After seeing iterations as a successful movie franchise, an acclaimed streaming series and even a cartoon, on Wednesday The Karate Kid made it's debut as a musical in St. Louis. With a book written by the original creator of The Karate Kid, screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen, and music and lyrics by composer Drew Gasparini, the musical is said to stick to the spirit of the original movie while putting a new spin things.

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The show places a bit of additional emphasis on Asian cultural elements with Japanese director Amon Miyamoto at the helm. Meanwhile, Filipino-American choreographers Keone and Mari Madrid relied on a blend of karate and hip-hop moves for the dance numbers. John Cardoza stars as karate kid Daniel LaRusso and Jovanni Sy plays his teacher, the inimitable Mr. Miyagi. The debut at Kirkwood Performing Arts Center received generally favorable reviews and the show is scheduled to run there through June 26. After that, the plan is to move to the big stage of Broadway.