Drew McOnie to direct Jack Thorne's King Kong musical on Broadway

British choreographer and director Drew McOnie will direct an upcoming production of King Kong on Broadway.

Jack Thorne has written the book for the musical, which has a score composed by Marius de Vries with songs by Eddie Perfect. The show will open at the Broadway Theatre following the run of Miss Saigon in September 2018.

The producers for the show are Global Creatures, with whom McOnie has previously worked on the musical adaptation of Strictly Ballroom. King Kong originally opened in Australia, but the book has been entirely rewritten by Thorne, whose recent successes include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. McOnie's upcoming work in the UK includes On the Town due to open this month at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

The original six metre gorilla designs from Sonny Tilders will arrive in New York with the show, which is based on the novel of the original 1933 screenplay. The plot follows a film director and his leading lady who find a huge gorilla on a lost island and try to bring it back to New York.

Casting, dates and ticketing details will be announced in due course.