kong on an arcade machine. I’m proud to say I was called a donkey kong badass at 82, the barcade downtown last time I was there because I got so far. I had to do Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell proud!
3.What about your show makes it perfect for the Fringe?
A: Our show is perfect for Fringe because where else can you have 2 actors playing multiple roles, cross dressing, singing and dancing their asses off? At Fringe you can appreciate all that hard work up close and personal. We went to New York Fringe last year and had a fantastic time. We ended up winning Best Overall Musical. We hope the Los Angeles Audiences enjoy as much as the East Coast did. The New York Times called our fringe show “Joyfully Daft!”
4.Do you have to be familiar with the documentary to understand your show?
A: No, you don’t have to be familiar with the documentary to enjoy our show. If you did see it, you’ll hopefully love it but we wanted people who had never seen or heard of the documentary to be able to follow the journey of these characters.
5.What show, other than yours, are you most excited to see at the Fringe?
A: Brendan and I are both in The Poe Show which we are excited to also be doing! Other shows we are excited to see are Cookie and the Monster, Shakespeare’s Last Night Out, The Halfwits Last Hurrah, Stupid Songs, Untold Tony Danza, A Very Modern Marriage, and many many more!
Intrigued? You can see King of Kong: The Musical Parody on these days:
Lillian Theatre Asylum 1076 Lillian Way, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Saturday June 6 4:00 PM
Friday June 12 11:55 PM
Sunday June 21 4:00 PM
Thursday June 25 8:30 PM
Saturday June 27 10:00 PM
Okay fine, you can have a discount too!
Use code #hff15 at checkout or follow them on Twitter for last minute deals!
For ticketing click here.
*As a special thank-you to all Fringers following my coverage, please enjoy 15% off purchases at In Heels Productions throughout the month of June. Use code HFF15 at checkout!