‘Karate Kid’ Stage Musical Announced
A stage musical version of the 1984 film, The Karate Kid, will be opening in the U.S. in 2022.
According to a report on Deadline, The Karate Kid – The Musical musical will begin a pre-Broadway limited engagement on May 25, 2022 at The Kirkwood Performing Arts Center just outside St. Louis, Missouri and will run through June 26.
The show has a book by original screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen and music and lyrics by Drew Gasparini (Smash) and the production will be directed by Japanese director Amon Miyamoto (Pacific Overtures). No casting information has been released so far.
The creative team will also include set designer Derek McLane (Moulin Rouge), costume designer Ayako Maeda, lighting designer Bradley King (Hadestown), and sound designer Kai Harada (The Band’s Visit) with orchestrations by John Clancy (Diana), and music direction and arrangements by Andrew Resnick (The Cher Show). The show will be choreographed by Keone and Mari Madrid.
The Karate Kid tells the story of a bullied teenager named Daniel LaRusso (played by Ralph Macchio) who strikes up a unique friendship with a wise old man named Mr. Miyagi (played by Academy Award-nominee Pat Morita), who later becomes his mentor and teaches him martial arts. As Daniel learns to defend himself through karate, he also gains more valuable lessons about life, humility, and harmony.
The film became a classic that spawned a franchise including three more sequels, a remake in 2010 starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, and a three-season television series on Netflix, Cobra Kai, which has also been renewed for a fourth and fifth season.
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