Kurt Kwan and Sun Mee Chomet in Mu Performing Arts' "Cowboy Vs Samurai"
Photo: Michal Daniel
COWBOY VS. SAMURAI
Presented by Mu Performing Arts in the Guthrie Theater's Dowling Studio, Michael Golamco's "Cowboy Vs. Samurai" transpires in the fictional town of Breakneck, Wyoming-- the Asian-American population of which totals three. As a contemporary re-telling of "Cyrano DeBergerac" unfolds, the play explores the interplay of ethnicity and desire.
To reflect the show's cultural convergence, director Randy Reyes wanted music that fused the sensibilities of classic Western film scores, traditional Asian musics, and hip hop. Fascinated as I am by the points of contact between musical styles, I had a lot fun putting these cues together.
LO MEIN WESTERN
A sweeping theme for lights down at the top of the show. Eventually we carved out loops and buttons for use as scene change music, as well as to underscore the climax of the narrative.
Lo Mein Western [ mp3 ]
HIGH PLAINS NINJA
A loping, shambling piece used for a couple of scene changes. Suggestive of a journey. As elsewhere, I resisted the urge to correct little lurches in the performance to preserve the organic feel.
High Plains Ninja [ mp3 ]
FISTFUL OF FURY
An upbeat, somewhat ominous cue that also covered a couple of scene changes-- most notably preceding a break-in by a character wearing a ninja costume.
Fistful of Fury [ mp3 ]
BRUCE LEE PRAYER [ UNDERSCORE ]
Atmosphere to underscore an invocation of Bruce Lee, identified by the speaker as "the supreme Asian male". Started out far more detailed; we kept stripping it down for more of a sonic wallpaper effect, to keep it subordinate to the speech onstage. Playback volume was kept very low.
Bruce Lee Prayer [ underscore ] [ mp3 ]
FIRE MONOLOGUE [ UNDERSCORE ]
An evocative string composition to accompany a monologue about a tragic fire.
Fire Monologue Underscore [ mp3 ]
FIRE [ W/ BEAT ]
The above cue augmented by a heaping helping of rhythm to drive into a scene change.
