Daniel-san and Mr. Myagi is heading to Broadway.
A musical based on the 1984 film The Karate Kid is being worked on by the movie’s screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen, alongside composer Drew Gasparini, stage director Amon Miyamoto and choreographers Keone and Mari Madird.
No casting or premier date has been announced.
The original film starred Ralph Macciao as an outsider teenager who learn how to defend himself from bullies – led by Billy Zabka – from his apartment building’s maintenance man, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita). The coming-of-age story was a box office hit that spawned two sequels, a cartoon series and a 2010 remake with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan.
This is the second project spinning out of the original trilogy of films from the 1980s we’ve seen in recent years. In 2018, YouTube premium launched the series Cobra Kai, which featured Zabka and Macchio returning to their Karate Kid roles, though this time focusing on Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence character and how he has fared since the events of the films.
I suppose that the idea of a Karate Kid musical might not be as strange as it perhaps sounds at first glance. The story of a new kid coming into town and not fitting in is fairly universal enough and can lead to emotional moments that would make good foundations for songs. Plus, there is a thin line between martial arts and dance, as both are about form and moving one’s body in precise, explicit movements. Though hopefully we won’t see a chorus line of dancers doing a Crane stance kick.
Via Hollywood Reporter.
