Kiss My Converse
If you doubt the impact Bruce Lee had on generation of black Americans, you haven’t asked RZA or seen The Last Dragon. Like a love letter from Motown’s Berry Gordy, this martial-arts musical features choreography by Lester Wilson (Saturday Night Fever, The Wiz) and music by Debarge, Stevie Wonder, and Smokey Robinson — not to mention a star turn by Vanity, as a VJ who must be saved from an evil video arcade mogul. Our hero “Bruce” Leroy Green — played by 19-year-old black belt Taimak — is a young, worthy New Yorker sent on a quest to attain The Glow. Enter Julius J. Carry III as Sho’nuff, the Shogun of Harlem, who sends a personal challenge to our main man by destroying the Greens’ family pizza parlor. Since The Last Dragon was released 30 years ago, it’s become a cult classic, with fan sites, sequels, fiction, art, T-shirts, and — if RZA has his way — a long-awaited remake. Enjoy the original with a crowd and a superfan — comedian and commentator W. Kamau Bell — who will be interviewing Taimak live after the show.
415-863-1087
