Most people know Bruce Lee as the global icon who redefined action cinema, but for his daughter, Shannon Lee, the most important part of his story actually started in the neighborhoods of Seattle. With the world premiere of Young Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story arriving at Seattle Children’s Theatre, Bruce Lee Foundation founder Shannon Lee is reflecting on why this local history is the best way to introduce her father’s legacy to a new generation.

The timing of Young Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story is a major milestone for Lee, who has watched the project develop for years. “It’s always really rewarding when a project that’s been in the works for a couple years finally comes to fruition, and you get to actually attend and watch it, so it’s very rewarding,” she says. This play is particularly special to her because it is designed for families and children ages eight and up. She sees it as a way to make his legacy accessible to young people in a way that feels personal rather than legendary.

The Foundation of a Legacy

While many associate Bruce Lee with his Hollywood pictures, his time in Seattle was where he truly found his footing. He arrived in the city as a young man with a job at a family friend’s restaurant and a drive to establish himself. During those years, he became a husband and a father, and opened his very first martial arts schools. Lee believes these years are the real bedrock of who her father became.

“This is where he came and established himself in the United States,” Lee explains. “He came up to Seattle because they had family friends that had a Chinese restaurant where they could give him a job and a place to stay. And so, he came up to Seattle and… it’s really foundational to who he would later become, because here he had to learn about and integrate into an entirely new culture.”

Breaking Tradition in the Classroom

A major theme of the production is Bruce Lee’s decision to break with tradition. At the time, it was not considered appropriate to teach Chinese Kung Fu to non-Chinese students. Lee ignored those rules and opened his doors to anyone who wanted to learn. Lee sees the stage as a living classroom that mirrors the work of the Bruce Lee Foundation, which uses martial arts and mindfulness to help youth with resilience.

“He broke with tradition in that way, and it created an environment where everybody felt equal,” Lee says. “Everybody was there together. Everybody was excited for what they were doing, and that’s the environment that I want to create – that we want to demonstrate in this show and the one that we create in our [Foundation] programming as well.”

Turning Philosophy into Action

Young Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story also explores the famous “be water” philosophy. Lee, who wrote the book Be Water, My Friend, says that seeing these ideas turned into physical movement on stage helps people understand them better. To her, philosophy isn’t just something to talk about; it has to be lived to be useful. She notes that her father once said philosophy can be the disease for which it pretends to be the cure.

“Philosophy sounds great when you’re talking about it, but it’s not really meant to just be talked about. It’s meant to be lived,” she says. “So to be able to take water and actually show it visually…to actually show it through movement. Suddenly now, the quote becomes a little bit more alive for you and you go, ‘Oh, I thought it was a cool quote, but now I kind of get it.'”

Lee continues to bring her father’s teachings to the page. She recently co-authored the Breathmarked young adult fantasy series, which concludes this fall with the release of Mark of the Warrior. Arriving in October, the book continues to draw from her father’s legacy and teachings.

Putting Values First

The road to the Seattle premiere involved some tough decisions, including the choice to cancel a run at the Kennedy Center to keep the focus on the Seattle production and the safety of the cast. For Lee, the decision was about staying true to her father’s history of standing up against exclusion.

“My father is the guy who kicked the ‘no dogs and Chinese allowed’ sign in his movie,” Lee says. “He’s the guy who didn’t want to be called the sick man of Asia. And so, to go and mount the play in a place where a sense of inclusivity and safety might be at question is not really in line with his legacy and what he stood for.”

As the show opens, Lee hopes the audience leaves feeling the same inspiration her father’s energy always provided. Through this play and her work as a Board member at the Wing Luke Museum, she is making sure the Seattle chapter of the Bruce Lee story stays right where it belongs.

“Bruce Lee ignited a feeling in people,” Lee reflects. “It made them feel excited or inspired or… really engaged and feeling like they wanted to push for something or reach for something that had them feel uplifted. So my hope is that’s how people feel when they leave the theater, and especially kids, and that they go, ‘Oh, that Bruce Lee guy was cool. I wonder what else there is to know about him?'”

Young Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story opens at Seattle Children’s Theatre February 20 and runs through March 22.