Kung Fu
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Cititour.com Review
The life of the late martial arts legend-movie star Bruce Lee is told with little subtlety but enormous theatricality in David Henry Hwang’s new play Kung Fu, premiering at the Pershing Square Signature Center. Leigh Silverman’s fluid, cinematic staging, Sonya Tayeh’s often explosive choreography, and the ingenious work of a technical team led by set designer David Zinn, lighting designer Ben Stanton, and projection designer Darrell Maloney all help keep these 2 hours and 15 minutes zipping by.
Hwang’s portrait of Lee’s (the charismatic Cole Horibe, a former contest on “So You Think You Can Dance”) rise from Hong Kong street fight to Hollywood semi-star (before returning to Hong Kong to make his greatest movies) is, somewhat surprisingly, a bit of a paint-by-numbers affair. The playwright dutifully touches on the highs and lows of his short life, including his marriage to the tough-but-supportive Linda (Phoebe Strole), his brief brush with fame as co-star of ABC’s short-lived “The Green Hornet,” his almost career-ending back injury, and his life-changing disappointment when ABC chooses to cast “Broadway Actor” David Carradine in TV’s “Kung Fu,” although Lee developed the project as a starring vehicle for himself.
As in many of his other works, Hwang focuses on how America mistreated Asian immigrants in the 1960s and 1970s, practically insisting that they remain “in their place” as waiters and low-level workers. He also overly hammers home the conflict that between Lee and his father Hoi-Chuen (the excellent Francis Jue), a Chinese opera star who objected to Lee becoming an actor. (The use of some Chinese opera techniques during some of their scenes is also quite colorful.) As a result, Lee comes off as a perpetually angry young man who not only needs to prove something to his father, but a rather petulant and unforgiving adult.
While the ensemble cast of eight actors deserves kudos for essaying so many parts, it can also be a bit disconcerting to see an Asian actor (Peter Kim) play the Caucasian “Batman” and “Green Hornet” producer William Dozier or the fine African-American actor Clifton Duncan portray Hollywood legend James Coburn. If Hwang or Silverman are trying to make a point by this multi-culti casting, it eludes me.
In fact, “Kung Fu” consistently asks us to overlook some large flaws while striving to make its points. That we’re willing to do so fairly often is a testament to Silverman’s showmanship and Lee’s enduring legacy.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.signaturetheatre.org/tickets/production.aspx?pid=2358
Open/Close Dates
Opening 2/24/2014
Closing 4/6/2014
Theatre Info
Signature Theatre
480 W 42nd St
New York, NY 10036
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