Member GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG Posted March 12, 2014 Member Share Posted March 12, 2014 Came across this article in the New York Times Tuesday February 18, 2014. Here is some video. David Henry Hwang on the genesis of KUNG FU KUNG FU by David Henry Hwang Introducing Cole Horibe as Bruce Lee GD Y-Y Fighting (and Dancing) Like Bruce Lee For the Play ‘Kung Fu,’ Choreographing Combat By STEVEN McELROYFEB. 17, 2014 Cole Horibe, left, plays the martial arts star Bruce Lee in David Henry Hwang’s play “Kung Fu,” now in previews at the Signature Theater Company. Credit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Continue reading the main story Continue reading the main story Share This Page email facebook twitter save more Continue reading the main story There was an audible thud when Ari Loeb fell on his backside in the midst of a scrappy, eight-against-one brawl at the Signature Theater Company recently. The fight was fictional, of course: Mr. Loeb was rehearsing the finale of “Kung Fu,” the new play by David Henry Hwang about the martial arts master Bruce Lee that is now in previews at Signature, where it opens on Monday. The choreographer Sonya Tayeh asked Mr. Loeb, one of Lee’s adversaries, if he was O.K. “I think so,” he replied. (He was.) The next few minutes were spent finding a better way for him to fall — or to be thrown, really — and the short episode highlighted the complexities of making stage fighting look real to an audience while remaining safe for the performers. The process, which that day included several other tweaks to address the twin concerns of safety and verisimilitude, is grueling. It can take hours of rehearsal to create just a few minutes of fast-paced stage time. “Kung Fu,” which traces Lee’s life from the age of 18 until a few years before his death at 32, draws on the skills of Cole Horibe in the lead role. He is most recognizable to audiences from the television competition show “So You Think You Can Dance”; he was a contestant in Season 9 of the series, and became known for his “martial arts fusion” style. Mr. Horibe, 28, who was born and raised in Hawaii, began studying martial arts when he was very young. While the movement in the show is very quick and looks quite realistic, it’s a significant adjustment for a guy who was trained actually to hit, not to pretend. “I have to keep reminding myself in the fight scenes: ‘Think of it as dancing,' ” he said during a rehearsal break. “My father’s whole mentality for putting his children in martial arts was to learn how to defend ourselves, and he’d always tell us, ‘Imagine there’s a person there.’ When I’m doing these fights, the impulse is to really kick through the target, and a lot of times, I use too much force and I have to tell myself, ‘Relax, think of it as a dance move.’ ” Mr. Hwang, at one point, hoped to tell Lee’s life story as a musical, but those plans fell apart. Still, “Kung Fu” features both a dozen fight scenes and some dancing that, while not violent, is clearly infused with what Ms. Tayeh calls “combative” movement. “The concept for the show started with the way Bruce thought about movement, which is that he took a little bit from a lot of places,” explained Leigh Silverman, the director. “He took from science, he took from boxing, he took from philosophy, he took from karate, he took from every place and he mashed it all together and made his own style.” Similarly, the movement in “Kung Fu” is built from a variety of sources and was created collaboratively. While Ms. Tayeh oversees all movement, the production has a credited fight director as well, Emmanuel Brown (who is also in the cast), and a “Chinese opera movement specialist,” Jamie Guan. Depending on the needs of a particular scene, “they give Sonya options, like a palette, a bunch of different colors,” Ms. Silverman said, describing the working relationship. Ms. Tayeh then “puts her eye to it,” the director continued, and figures out “how to weave together the different kinds of moves.” As a result, the fights in “Kung Fu” are quite varied. Here’s a closer look at several major scenes, representing important moments in Lee’s life. A HONG KONG STREET FIGHT Credit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Continue reading the main story Barely keeping up in TV's new golden age A successor to Sagan reboots "Cosmos" Los Angeles Film Festival to highlight the city as star Continue reading the main story In 1963, Lee is on a date with Linda Emery, who will become his wife the following year. He tells her about his past as a troubled young man in Hong Kong who was prone to violence. The scene flashes back to 1958, to an explosive street fight with Lee taking on multiple opponents in a battle of punches and kicks marked by chaotic movement and lacking the grace that was the signature of his fighting style in later years. One brawler ends up with his leg broken. KATO AND COMPANY Credit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Lee played the sidekick, Kato, on the short-lived television series “The Green Hornet,” and “Kung Fu” includes a sequence about the complexities of casting an Asian actor in the ‘60s. “There’s some anxiety about having an Oriental actor on the show,” an ABC executive says. The resulting “Kato Dance” is much more stylized than the street fight scene and features bright lights, cheesy ‘60s television music and the absurdly enhanced sound effects that were used in the television show. A GENERATIONAL SHOWDOWN Credit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Lee’s father was a performer, too, mainly in Chinese opera, and father-son tension is a major theme in “Kung Fu.” Lee’s move to the United States and his longtime refusal to return home are a source of friction. But so are disagreements about the realism and intensity of the fights featured in Chinese opera. In one imagined scene, Lee visits his father’s grave and does battle with his father’s ghost. Swinging and dodging long wooden poles (a martial arts form used in Chinese opera), the two men argue over the issues that kept them estranged for years, and eventually find reconciliation. BECOMING A LEGEND Credit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Here’s the ambitious final stage direction in Mr. Hwang’s script: “Bruce rises to his feet. Breaks into a triumphant dance, more powerfully than before, anticipating the movies he will make in Hong Kong which will realize his dream. Ensemble members appear to fight him, and he defeats them all — with the electric joy which will secure his place as a film and martial arts legend.” Ms. Tayeh said the team spent at least three full workdays creating the elaborate fight that ensues, which shows Lee using his hands and feet to fend off eight attackers in increasingly impossible ways, exhibiting dexterity as well as ease, style and humor. 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Member Drunken Monk Posted March 12, 2014 Member Share Posted March 12, 2014 There's already a thread for this in the Modern Martial Arts section... http://kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21372 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted March 12, 2014 Member Share Posted March 12, 2014 I honestly don't know what to think, feel, or say about this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chinatown Kid Posted March 12, 2014 Member Share Posted March 12, 2014 I don't like the idea myself, seems they are sissifying Bruce with all that glitz and glam. Someone like Liberace or Elton John would probably be more suited to this type of treatment, not a Martial Arts Legend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG Posted March 13, 2014 Author Member Share Posted March 13, 2014 I don't like the idea myself, seems they are sissifying Bruce with all that glitz and glam. Someone like Liberace or Elton John would probably be more suited to this type of treatment, not a Martial Arts Legend. I tend to agree with you CK. Gd Y-Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG Posted March 13, 2014 Author Member Share Posted March 13, 2014 There's already a thread for this in the Modern Martial Arts section... http://kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21372 DM. I did type in the thread in the search engine. I did not see a thread. Thanks DM. GD Y-Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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