Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The spectacular but banal DRAGON SPRING PHOENIX RISE squanders its considerable potential

• By drediman
• July 23, 2019
• No Comments

David Torok and PeiJu Chien-Pott in “Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise” at The McCourt at The Shed. Photo by Stephanie Berger.

This past weekend, I was able to catch Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise, the second theatrical offering at The Shed (at its larger McCourt space), the new performing arts complex in Hudson Yards. The piece is the brainchild of director/creator Chen Shi-Zheng, who here has endeavored to stage a kung fu musical and the equivalent of a summer blockbuster film. Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise tells the story of a Chinese American family tasked (cursed?) to protect a sort of “fountain of youth” in — of all places — Flushing, Queens.

Unfortunately, even more than The Shed’s somewhat disappointing inaugural production – the confounding opera/theatrical tone poem hybrid Norma Jeane Baker of Troy (which enticingly featured the duo of Ben Wishaw and Renée Fleming) – Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise squanders its considerable potential. Indeed, the musical is hampered by its banal book (by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger) and severely generic soft-pop score (by Sia, as remixed by The Haxan Cloak). Although some of the melodies are admittedly pleasant, I often cringed at the pointless lyrics and overall clunky storytelling.

Nevertheless, there’s still the martial arts and circus arts inspired spectacle to enjoy, which comes in spurts and is primarily the doing of talented but misused British choreographer Akram Khan. Suffice to say, spectacle alone isn’t enough to save this project, which seemed doomed from the first scene. Despite some impressive physical performances (particularly Jasmine Chiu, whose breathtaking kung fu skills are a standout), the acting all around is embarrassingly wooden.

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

DRAGON SPRING PHOENIX RISE
Off-Broadway, Musical
The McCourt / The Shed
1 hour, 50 minutes (with one intermission)
Through July 27