From film to musical
The classic film “Karate Kid” turns into a musical
In the role of Daniel LaRusso (left), actor Ralph Macchio faced the most important fights of his life alongside Mr. Miyagi, played by Pat Morita.
© imago / United Archives
The 80s cult film series “Karate Kid” turns into a musical. The premiere is due to take place next spring.
The cult film series “Karate Kid” is turning into a musical, the world premiere is to take place in spring 2022. The original script for “Karate Kid” was written by Robert Mark Kamen (73). The author works According to a report by the industry portal “Deadline” also participated in the adaptation “The Karate Kid – The Musical”. The music and the lyrics come from the pen of Drew Gasparini (35), the Japanese Amon Miyamoto (65) directs. The musical is to be performed in St. Louis for one month, the premiere is on May 25, 2022.
“When I was a young man,” screenwriter Kamen said in a statement, “traditional Okinawa karate and the teachers who taught me changed my life forever.” According to Kamen, “The Karate Kid – The Musical” is a declaration of love for the martial arts and its teachers, as he explains: “Above all, karate teaches you to follow your dreams, no matter what obstacles you face – and that is the spirit in which we all tackle this show. “
First St. Louis, then Broadway?
Numerous Broadway greats participate in the show. According to “Deadline”, it is already under discussion that the “The Karate Kid – The Musical” performances in St. Louis are just a test run. If this is successful, further performances on Broadway could follow. It is currently unknown which actors will be seen in the production.
Composer Gasparini also hopes that “The Karate Kid – The Musical” will become a Broadway musical. He speaks about it in the podcast “Two Kids & A Broadway Star”that the St. Louis performances are a kind of “laboratory” to be followed by a Broadway production.