WHEN “JUMP,” the off-Broadway martial-arts comedy from Korea, opened last week at Union Square Theater, we were intrigued. Nervously, we took our seats. The press materials told us to expect Jackie Chan meets Charlie Chaplin, so we were kind of scared. Hype like that can only mean “yellow face” vaudeville. Buffoonery. Shame.

And yet, we didn’t run for the exit. It could be a lot worse. Bruce Lee meets Busby Berkeley came to mind. Jet Li meets “High School Musical.” Okay, enough, let’s keep an open mind, we told ourselves. This was an all-Asian production and we really wanted it to do well. Just as we did with the “Flower Drum Song” revival—the one with the Asian showgirls dancing around in giant, light-up take-out cartons.

Then came an ominous sign. Before the performance began, a stage-manager character called the Old Man shuffled up and down the aisles with a cane. Dressed in gray pajamas, he had a snow-white wig, a bent back, and a padded butt that stuck out like, well, like a horse’s ass. Making wheezing noises of exertion, he grunted and and made people in the crowd carry him from one place to the next. The mixed (but mostly white) audience tittered. It was kind of funny in a what-in-Buddha’s-name-is-going-on? kind of way. When the Old Man came our way, of course we averted our eyes (we hate it when our elders make fools of themselves, and we hate audience-participation even more).

Mercifully, the prelude was brief and the energetic opening number soon erased our doubts. The cast members introduced themselves with a giddy mix of martial arts and gymnastics. Played by a rotating roster of Olympic gymnasts, tae kwon do champs and maybe a breakdancer or two, the characters include Grandfather (signature move: “Flying Without Wings”), Mother (signature move: “The Groin Blast”), Father (“The Dodge”), Daughter (“Talk to the Feet”), Son-in-law (“The Flip Flop”), Uncle (“Drunken Chop”).

All the action takes place in the family room of a Korean household. There’s a lot of physical humor since there’s almost no dialogue and not much of a plot. It’s basically a live-action cartoon straight out of the “Kung Fu Hustle” playbook. A madcap medley of “Tom & Jerry” chase scenes, complete with sound effects and giant mallets. Pratfalls and visual gags. Musical cues and lots of ham.

The show kicks it up three notches when two bumbling burglars (one skinny, one fat) break into the family home and basically steal the show. When the family members take turns battling the bad guys, that’s when we began to see how this show (originally staged by Korea’s renowned Yegam Theatre Company) became such a megahit in Asia and Europe.

The audience was completely won over by the time the show closed with a rousing number chock-full of impressive stunts—lots of jumping and wall flips and and mid-air turns. The show was fun and exhilarating, and it kicked some major ass, but it’s not exactly sophisticated theater. In fact, the best and most telling reactions came from the kids in the audience who really ate it up.

“Whoa, that’s cool,” said one boy after seeing a long tumbling run. Later on, he caught a dirty sock tossed by a performer and proceeded to smell it and pass it on to his brothers. Ah, the universal appeal of bodily humor.

Make no mistake, this is a family show. And on opening night, the Most Famous Family in the World, the Brangelina Bunch, was in the audience and they apparently loved the show. Of course, they only took the Asian kids.

Seriously, if you’re coming to New York, go see this show. If Blue Man Group can have a 16-year theatrical run, so can the Yellow Men! “Jump” has an unlimited engagement at Union Square Theatre, 100 East 17th Street. Click here for tickets.

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