The path of less resistance
‘Be Like Water’ dances through time in search of balance
By Jana J. Monji 10/02/2008
International solo performance artist Dan Kwong’s first play, “Be Like Water,” now on stage at the David Henry Hwang Theatre in Little Tokyo, isn’t breaking new ground, but is a respectable addition to the genre of martial-arts coming-of-age dramedy. In movies like 1984’s “The Karate Kid,” the lead would be a young white person — most likely a boy — mentored by an Asian or Asian-American. Here, we have Bruce Lee’s ghost guiding a young Asian-American girl.
The title itself comes from a famous quote where Bruce Lee advises becoming formless and shapeless like water. Water takes on the shape of a container. “Water can flow and it can crash.”
Tracy (Saya Tomioka), the daughter of Japanese-American Kimiko (Pam Hayashida) and Chinese-American Frank (Michael Sun Lee), is a huge Bruce Lee fan. For those that might not know, marriages between Japanese-Americans and Chinese-Americans were not always warmly accepted by the families involved for cultural as well as political reasons. Tracy’s best friend is named Bruce Lee (Shawn Huang) — yet the boy has no interest in martial arts. He’s more of a disco-dancing Saturday Night Fever Tony Manero wannabe. When confronted by racist bully Jeremy (Jonathan Decker), Tracy resorts to violence and the play is predictably about finding her way to the proper use of martial arts as well as mending her relationship with her parents.
Mention is made, of course, of David Carradine. That cultural offense still strikes chords in the Asian-American community from the murmurs in the audience, but it’s also fitting, as the play takes place in the disco days of Chicago — 1978, three years after the TV series “Kung Fu” had gone off the air and one year after “Saturday Night Fever.” Disco dancing might seem an odd choice to fuse with martial arts until we learn that Bruce Lee was once a cha-cha champion in Hong Kong — some time before becoming a martial arts legend.
In one scene, martial arts choreographers Ron Balicki and Diana Lee Inosanto (an Academy award-winning director and Bruce Lee’s goddaughter) and dance choreographer Blythe Matsui transform martial arts moves to cha-cha and in another the ghost of Bruce Lee (Cesar Cipriano) begins a martial arts routine that quickly morphs into disco dancing.
The sound design and original music compositions deserve special mention along with the music choices in a very musical non-musical under the direction of Chris Tashima, but some places could be tightened up. This production uses real 14-year-old actors playing young teens who Tashima handles with sensitivity.
Kwong states in the program notes that he wanted to write about how oppression affects family, friendships and identity, and to “shine a light on the cultural impact of Bruce Lee.” To a certain extent he does accomplish that, yet his villain is a young boy, a one-dimensional character, a simplistic plot device.
Nonetheless, this production by East West Players and the Cedar Grove OnStage entertainment company provides an enjoyable if predictable evening that might be best targeting a young teen audience, or even more limiting, a young Asian-American teen audience.
“Be Like Water” continues through Oct. 12 at the David Henry Hwang Theater, Union Center for the Arts, 120 Judge John Aiso Street, Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles. Call (213) 625-7000 or go to www.EastWestPlayers.org.
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