''Be Like Water'' (2008) is a play written by Dan Kwong, originally produced at

East West Players East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As the nation's first professional Asian American theatre organization, East West Players continues to produce works and educational programs that give ...

, in association with Cedar Grove OnStage. The play received its

world premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...

in Los Angeles on September 17, 2008, directed by

Chris Tashima Christopher Inadomi Tashima (born March 24, 1960) is a Japanese American actor and director. He is co-founder of the entertainment company Cedar Grove Productions and Artistic Director of its Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. ...

, at East West Players'

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yellow ...

Theater at the Union Center for the Arts in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

.''Be Like Water''
on EWP site The story follows a young

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

girl in 1970s

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, who is visited by the Ghost of

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

Play summary

Tracy Fong is a 13-year-old ass-kicking, gung-fu fanatic tomboy, challenged by school bullies, airhead rivals, and a mother who just wants her to be a "normal girl." When bad goes to worse, the Ghost of Bruce Lee appears to teach her the true meaning of strength and the true power of water.

Characters

; Tracy Fong: 13, Chinese Japanese American. Tomboy-ish, tough, quick-tempered, defiant. ; Ghost of Bruce Lee: 32, Tracy's mentor,

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

. The greatest martial artist in the world. Cocky, intense, philosophical yet funny. ; Kimiko Fong: 38, Tracy's mother,

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...

. Elegant, tightly-wound, upper-class roots, can go from cheery to icy in a flash. ; Frank Fong: 35, Tracy's father, Chinese American. Easy going working-class guy, droll sense of humor, not easily angered. ; Bruce Lee: 13, Tracy's best friend, Chinese American. Scrawny, nerdy, acerbic wit, great

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

-dancer. An unapologetic oddball. ; Jeremy Morton: 14, School bully, Caucasian. Working-class, tough, angry. ; Tina Kawai MacDonald: 13, Tracy's classmate,

Hapa Hapa () is a Hawaiian word for someone of multiracial ancestry. In Hawaii, the word refers to any person of mixed ethnic heritage, regardless of the specific mixture.: "Thus, for locals in Hawai’i, both hapa or hapa haole are used to depi ...

(Japanese Caucasian). Pretty, fashionable dresser, highly groomed, rather superficial. ; Two Hooded-

Ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

s: Companions of the Ghost in his Nether-world domain.

World Premiere company

East West Players, Los Angeles, California; Opened September 17, 2009; Closed October 12, 2009

Original Los Angeles cast

(in order of appearance) * ''Ghost of Bruce Lee'' – Cesar Cipriano * ''Tracy'' – Saya Tomioka * ''Bruce Lee'' – Shawn Huang * ''Jeremy'' – Jonathan Decker * ''Frank'' – Michael Sun Lee * ''Kimiko'' – Pam Hayashida * ''Tina'' – Ariel Rivera * ''Hooded Ninjas'' – Michael Sun Lee, Pam Hayashida, Ariel Rivera, Jonathan Decker

Los Angeles production staff

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

– Chris Tashima * Martial Arts Choreographers –

Diana Lee Inosanto Diana Lee Inosanto is an American actress, director, former stunt performer, and Martial arts, martial artist. She also wrote and directed the film ''The Sensei'' (2008), and wrote the 2020 children's book ''The Curious Mind of Sebastian''. Per ...

Ron Balicki Ron Balicki (born September 2, 1963) is an American actor, martial artist and stuntman for various films and television series. He is also a well known martial arts practitioner, teacher, and author. He is a student of and son-in-law to Dan In ...

* Dance Choreographer – Blythe Matsui *

Set Designer Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including plays and musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, where it may be referred to as prod ...

– Akeime Mitterlehner *

Costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costum ...

– Naomi Yoshida * Lighting designer – Jose Lopez *

Sound Designer In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

Music Composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

– Dave Iwataki *

Projection Designer Video design or projection design is a creative field of stagecraft. It is concerned with the creation and integration of film, motion graphics and live camera feed into the fields of theatre, opera, dance, fashion shows, concerts and other live e ...

– Alexander Gao *

Property Master The property master, often called the prop(s) master, is an artistic and organizational employee in a film, television or theatrical production who is responsible for purchasing, acquiring, manufacturing, properly placing, and/or overseeing any pro ...

– Ken Takemoto * Hair, Makeup & Mask Design – Alyssa Ravenwood *

Stage Manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

– Ondina V. Dominguez

Reviews

9/19/08 review by F. Kathleen Foley
for

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

9/19/08 review by Cristofer Gross
on theatertimes.org

10/17/08 review by William Hong on Asia Pacific Arts
(

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Asia Institute)
Oct. '08 review by Edward Pollard
for

Black Belt (magazine) ''Black Belt'' is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports. The magazine is based in Hollywood, California, and is one of the oldest titles dedicated to martial arts in the United States. History and profile The magazine was ...

Awards

* 2009 ''

Backstage Backstage may refer to: * Backstage (theatre), the areas of a theatre that are not part of the house or stage Film and television * ''Back Stage'' (1917 film), a silent film starring Oliver Hardy * ''Back Stage'' (1919 film), a silent film starri ...

'' Garland's Critics List (Jennie Webb):Garland Critics List
on Back Stage site - 3/13/09 ** CHOREOGRAPHY –

, and Blythe Matsui **SOUND DESIGN – Dave Iwataki

References

{{reflist

External links

* Playwrigh
Dan Kwong's website
2008 plays Asian-American plays Cultural depictions of Bruce Lee Martial arts mass media Plays based on real people Plays set in the 1970s Plays set in Chicago Chinese-American literature Japanese-American literature