Canada’s Kuperman Brothers are trained dancers, but they used their martial arts skills to choreograph scenes for the musical adaptation of the work The Outsiderswho is nominated for the Tony Awards.
Rick and Jeff Kuperman’s Broadway debut is up for best choreography at the 77e Tony Awards ceremony, which will take place on Sunday.
The production, adapted from the classic novel by S. E. Hinton and the film by Francis Ford Coppola, is a top nominee with a total of 12 nominations, including Best Director and Best Musical.
The Outsidersa coming-of-age drama that follows the rivalry of two gangs in Tulsa, Oklahoma, challenged the Kupermans to deliver authentic depictions of violence on stage.
Both brothers have black belts in Kenpo, an American style of karate, which helped them choreograph the fights between the Greasers and the Socs.
“We only really experience violence in our lives through television and film and the tools that those mediums have to make that violence visceral and impactful are different from the set of tools that theater makers have,” explained Rick Kuperman interviewed from New York.
“I think studying martial arts has really helped us develop a vocabulary that allows us to redirect real force on stage, as opposed to some sort of fake force play. »
A collaboration between brothers
The Kupermans grew up in the Toronto area, got their start in dance in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and have worked together professionally for 13 years – usually on major projects such as the film Dicks: The Musical with Nathan Lane and Megan Thee Stallion. The duo has also worked in television, directing music videos for artists such as Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, and choreographing works in Russia and China.
“I think the reason we turn to large-scale productions like Broadway musicals or feature films is because ultimately they are the product of hundreds of people working together,” Kuperman said. .
The brothers discovered their passion for choreography while in college, he said, and were particularly interested in how the art form could enrich storytelling in dance and theater. .
“Practicing collaboration and an ego-free approach to creating art with a collaborator like your brother is a sort of microcosm for the types of artistic environments you want to create when directing large-scale productions,” he said. noted.
Working on stage musicals can “feel a bit siloed” since the productions require many different skills, but that wasn’t the case with The OutsidersKuperman added.
“It was really a unified experience and I think that’s why the show is special at the end of the day,” he testified, expressing his hope for the opportunity to bring the show to Toronto.
The Kuperman brothers are in competition with the choreographers of Water for Elephants, Hell’s Kitchen, Here Lies Love And Illinois in their category at the Tony Awards.
Elsewhere, their Canadian compatriot Rachel McAdams is in the running for Best Actress in a Play for her Broadway debut in Mary Janewhich is also nominated for best play.
The Tony Awards ceremony, hosted by actress Ariana DeBose in New York, will air Sunday evening on CBS.