Kung Fu; No Shirts

Last week, I had the chance to see a preview performance of David Henry Hwang's new play at the Signature Theater, "Kung Fu."  One of the publicity shots from the show is featured above, and so all of you can tell that I was very excited about the show.  Guaranteed shirtlessness!  Also, a multi-racial cast dramatizing the life story of one of the first Asian stars in America, Bruce Lee.  This show was clearly up my alley!  I'm sorry to say that I did not know a lot about Mr. Lee, although through the play, I now realize that I owe a lot to him for my career in the theater.  Mr. Lee broke through many  barriers to allow Asian-Americans to have a presence in the American cultural mainstream.  Now some, including me, would say that many of these barriers still exist, but they are not as strong as they once were, thanks to Mr. Lee's brave kicks to the system.  I came away from the show educated and inspired.

But of course, you, gentle readers, want to know about the shirtlessness, and I will say that it does not disappoint.  I won't say when Cole Horibe, who plays Mr. Lee, takes off his shirt, but I will share that when he does, it is good.  Very, very good.  And his shirtlessness exists to make a point about one of the barriers that Mr. Lee was fighting, the de-sexualization of Asian men.  Even on this blog, I have bemoaned the lack of Asian-American shirtlessness in the media and theater.  So thank you to Mr. Horibe and Mr. Hwang and the director, Leigh Silverman, for creating an opportunity in the New York theater for an Asian man to be sexy and to flaunt and use his sexuality in ways that men of other races do not even think twice about.

And for the record, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Horibe after the show and found that he possesses one of my favorite accessories to shirtlessness, kindness.  Honestly, it would be hard to find a nicer guy.  He sweetly posed for pictures with strangers after the show, talked to the friends of all of his castmates (myself included), and generally carried himself with self-effacing grace.  I am a fan of his and of "Kung Fu" and hope you all run out to see it!  Until then, I continue to be...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS