Jump

[GeneChing]

There's a lot more buzz on the web about this now...

Korean Martial Arts Sensation Jump Opens Off-Broadway Oct. 7
By Adam Hetrick
07 Oct 2007

The Korean martial arts spectacle Jump officially opens Off-Broadway at the Union Square Theatre Oct. 7. Previews began Sept. 25.

The 90-minute import promises audiences "the kind of action you'd see in Jackie Chan and Matrix movies," only live on stage, without the use of wires and special effects.

The story centers on a Korean family, including such characters as a drunken uncle and crotchety grandfather, who, according to production notes, "enjoy nothing more than challenging the rest of the family to martial arts showdowns. When two burglars break into the house occupied by three generations of highly trained martial artists, the family turns their expertise on the unexpected guests. The hyperactive sitcom that ensues is the ideal forum for this troupe to show off their extensive training in martial arts, acrobatics, gymnastics and comic acting."

Jump is similar in vein to Off-Broadway productions like Stomp, Slava's Snowshow and Blue Man Group in that the visual and physical elements of the production are used to tell the story rather than relying on language. Some have described the highly physical, family-friendly production as "Jackie Chan meets Charlie Chaplin."

The American premiere has been double cast in order to meet the demands of the highly physical production. Featured among Jump's cast of martial arts talents are Sang-Cheul Lee and Chang-Young Kim (Grandfather), Cheol-Ho Lim and Joo-Sun Kim (Father), Hyun-Ju Kim and Kyung-Hyun Kim (Mother), Han-Chang Lim and Young-Jo Choi (Uncle), Hee-Jeong Hwang and Kyung-Ae Hong (Daughter), Byung-Eun Yoo and Dong-Kyun Kim (Son-in-law), Yun-Gab Hong (Burglar 1), Seung-Youl Lee and Tae-Sung Kim (Burglar 2) and Woon-Yong Lee (Old Man).

The New York creative team for Jump includes Tae-Young Kim (scenic design), DOLSILNAI, INC. (costumes), Jong-Wah Park, Sung-Bin Lim (lighting), Dong-June Lee (music), Gye-Hwan Park (martial arts choreography) and Pan Company (make-up design). CAMI Ventures, a subsidiary of Columbia Artists Management, Inc., produces Jump for American audiences.

Created by Yegam Theatre Company (Producer, Kyung-Hun Kim/artistic director, Chul-Ki Choi), Jump has undergone a bit of fine-tuning for Western audiences. David Ottone was brought in to clarify moments and adapt culture specific references for broader audience appeal, while expanding some of the martial-arts fight scenes.

Jump continues to play a sold-out run in downtown Seoul in a theatre built specifically to house the production since its 2003 debut. Productions of Jump are also underway in Russia, China, Malaysia and Australia.

Tickets for the Off-Broadway production of Jump are available by visiting www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (212) 307-4100.

For more information visit www.jumpnewyorkcity.com.

[GeneChing]

...not unexpected at all.

Jump
Reviewed By: Barbara & Scott Siegel

Jump, the Korean martial arts comedy import at the Union Square Theatre, is described in its press release as "Jackie Chan meets Charlie Chaplin." As it turns out, that statement is accurate only insofar as the actors are Asian martial artists and their comedy is largely physical and not verbal. While Jump features the occasional exciting display of martial arts moves (choreographed by Young-Sub Jin) and a laugh every now and then, it is otherwise as bland as cardboard. Indeed, the lack of imagination that went into the creation of this show is stunning in the extreme.

Before the show begins a bent over old man with a cane kibitzes with the audience. We will see him again, and it is no surprise that he will eventually be revealed to be sensationally acrobatic. Then we meet a family: a grandfather, father, mother, uncle, daughter and a soon-to-be son-in-law. They come out and perform martial arts moves much in the way the Rockettes come out at Radio City and show their stuff. All fine, but the problems are still to come.

And here we go: They perform an extended skit (extended to the better part of an hour), in which each family member has essentially one (or less) traits. The grandfather is strict and demanding -- one might even say cruel when he pretends to ram a stick in the anus of a wayward relative. The father and mother are anxious to get their sweet young daughter married off to nerdy guy with big glasses. The suitor's shtick is that whenever anyone takes off his glasses he becomes a slick, tough, martial arts master -- except, when his glasses go back on, he has no idea what heroics he's just performed. The Uncle is a drunk. As a family, their one distinguishing characteristic is that they all have the moves to take on Chuck Norris or Jet Li. Family fights, as you might imagine, can get pretty wild.

Into this household come two hapless burglars. Outnumbered and outmanned, the two villains try their best to steal and escape, but neither a gun nor their own martial arts knowledge can help them against this uniquely equipped family. Some of the battles that take place have sparks of imagination, but are either run into the ground with repetition or are surrounded by so much lame posturing that one loses interest in the dumb plot.

The best moments are those when they poke fun at the kung fu genre. A fake version of a fighter flying through the air is genuinely amusing. So is a slow motion rendition of a Rube Goldberg series of ricochets that end up knocking out the two villains. But there is so little of this clever stuff that what there is stands out in stark relief to the rest of the filler.

Only at the very end, when the skit is thankfully over and all of the actors come out again to show off their skills, does the show become really exciting. Had the creators of Jump had the imagination to come up with enough varied martial arts stunts to fill up 90 minutes, they would have had a wonderful show on a par with Stomp or Be, but most of this production is so interminable that it makes Jump look more like squat.