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BrumHour saw The Karate Kid at the invite of The Alexandra.
The Karate Kid – The Musical at The Alexandra: Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐A crowd pleasing musical
Directed by Amon Miyamoto, book by Robert Mark Kamen music and lyrics by Drew Gasparini
Daniel (Gino Ochello) and his mother Lucille (Sharon Sexton) have moved to California. Daniel has already been picked on by Johnny (Joe Simmons) for flirting with Johnny’s ex, Ali (Abigail Amin). The maintenance man of the building is Mr Miyagi (Adrian Pang), who takes Daniel under his wing to teach him karate, in his own special way.
Set in the 1980s, this musical production seems like an odd adaptation at first glance, though it has heaps of heart and passion right at its core. It has all the shades of a coming-of-age film adaptation, though some martial arts fans might not appreciate movements set to music and lyrics.
Adrian Pang is excellent as Miyagi and really owns the stage every second he appears; Sharon Sexton’s vocals are on form as she steals every moment she sings on stage. Gino Ochello is great, though, accent-wise, he doesn’t seem to have grown up in the same part of New Jersey as his mother.
The use of paper walls all over the stage is excellent and really makes it clear about the production’s intentions. Musically, it is clear this was for an American audience as a couple of tracks early on stray into High School Musical territory; thankfully, this isn’t the case the whole way through.
One of my favourite aspects was the use of the company as shadows/echos around Miyagi which could be interpreted as his ancestors. It is elegent in moments and certainly powerful.
The audience was younger and certainly shows the long-term appeal of the franchise, as they seemed to love it. A crowd-pleasing production, The Karate Kid – The Musical is at The Alexandra until 25th July 2026. Book tickets here: atgtickets.com/shows/the-karate-kid-the-musical/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham.
