![]() ![]() 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 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. 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). ![]() ![]() Photo by Stephanie Berger, courtesy The Shed. 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. ![]()
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