Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise

[GeneChing]

The Shed Premieres DRAGON SPRING PHOENIX RISE (https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-off-broadway/article/DRAGON-SPRING-PHOENIX-RISE-Commissioned-for-The-Sheds-Opening-Season-Premieres-in-The-McCourt-20190528)
by Sarah Hookey May. 28, 2019

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Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise, a kung fu musical conceived and directed by Chen Shi-Zheng and commissioned for The Shed's 2019 opening season, will have its world premiere engagement June 22 - July 27 in The McCourt (preview performances June 22 - 26). Co-conceived by Kung Fu Panda screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise features movement choreography by Akram Khan; an original score by composer, musician, and producer The Haxan Cloak including arrangements of songs by Sia with additional remixes by composer, musician, and producer Arca; an original production design concept by Tim Yip; and martial arts choreography by Zhang Jun.

"Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise is a modern fable of transformation-two teenagers finding the courage and strength to overcome the forces of greed and power," said Alex Poots, artistic director and CEO of The Shed. "These are themes that run deep in Sia's songs, brought magically to life by Chen Shi-Zheng, our creative team, and an incredible cast."

"There likely isn't a fight sequence in movies, television, or theater that is not based on the traditional martial arts. Now is the time to reimagine the art form for a new era," said Chen. "Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise transforms iconic Chinese images, movement, and philosophy into a contemporary American setting. It is a saga that combines spirituality, animism, and human emotion to explore generational shifts of culture and ideas."

Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise blends an immigrant story of survival and transformation with a mystical exploration of the dualities between life and death, fire and water, old and new. Chen Shi-Zheng integrates a vocabulary of martial-arts movement with music and storytelling to create a groundbreaking new style of immersive theater performance.

The story begins at the House of Dragon, a secret sect in Flushing, Queens, whose kung fu warriors protect the Dragon Spring, an elixir of immortality. Lotus, the daughter of Grandmaster Lone Peak, rebels against her strict upbringing and falls in love with Doug Pince, a charming billionaire. Lotus is too blinded by love to realize Doug's true intentions. After she gives birth to twins, Lone Peak issues a prophecy: Doug will be stopped by a legendary force. Separated at birth, Lotus' twins must eventually come together to face their day of reckoning, when the fabled Dragon Phoenix will rise.

The Shed's commission is the first stage production for screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, whose films include the Kung Fu Pandatrilogy. It is also the first experience with scoring for live performance for The Haxan Cloak, who composed new music and remixed four songs written by singer-songwriter Sia-"Bird Set Free," "Out There," "Courage," and "Lullaby"-into an entirely original soundtrack. Two additional Sia songs, "The Greatest" and "Chandelier," remixed by Venezuelan artist and producer Arca, contribute to the powerful instrumental and vocal score.

Preview performances of Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise run June 22 - 26. The commission opens on Thursday, June 27, and continues through July 27, with performances at 8 pm Tuesdays through Saturdays and matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 pm, and Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets to Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise are available at theshed.org and (646) 455-3494.

Located on Manhattan's west side, where the High Line meets Hudson Yards, The Shed commissions original works of art, across all disciplines, for all audiences. From hip hop to classical music, painting and sculpture to literature, film to theater and dance, The Shed brings together leading and emerging artists and thinkers from all disciplines under one roof.

I know a master named Zhang Jun but I don't think this is him.

[GeneChing]

I usually split indies around the 3rd post.


Inside the International Rehearsal Process for New Kung Fu Musical Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise (http://www.playbill.com/article/inside-the-international-rehearsal-process-for-new-kung-fu-musical-dragon-spring-phoenix-rise)
BY NATHAN SKETHWAY
MAY 30, 2019

The new musical from the writers of Kung Fu Panda will begin performances June 22 for its world premiere at The Shed.

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Elijah Laurant, Jacob Thoman, Coral Dolphin, Yuriko Hiroura, Abdiel Jacobsen, Marla Phelan, and Xavier Townsend Stephanie Berger

The new kung fu musical Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise will make its world premiere at The Shed as a commission for the groundbreaking new venue's inaugural season, with performances set to begin June 22 ahead of a June 27 opening. The musical, co-conceived by Kung Fu Panda screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, features a score with original tunes by composer, musician, and producer The Haxan Cloak, as well as new arrangements of songs by pop star Sia.

“Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise is a modern fable of transformation—two teenagers finding the courage and strength to overcome the forces of greed and power,” said Alex Poots, artistic director and CEO of The Shed. “These are themes that run deep in Sia's songs, brought magically to life by Chen Shi-Zheng, our creative team, and an incredible cast.”

Check out the gallery below for a look at Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise's rehearsals, which spanned over New York City and Beijing. Visit TheShed.org for tickets and more information.''

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Totally copy-able to our Sword Hotties (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?41007-Sword-hotties)thread.

[GeneChing]

No pix tho. I'll split it next time.



Groundbreaking kung fu musical to debut in New York (http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-06/09/c_138127455.htm)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-09 01:38:14|Editor: yan
NEW YORK, June 8 (Xinhua) -- A groundbreaking kung fu musical named "Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise" will make its world premiere in two weeks at The Shed, a newly-opened center for artistic invention in New York City.

The musical, conceived and directed by Chen Shi-Zheng, tells the story of a secret sect, in the Flushing area of the city's borough of Queens, which possesses the magical power to extend human life, and the twin brother and sister caught in the struggle to control it.

Alex Poots, artistic director and CEO of The Shed, said the musical is a modern fable of transformation as two teenagers look for courage and strength to overcome the forces of greed and power.

Chen said the musical transforms iconic Chinese images, movement and philosophy into a contemporary American setting.

"It is a saga that combines spirituality, animism, and human emotion to explore generational shifts of culture and ideas," he said.

The production has drawn talented people from around the world. Co-conceived by Kung Fu Panda's Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, the musical features songs by Sia remixed by Bobby Krlic, who is known by his stage name The Haxan Cloak, and Venezuelan artist and producer Arca. It is choreographed by the acclaimed dancer and choreographer Akram Khan.

Fast-paced martial arts combat and balletic dance sequences unfold in front of, around and above the audience in this original production designed specifically for the soaring, flexible space of The McCourt.

The McCourt, The Shed's most iconic space, is formed when the movable outer shell is deployed over the adjoining plaza to create a 17,000-square-foot hall with the good control of light, sound and temperature for large-scale performances, installations and events. It can accommodate a seated audience of approximately 1,200 and a standing audience of more than 2,000.

The musical is commissioned for The Shed's 2019 opening season. It will run from June 22 to July 27.

[GeneChing]

Can a Kung Fu Musical Get (Way) Off the Ground? (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/theater/dragon-spring-phoenix-rise-the-shed.html)
“Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise,” the unlikely offspring of a Chinese-American opera impresario and the writers of “Kung Fu Panda” — with songs by Sia — aims to show just how high the Shed can fly.
By Reggie UgwuPhotographs by Devin YalkinVideos by Mohamed Sadek
June 19, 2019

Half a dozen warriors gathered at the base of a striated plateau, cracking jokes and letting off steam before the moment of truth. “You ready?” said Abdiel Jacobsen, tall and muscular, turning to Xavier Townsend, whose slight frame bloomed into a mop of dreadlocks.

“I’m ready,” Xavier said, knowing his time had come.

He raised both fists high above his shoulders and stepped toward the spotlight, where he was surrounded by a throng of technicians in black shirts and headsets. One was holding a rope that shot straight up to the ceiling, a vertical distance of more than 10 stories.

The plateau wasn’t God’s handiwork, but that of the Shed — the $500 million arts complex at Hudson Yards on Midtown Manhattan’s far west side. It was part of the custom-built, multilevel stage for a new multimillion-dollar “kung fu musical” called “Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise,” which begins previews on June 22.

Cast members were given a crash curriculum (martial arts training, aerial choreography and singing lessons) to transform them into futuristic warriors.

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Cast members were given a crash curriculum (martial arts training, aerial choreography and singing lessons) to transform them into futuristic warriors.Credit Devin Yalkin for The New York Times

The show, the unlikely fruit of an even less likely collaboration — involving Chen Shi-Zheng, the Chinese-American opera impresario; the “Kung Fu Panda” screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger; the musician Sia; and the choreographer Akram Khan — pushed the star-studded creative team to its limits, taking three years to make and crisscrossing as many continents.

And cast members, consisting almost entirely of contemporary dancers who were given a crash curriculum (martial arts training, aerial choreography and singing lessons) to transform them into futuristic warriors, faced an even steeper challenge.

“Remember: If you want to come down, just say ‘Down,’” an aerial coordinator with a loose bun of gray hair said to Xavier. It was June 12, a little more than a week before audiences would be watching, and for the first time the dancer-turned-warrior was strapped into a nylon harness that would raise him 80 feet into the air. The technician with the rope fastened him in.

“You better pray!” Abdiel howled from the base of the stage, drawing laughs from the crowd that had gathered there. “X is about to go to the mother planet!”

MAY 10 | 43 DAYS BEFORE PREVIEWS BEGIN

The Ghost of Bruce Lee
A month before Abdiel and Xavier arrived, Alex Poots, the CEO and artistic director of the Shed, was sitting in the same spot, clicking at his laptop. Another custom stage, this one built for Björk, occupied the space where the plateau is now, at the center of this highly flexible 1,200-seat theater, the McCourt.

Before joining the Shed, Mr. Poots, one of the contemporary art world’s most exuberant and prolific matchmakers, served as the artistic director of the Park Avenue Armory and the founder of the Manchester International Festival in England. In those roles, he commissioned an opera that paired the artist Marina Abramovic with Willem Dafoe, and a ballet, adapted from a Jonathan Safran Foer book, that featured a score by the electronic music producer Jamie xx and choreography by Wayne McGregor.

“Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise” is his most ambitious undertaking yet. It was developed as a kind of proof of concept for the new building, engineered to dazzle audiences with name-brand artists, staggering physical scale and blockbuster pyrotechnics not found anywhere else in a city well steeped in audacious spectacle.

But achieving liftoff won’t be easy. The last such high-profile, high-flying attempt was the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” a notoriously unwieldy enterprise that left a cautionary legacy of comic one-liners, broken hearts and sunk capital when it closed in 2014.
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PeiJu Chien-Pott as Lotus.CreditDevin Yalkin for The New York Times

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“I’m hoping the physicality and the energy will carry us through,” said Mr. Chen.Credit Devin Yalkin for The New York Times

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Ms. Chien-Pott is a principal dancer of the Martha Graham Company.Credit Devin Yalkin for The New York Times

Getting to the rehearsal stage for “Dragon Spring,” which The New York Times observed on six occasions over four weeks, took years of meticulous planning, and a high tolerance for risk.

On his laptop in the McCourt, Mr. Poots found the video that started it all, and pressed play. It was a black-and-white clip of a young Bruce Lee in 1964, wearing a trim black suit and tie to audition for the television series “The Green Hornet.” In the audition, Lee demonstrates an array of kung fu moves with astonishing velocity and force, introducing each with the workaday nonchalance of a flight attendant giving safety instructions.

The video had arrived in Mr. Poots’s inbox in 2015, with a note from Mr. Chen expressing his desire to bring Lee’s physical dynamism to the stage.

“It was an entry point into something that was artistic, that had real rigor, but was at a juncture of art, sport and spirituality, which I thought was such a potent proposition,” said Mr. Poots, who had previously worked with Mr. Chen on the acrobatic opera “Monkey: Journey to the West,” a collaboration with the band Gorillaz.

Mr. Poots, who had been dreaming up ideas for what was then to be called the Culture Shed, asked Mr. Chen how he could help develop the show. The director said that his wife had been a big admirer of the “Kung Fu Panda” movies. Mr. Poots opened his Rolodex.

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Warriors trying to resurrect Lotus.Credit Devin Yalkin for The New York Times continued next post

[GeneChing]

MAY 23 | 30 DAYS BEFORE PREVIEWS BEGIN

Making Artists into Martial Artists
The ensemble members, each carrying a seven-foot bamboo staff to practice the show’s climactic fight scene, stood single file in a rehearsal space on 42nd Street. Cued by the score, a thunderous refrain composed by Bobby Krlic, who records as the Haxan Cloak, they snaked across the floor in a skewed figure eight before coming to rest in a semicircle that spanned the room.

The musical, which takes place in Chinatown in Flushing, Queens, in the near future, tells the story of an exiled sect of kung fu warriors that guards an underground spring infused with the power of eternal life. The fugitive daughter of the sect’s grand master, who eloped with a mysterious outsider, gives birth to twins who are separated at birth, only to reunite 18 years later to save the sect, and the world, from a powerful enemy.

Mr. Chen, 56, with boyish black hair and a gentle manner, looked on during the rehearsal from a chair on the sidelines, his chin buried deep in his palm.

The ensemble pounded the floor in unison with their staffs, creating a resounding pulse. The grand master, played by David Patrick Kelly (“Twin Peaks” on TV, “Once” on Broadway), entered the center of the semicircle with PeiJu Chien-Pott, a principal in the Martha Graham Dance Company who portrays his daughter, and two of the show’s villains. Then the fighting began — a brutal ballet complete with swords and a bullwhip.

After a few run-throughs of the scene, Mr. Chen halted the action and approached Ms. Chien-Pott. Her kicks hadn’t been landing as they should.

“It doesn’t read,” he said, showing the actress how to properly position herself. “You’re hitting his shoulder, but you want to hit his face.”

Mr. Chen was born in Changsha, China, and trained as a youth in baguazhang, an early form of kung fu that intoxicated him. “I’ve always found martial arts to be one of the most beautiful kinds of movements — the precision and the energy and the line of the body,” he said. “I’m always shocked that it’s not used more on the stage.”

He came to New York in 1987 to pursue an M.F.A. in experimental drama at New York University. In 1999, he earned international acclaim for his three-day, 20-hour production of “The Peony Pavilion” at the Lincoln Center Festival, and went on to direct other idiosyncratic work, including “Monkey” (which had mixed reviews but toured the world) and a Chinese adaptation of “High School Musical.”

Though wrapped in pop packaging, the core themes of “Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise” — geographical and spiritual dislocation, hybridized identity and the weight of heritage — are deeply personal.

“I wanted to create a modern myth about immigrants in America and how they survive,” Mr. Chen said. “When I came to this country in the late ’80s, it was cool to be different. But lately I’ve been feeling so much hostility, and that kind of subconsciously went into the plot.”

He spent more than a year on casting, searching for performers who could match the show’s multidisciplinary ambitions. But the musical theater actors he saw didn’t make believable fighters, and the martial artists couldn’t pull off the requisite acting and dancing.

He decided to narrow his focus to the dance world — largely hip-hop, modern, and classical — figuring he would get an actor’s stage presence and a martial artist’s core strength and agility in the bargain.

But mastering the fight choreography, even for a cast with extraordinary physical discipline, took longer than expected. That meant less time to practice other aspects of their performances. And more to worry about.

“We were trying to find people who could do the martial arts and the acting and the singing, but we failed, in a way,” Mr. Chen acknowledged. “I’m hoping the physicality and the energy will carry us through.”

Learning to fly in the harnesses was the last — and riskiest — piece of the puzzle.

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Learning to fly in the harnesses was the last — and riskiest — piece of the puzzle.CreditDevin Yalkin for The New York Times

JUNE 12 | 10 DAYS BEFORE PREVIEWS BEGIN

Taking Flight
On the plateau in the Shed’s McCourt Theater, just over a week before “Dragon Spring” was scheduled to open, a technician gave Xavier final instructions.

“X marks the spot — stand right … here.”

It was the first, and only, week of full rehearsals for the show’s three aerial sequences, which, for logistical reasons, hadn’t been possible outside of the Shed. For Xavier and the rest of the ensemble, learning to fly in the harnesses was the last — and riskiest — piece of the puzzle.

Directly above him was a ring-shaped platform suspended 80 feet in the air, from which he and six other performers were to dive in a dramatic rescue scene. Below him were live fire pits capable of shooting flames, and water spouts that could flood and drain the plateau on demand.

Mr. Poots estimated that the stage had cost around $650,000 to construct, money that, along with the rest of a budget that he said was in the low millions, had been offset by fund-raising, and which he hoped to recoup with ticket sales and rentals to other theaters and presenting organizations. (Unlike “Spider-Man,” the show is being presented by a nonprofit.)

“We thought very carefully about designing the show so that it could have a life after the Shed,” he said, adding that producers from London, Paris, Beijing and Berlin were among those expected to attend its four-week run.

On the plateau, the technician, who wore a controller around his neck the size of a 12-pack, flipped a switch and hoisted Xavier aloft: 15 feet, 30 feet, 50 feet.

“Whaat!” Xavier shouted, weightless and grinning with delight, as the rope pulled him high above the stage, above his castmates, above everything.

Whether the show would ultimately live up to its lofty ambitions remained to be seen. But, for this moment at least, none of that mattered — he could fly.

“Yeah, Xavier!” shouted the coordinator from below, craning her neck and smiling. “You look beautiful!”

Reggie Ugwu is a pop culture reporter covering a range of subjects, including film, television, music and internet culture. Before joining The Times in 2017, he was a reporter for BuzzFeed News and Billboard magazine. @uugwuu

Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71341-Dragon-Spring-Phoenix-Rise) needs its own thread now, independent of Martial Arts in Live Theater (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49689-Martial-Arts-in-Live-Theater)

[GeneChing]

Review: ‘Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise’ at The Shed (https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2019/06/27/review-dragon-spring-phoenix-rise-at-the-shed/)
By Deb Miller - June 27, 2019

For its opening 2019 season, The Shed – a central feature at the new Hudson Yards – presents the world-premiere of Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise, in keeping with its mission of “commissioning original works of art, across all disciplines, for all audiences.” Designed specifically for the towering and versatile space of The McCourt, the “kung-fu musical,” conceived and directed by Chen Shi-Zheng and written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger (screenwriters of Kung Fu Panda), takes the form of a multimedia arena spectacle (here with seating for 1200 spectators), holding greater appeal for fans of theme-park or casino-style entertainment and action movies than aficionados of Broadway-quality theater.

https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/1.-DragonSpring-pto-StephanieBerger.jpg
David Torok, Jasmine Chiu, and Ji Tuo. Photo by Stephanie Berger, courtesy The Shed.

Referencing traditional Chinese philosophy, movement, and imagery, the clichéd saga of good versus evil, life and death, the magical quest for immortality, and the struggle to control it is set in present-day New York and eighteen years into the future (while the details of the slow-paced narrative are not always clear in the presentation’s minimal dialogue and paramount visuals, the specifics are explained in the program notes). The performers’ acting and singing are at best stilted and amateurish (veteran stage and screen actor David Patrick Kelly delivers the most satisfying portrayal as the wise old Kung-Fu Grandmaster Lone Peak), with a company that was obviously cast for its expertise in the martial arts and dance, not musical theater. But even those action scenes become over-extended and tedious, though fully in keeping with the show’s repeated message, “For the timeless, time means nothing.” For the audience, editing and pacing mean a lot.

The production design (original concept by Tim Yip) employs an extensive artistic team to create an environment of eye-popping and mood-enhancing stimuli intended to astonish, though sometimes resulting in an overload of “everything but the kitchen sink.” The visuals integrate character-defining costumes (Montana Levi Blanco), expressive lighting (by Tobias Rylander), videos (Leigh Sachwitz), fog and special effects (Jeremy Chernick) into a minimalist set (Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams), comprising an abstract mountain, a metal ladder and elevated runways, and a sky of dangling white fabric strips that move up and down with the action. They are augmented by reverberating sounds (Brandon Wolcott) and an original score and remixes of songs by Australian singer-songwriter Sia (by The Haxan Cloak, with additional remixes by Arca), to underscore the feelings of the one-dimensional characters and their experiences.

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PeiJu Chien-Pott (below) with members of the chorus. Photo by Stephanie Berger, courtesy of The Shed.

Central to both the theme and the production are the movement choreography by Akram Khan and martial arts choreography by Zhang Jun (with special thanks to Yuen Woo-Ping), offering an array of contemporary dance styles and kung-fu training and fight sequences around which the story revolves. Among the most breathtaking is the descent of dark-clothed warriors from above, in a scene so expertly lit in the darkness that the wires on which they’re suspended remain unseen by the audience. Other movement-based segments range in tone from hypnotic and transcendental to mind-numbing and deadening, depending on their length and redundancy, and the synchronized moves (or lack thereof) of the ensemble.

While theater-lovers are likely to find Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise overly ambitious, under rehearsed, and in vital need of editing, devotees of the martial arts and those who enjoy arena-style amusements might find some delight in the multi-sensory extravaganza of movement, light, and sound.

Running Time: Approximately one hour and 40 minutes, including an intermission.

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Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise plays through Saturday, July 27, 2019, at The Shed – 545 West 30th Street, NYC. For tickets, call (646) 455-3494, or go online.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz7aWE5ucO4


Reminds me of some old Shaolin shows (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?47931-Do-the-Shaolin-Monks-still-tour)...

[GeneChing]

‘Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise’ Theater Review: Sia Meets Kung Fu in Turgid Musical Mashup (https://www.thewrap.com/dragon-spring-phoenix-rise-theater-review-sia-kung-fu-musical/)
The Shed’s pricey new production is an empty spectacle
Thom Geier | June 29, 2019 @ 10:36 AM
Last Updated: June 29, 2019 @ 1:01 PM

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Photo: Stephanie Berger

A lot of expense and effort have gone into “Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise,” the plus-size kung fu musical that opened Thursday at the very plus-size 120-foot-tall McCourt venue at The Shed in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards. There’s a $650,000 stage (designed by Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams) whose center recedes to become a shallow pool of water for no good reason whatsoever. There are seizure-inducing lighting effects (by Tobias G. Rylander) and “The Matrix”-meets-Studio 54 costumes (by Montana Levi Blanco) and aerial effects that are cool enough but seem like a regional-theater version of Cirque du Soleil.

Director Chen Shi-Zheng has conceived this nearly two-hour production as a spectacle, but the show moves turgidly between set-pieces without ever gathering any visual or narrative momentum. The problem starts with the wisp of a story (by “Kung Fu Panda” writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger), about two battling kung fu factions in that renowned center of the martial arts, Flushing, Queens.

There’s talk of a prophesy involving two twins, whom we first see as dolls with glowing plastic globe heads (one pink and one blue) and later as 18-year-old separated-at-birth twins (Jasmine Chiu and Ji Tuo) destined to either battle each other to the death or unite to restore balance to the universe. Or something like that. The mythology here is about as thin as the fabric panels that keep dropping from the ceiling to hide wired-up performers.

There’s also a score by Sia — or at least a mish-mash of the pop star’s anthemlike ballads, many of which are piped in over loudspeakers rather than sung by the cast, which is probably just as well since their vocal talent, sadly, seldom matches their athleticism in the kung fu/dance routines. None of the tunes actually advance the plot or deepen our understanding of the stick-figure characters. And if you were expecting the performers to be swinging from a chandelier in a Pink-like nod to Sia’s biggest chart-topper, you’ll be sadly disappointed.

You’ll also be disappointed by the choreography, which comes in two flavors: martial arts (conceived by Zhang Jun), which is occasionally engaging even though none of the punches or kicks ever actually land and there are no aerial effects to send any of the fighters truly flying; and movement (by Akram Khan), which ranges from lackluster to virtually nonexistent in multiple disco-set scenes where the ensemble seems to be enacting the truly random dance moves of a crowd of strangers.

In the end, “Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise” plays like the director’s cut of a badly dubbed Hong Kong kung fu movie, where the story is unintelligible and there are long lulls between the scenes with genuine action and visual appeal. And in live theater, alas, there is no fast forward.

I'm still interested in the Sia soundtrack. She won me over with her Alive music video (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?36569-Kung-Fu-Music&p=1288483#post1288483).

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz7aWE5ucO4

[GeneChing]

Asian Art Advocates Accuse the Shed of ‘Yellow-Face Casting’ in Its Kung-Fu Musical. But Its Director Says the Character Is Actually White (https://news.artnet.com/art-world/asian-american-groups-criticize-the-shed-1607908)
Advocacy groups wrote a letter calling the "Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise" casting "offensive and unacceptable."
Taylor Dafoe, July 24, 2019

https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2019/07/GettyImages-1134680942-1024x683.jpg
Dancers from Dragon Spring Phoniex Rise attend a rehearsal at the Tisch Skylights inside the The Shed. Photo: Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images.

Asian American advocacy groups are accusing the Shed of promoting racial stereotypes in its new “kung fu musical,” Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise. The production follows a twin brother and sister who uncover a secret group in Queens that has developed the power to extend human life. It was directed by Chen Shi-Zheng and co-written by Kung Fu Panda creators Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger.

Last week, the Asian American Performers Action Coalition laid out its complaints in an open letter submitted to the Shed’s director, Alex Poots, and its board of directors. (The letter was co-signed by the Asian American Arts Alliance and eight other cultural groups working in theater and the arts.)

“Your production appropriates Chinese culture, mixing it with western pop influences, relying on the most reductive tropes of the kung fu genre while providing no cultural context,” the letter reads. “It makes little effort to humanize or add nuance to the Chinese American characters, but instead, relies on stereotypes for characterization.”

The letter castigates the museum for employing white writers, musicians, and production teams, and for casting a white actor in one of the show’s main roles, a Grandmaster named Lone Peak. “The decision to use yellow face casting is offensive and unacceptable to us and we demand a public explanation,” the letter reads.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz7aWE5ucO4

Poots offered that response this week in an email to group leaders: “We value your raising important issues. One of our primary goals is to be inclusive, and respectful to all. We will take into account your thoughts as we continue to commission works and would be happy to meet with members of your organization.”

The Shed has also released a statement, credited to Poots, that further addresses the concerns raised in the letter. “This new work, which was commissioned by The Shed and privately funded, uses multiple art forms—kung fu, dance, music, song, and text—to create an allegory for the immigrant experience, transforming iconic Chinese images, movement, and ideas into a contemporary American context and modern-day fable,” the statement reads.

It goes on to “acknowledge that some important aspects of Dragon need clarification.” Most significantly, that the character of Lone Peak, played by and written for David Patrick Kelly, was intended to be white and was “actually based on a Caucasian American instructor” who taught the actor during his own 30 years of martial arts training.

“This feels to us like whitewashing, using Asian tropes to tell a story that is not really about Asians at all,” a representative of the Asian American Performers Action Coalition told artnet News, referring to Poots’s statement.

The organization is in the process of putting together a response to the Shed’s director, but has no other plans for action at this time.

THREADS
Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71341-Dragon-Spring-Phoenix-Rise)
yellow face/white washing. (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?66153-yellow-face-white-washing)