★★★★ Karate Kid the Musical: Writes the Rulebook on Bringing Childhood Favourites to the Stage

Photography by Manuel Harlan

When I heard there was a stage version of Karate Kid, I grimaced. There are so many expectations to live up to when creating a stage show of a beloved childhood movie. But after going to see it at the Lyceum on Tuesday 7th July, I can confirm that Karate Kid The Musical does a stellar job of combining nostalgia with quality theatre. 

The musical sees 17 year old Daniel Larusso and his mum, Lucille, move their lives to California. Daniel struggles to fit in until he befriends Ali Mills, which her ex-boyfriend Johnny is not happy about. What starts off as a highschool tiff between the two boys becomes something much more dangerous and Daniel has to learn to stand up for himself. An unlikely friendship is formed with his apartment block’s handyman, Mr Miyagi, who guides Daniel and teaches him that real karate is about balance, not violence as his opponent believes. 

We got to see Isaac J. Lewis cover Daniel Larusso and he is such a fantastic performer. The show has unique choreography, combining usual musical theatre moves with karate. Lewis has a black belt in karate and his knowledge of the martial art gave a smoothness to this style of dance. His stage chemistry with Sharon Sexton who plays his mother was brilliant and both have gorgeous voices.

He also sang a very sweet duet titled 'Slow Song' with Abigail Amin, who was perfectly cast as Ali. She brought strength and kindness to the character and didn't allow her to be just another damsel in distress. Adrian Pang as Mr Miyagi absolutely stole the show though. Not only did he capture Morita’s mannerisms from the original movie perfectly, he also had a beautiful singing voice which solidified the gentle nature of his character. 

I will admit it has been many years since I have seen the film and forgot how unstable of a character John Kreese is - the guy needs some serious help, encouraging his students to permanently disable a teenage boy… but he is played exceptionally well by Matt Mills. Mills has fantastic vocals and sang my favourite song in the show: 'Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy' (I forgot how much I love a villain’s song).

Unfortunately though, the rest of the soundtrack was forgettable. I adored that they had an open orchestral pit, however the lyrics were quite bland and many of the songs felt like they were fresh out of the 'Be More Chill' school of lyricism. 

What I also feel the show lacked was character development. Joe Simmons played high school bully, Johnny very well - he’s a great dancer and has an excellent voice. But the character seems to go from hating Daniel to suddenly shaking his hand and showing mercy at the end. Simmons played the character with a sense of vulnerability, which did make his actions at the end of the show seem somewhat understandable, however none of the “bad guys” had any redeeming qualities. It all just worked out in the end. 

I do want to give a shout out to the school trip who had come to see Karate Kid, as they added to the whole experience in such a fun way. They all whooped and clapped when Ali thumped Johnny for kissing her, they screamed and cheered when the announcer told the audience that the Karate tournament was starting, there were murmurs of “aura” when Daniel did his karate sequence right the first time, and they gave a huge standing ovation at the end of the show, cheering very loudly for Isaac J. Lewis in particular. 

Their enthusiasm for the show made me enjoy it more to be completely honest. I don’t think I am the target audience for Karate Kid the Musical, but I absolutely loved seeing the joy it brought to all generations. The dancing, choreography and vocals in the show were utterly fantastic. While the lyrics are not the most groundbreaking, Karate Kid is fun, nostalgic, and is an accessible show to all ages which is great for encouraging those who usually wouldn't, to head out for a fabulous night at the theatre.