 Opening in Johannesburg on 2 February 1959 at Witwatersrand University Great Hall, the musical, based on the life of Ezekiel Dhlamini was an immediate success, with "The Star" newspaper calling it "the greatest thrill in 20 years of South African theatre-going".It "swept South Africa like a storm" according to one report, touring the country for two years and playing to record-breaking multi-racial audiences, before being booked for a London production in 1961, by which time it had been seen by some 200,000 South Africans.The music and some of the lyrics for "King Kong" were written by Todd Matshikiza.