It's a cautionary tale for the ages: township guy hits the big time, falls in with the wrong crowd, goes to jail.
For presidents as much as for paupers, the plot of South Africa's first international hit musical stage show is as relevant today as it was for residents of Sophiatown, where the show came of age in 1959.
Now King Kong is back, in all its foot-stomping glory, after a 58-year breather.
The show that launched the careers of Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba finally has the go-ahead from rights holders and is due to open at Cape Town's Fugard Theatre later this year.
When it first showed in Johannesburg during the Treason Trial, the audience included Nelson Mandela, who visited the cast backstage and thanked them for their message of hope. It returns to a changed South Africa, but the message is identical."This is absolutely a story that says unity is possible and that violence is not the key," director Jonathan Munby told the Sunday Times during a meeting with the creative team driving the show, which has been in production for less than three weeks.
"And so far so good. There are moments [in rehearsals] that send shivers down my spine. Already there are moments that have moved me to tears."
The show tells the true story of heavyweight boxer Ezekiel Dlamini, who grew up in Vryheid and became a professional fighter dubbed "King Kong" after working as a gardener and in construction.
Unable to fight whites due to apartheid, he enjoyed a stellar rise to the top of his provincial division, only to suffer an ignominious decline due to bad luck and bad attitude. He ended up as a bouncer at a beer hall and later killed the leader of a notorious gang - for which he received a 12-year prison sentence.
At the time he reportedly told his friends he was tired of life, and his body was found in April 1957, floating in a prison dam.
Two years later he was the posthumous star of a musical named after him, with a stellar cast that would be the envy of any Broadway director. In addition to Makeba (playing the part of shebeen queen Joyce) and Masekela (as part of the musical ensemble), the luminaries associated with the original production include novelist Harry Bloom (whose book of the same title inspired the show) and Todd Matshikiza, whose musical score is possibly the key ingredient.
After touring South Africa, often to multiracial audiences, the show made theatre history when it moved to London's West End in February 1961 for a 200-performance run.
If the old production raised the bar for South African theatre, the new one promises to do the same half a century later, with established stage and TV celebrities.
The title role is played by actor, singer and dancer Andile Gumbi, who made his Broadway debut as Simba in Disney's The Lion King. Gumbi is better known in South Africa as Zweli in the TV soap Isibaya. He can also claim bragging rights for making the final cut in Mzansi's sexiest top 12 celebs in 2015.Gumbi said he was excited and honoured by his latest role. "It is an iconic musical. To play King Kong himself gives me a huge chill."
He said the role required intense boxing training to make the scenes "real".
He also understood the character as a symbol of hope: "As part of the show you get to understand the life and story of these people - what they were going through. The only thing driving them all the time was hope."
Munby described Gumbi's audition as a revelation after hours of drawing a blank. "I was about to leave for the airport. He walked into the room and we immediately felt his presence. Then he sang and read for us, and all of us knew we had found our King Kong."
Award-winning actress and singer-songwriter Nondumiso Tembe will follow in Makeba's footsteps as Joyce - a task she concedes is intimidating. "This was a role made famous by one of the most exceptional vocalists and artists of our time," Tembe said, adding that the show was a reimagining of the original, allowing for original expression.
"It is very important that I pay homage to Miriam Makeba, for she made it possible for Nondumiso Tembe to exist in 2017."
Matshikiza's wife, Esme,one of the show's rights holders, said the show was "deeply rooted in Johannesburg's urban culture of the time. King Kong's music, story and significance in promoting South African talent on a global stage have remained at the forefront of people's minds and in their hearts."
Pat Williams, who wrote the lyrics and the original book, said: "I hope its magic will change other people's lives as much as the original show changed ours. This new production has grown out of our one so long ago - same story, same music, now reconceived by people who love and respect the original.
"In producer Eric Abraham's words, it's an 'evolution' for now rather than a revival from then. What could be better? It fills me with hope and wonder."
Quick facts
• The story:  It’s not about a gorilla. It tells the story of a heavyweight boxer
• Opening: It opened on February 2 1959 in the Great Hall at Wits University, with a 72- strong all black cast
• Apartheid: White and black audience members had to sit in alternate rows
• Mandela: Nelson Mandela was at the premiere with his pregnant wife, Winnie. During the interval he congratulated lyricist Todd Matshikiza ‘on weaving a subtle message of support for the Treason Trial leaders into the Xhosa lyrics’.
jordanb@sundaytimes.co.za
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