The Kuperman brothers, from Canada, are trained dancers, but they used their martial arts skills to choreograph scenes in the Tony-nominated musical adaptation of The Outsiders.
Rick and Jeff Kuperman’s Broadway debut is up for best choreography at the 77th Tony Awards, which take place 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 Outsiders, a 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.
“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. »
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 egoless approach to art-making with a collaborator like your brother is kind of a microcosm for the kinds of artistic environments you want to create when you’re running large-scale productions,” he said.
Working on stage musicals can “feel a little siled” since the productions require many different skills, but that wasn’t the case with The Outsiders, Kuperman 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.
Elsewhere, fellow Canadian Rachel McAdams is up for Best Actress in a Play for her Broadway debut in Mary Jane, which is also nominated for Best Play.
The Tony Awards ceremony, hosted by actress Ariana DeBose in New York, will air Sunday night on CBS.
