A Dragon Returns, This Time Onstage
Charles IsherwoodFebruary 24, 2014: Fists fly with all the fury an action fan could want. Legs flash from the hip like lightning strikes. Twirling kicks and jabbing arms all but set your own head spinning. The fight sequences in Kung Fu, the new play about Bruce Lee by David Henry Hwang, bristle with kinetic drive and an innovative combination of dance and martial arts. In between these lively diversions, unfortunately, lie long stretches of utterly punch-free, this-is-what-happened-next drama. Mr. Hwang’s affectionate study of the life of the man who thrilled action movie fans in the 1970s with his mastery of an ancient Chinese tradition never achieves the fluid grace in its dialogue and dramaturgy that it does in its action sequences.
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