The Karate Kid: The Musical - Knockout show hits the right notes in Sheffield

There’s been no shortage of musical adaptations of beloved 1980s movies in recent years - with Back to The Future, Heathers and Beetlejuice all making the transfer from screen to stage.

Now it is the turn of The Karate Kid - and even the theatre production’s composer Drew Gasparini has admitted that some will have initially rolled their eyes at the idea of it getting the musical treatment.

I must admit I wasn’t totally sure how the famous coming-of-age story of bullied new-kid-in-town Daniel LaRusso learning karate and the life lessons it teaches through his unlikely friendship with Mr Miyagi would work with the addition of songs.

But I went along to watch the opening night of the Sheffield leg of its UK tour with my 10-year-old son, who is learning karate himself, with an open mind and we swiftly found ourselves knocked out by a fantastic production.

The 15 original songs created for the show all serve a clear purpose in adroitly moving the story along.

While the plot and many of the scenes wisely stay faithful to the original film, the enjoyable songs provide a deeper insight into the characters and help the show rattle through its two-and- a-half runtime (including a 20-minute interval).

The role of Daniel was performed on the night by understudy and real-life black belt Isaac J Lewis, who did a superb job and had a natural chemistry with experienced Shakespearean actor Adrian Pang who plays Mr Miyagi with a combination of great comic timing and pathos.

Their story is paralleled by that of the antagonists John Kreese (Matt Mills), who runs the Cobra Kai gym and demands his students - including Daniel’s chief tormentor and love rival Johnny (Joe Simmons) - show no mercy in their use of violence and dirty tricks to meet their aims.

In contrast, Mr Miyagi teaches that violence is a last resort and true courage comes from preventing conflict where possible and resolving it with dignity when not.

The show’s light-hearted first half gives way to a more moving and emotional second half as the reasons why Mr Miyagi lives alone become apparent and Daniel and his mother Lucille (Sharon Sexton) reflect on the impact of the death of Daniel’s father on their lives.

Fight scenes are never simple to stage but the show builds to an impressive and gripping crescendo as Daniel and Johnny face off at a karate tournament.

There is never much doubt about the outcome, even if you’ve not seen the film before, but the rapturous applause from the enthusiastic Tuesday night audience at the end demonstrated how adeptly such a well-known story has been adapted into a musical.

As we left, I asked my own karate kid what he had made of the show. “Absolutely brilliant,” he said. I’d have to agree.

The Karate Kid: The Musical is on at Sheffield Lyceum until Saturday July 11. Visit sheffieldtheatres.co.uk for tickets and information.