Sammy drinks from the traditional wedding goblet, then offers the goblet to his new bride. [93] Hammerstein wrote Mei Li's first act song, "I Am Going to Like It Here", in a Malaysian poetic form called pantoum in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza become the first and third lines of the next. According to Hischak, the individual performers do not sing as well as the New York cast; the London recording's strong points are the nightclub numbers. "[89] Michael Kuchwara commented in his lukewarm review for Associated Press: "Then there's Linda Low's gay confidante, Harvard. Instead, they hired actor and dancer Gene Kelly, who had never directed on stage before. Agents were sent to other cities; in Honolulu, they found nightclub singer and native Hawaiian Ed Kenney, who would originate Wang Ta. Wang is also unhappy, despite the club's success, and it is no consolation the crowd is having a good time – after all, in the old country, no crowd ever came to his theater expecting to enjoy themselves. [69] The show regularly sold out and was so popular it became the first show at the Taper to extend its scheduled run. [48] Nevertheless, it was nominated for five Academy Awards and featured choreography by Hermes Pan. It received mostly poor reviews in New York and closed after six months but had a short tour and has since been produced regionally. Unveiled, Mei Li confesses to Sammy's mother that she cannot marry Sammy as she is an illegal alien – a tactic she learned by watching American television. Prologue: [11], Hammerstein, meanwhile, was in Los Angeles at the filming of South Pacific. He vows to marry her after she is falsely accused by the household servants of stealing a clock, though his father forbids it. In interviews, however, Hammerstein pointed out that he had, when necessary, written songs for previous shows while in rehearsals for them. [91], Rodgers and Hammerstein sought to give the new work an Eastern flavor, without using existing oriental music. [79], Subsequent productions have favored the Hwang script, although the older version remains available for license[80] and has received occasional revivals, including a 2006 staged concert as part of Ian Marshall Fisher's Lost Musicals series. '"[14] Ted Chapin, president of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, announced that an unnamed "Asian playwright" had approached him about revising Flower Drum Song. [57] A well-attended production in Oakland in 1993 adhered strictly to the 1958 script, though part of the ballet was cut for lack of rehearsal time;[58] a more heavily censored 1996 production in San Mateo also did well at the box office. Rodgers & Hammerstein did not hesitate to use voice doubles for the movie actors, as they had in previous efforts. Baker; similarly, John Dodson dubs Kam Tong, and no less a personage than Marilyn Horne sings the show's big ballad, "Love, Look Away," in place of Reiko Sato. Lee. [44], Michael Phillips of the Los Angeles Times called the show "wholly revised and gleefully self-aware ... a few tons short of a mega-musical – no fake helicopters here, no power ballads saccharine enough to stop Communism in its tracks. [94] The ballet dramatizes the confused romantic longings of Wang Ta towards the women in his life, and ends as he awakens in Helen Chao's bed. Act II: Lee's novel focuses on a father, Wang Chi-yang, a wealthy refugee from China, who clings to traditional values in San Francisco's Chinatown. "[15] Lewis notes that Chao's role, though diminished in the musical, nevertheless gives it some of its darkest moments, and she serves much the same purpose as Jud Fry: to be, in Hammerstein's words, "the bass fiddle that gives body to the orchestration of the story". [5] While Oklahoma! [14] By the late 1960s, the musical was rarely staged,[31] and was often relegated to dinner theater productions. With the summer approaching, generally a bad time for attendance, it was decided to close the show, and the last Broadway performance was given on May 7, 1960.[37]. The character of Madam Liang was changed "from the wise-owl aunt" to a "savvy career woman" in show business. Producer Gordon Davidson engaged an all-Asian cast, including Broadway star Lea Salonga as Mei-li. By the 1950s, he was barely making a living writing short stories and working as a Chinese teacher, translator and journalist for San Francisco Chinatown newspapers. Sammy's special guests storm out, except for Ta, who is so humiliated that he does not know what to do. [53] The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, which licenses the partnership's works, believes that the work's loss of popularity was due in part to increased racial sensitivity in the U. S. after the civil rights movement. As with most Rodgers & Hammerstein cinematic adaptations, the film conformed closely to the stage work. Talk about stereotypes. A talented dancer, he was cast as Wang San, Ta's thoroughly Americanized younger brother. The film was the only Hollywood adaptation of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical to lose money. Lee and Fields, both present for the local premiere, were given ovations. ... [They] took the safest commercial route by following the eldest son's search for love – the most popular theme at the time with Broadway audiences. Rodgers and Hammerstein shifted the focus of the musical to his son, Wang Ta, who is torn between his Chinese roots and assimilation into American culture. [7] Rodgers and Hammerstein had made it their rule to begin work on their next musical as soon as the last opened on Broadway, but by the start of 1957, six months after Pipe Dream closed, the pair had no new stage musical in prospect. Music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. C.Y. Though it received warm applause from the audience, the critics mostly panned it. [40][41], Following the closure of the Broadway production, a U.S. national tour began on May 10, 1960 in Detroit. The wedding procession moves down San Francisco's Grant Avenue with the bride, heavily veiled, carried on a sedan chair ("Wedding Parade"). Those themes, like it or not, still resonate today. If you like BIG, Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals, this is a definite buy! The album sold a relatively modest 300,000 copies, compared with sales of over a million copies for Rodgers and Hammerstein's next and final musical, The Sound of Music. [85] Ward Morehouse applauded Suzuki for having "a brassy voice and the assurance of a younger Ethel Merman" and termed the production "an excellent Broadway show" though "[p]erhaps it doesn't belong in the same world ... as The King and I and Carousel. "[84] Less enthusiastic, however, was the longtime New York Times critic, Brooks Atkinson, who repeatedly described it as merely "pleasant". Released in 1994, this recording includes popular Chinese folk songs of various types: love songs, humorous songs, drinking songs, lullabies, work songs, shepherds’ songs, children’s songs, philosophical songs and poems. An advertisement in New York Chinatown newspapers received one response. On awakening in her bed, he agrees to an affair, but eventually abandons her, and she commits suicide. It was adapted for a 1961 musical film. [92], Several of the characters are given "I am" songs that introduce them to the audience, allowing the character to express his dreams or desires and for onlookers to establish empathy with the character. [31], C.Y. "[90] Brantley disagreed, writing, "because the show's satiric point of view is so muddled, there's no verve in such numbers, no joy in the performing of them."[65]. [42] After three weeks in Detroit, the show moved to Los Angeles, where the premiere attracted a star-studded audience, including three Scandinavian princesses. Initially, it was given to Larry Storch, a nightclub comic, but during the Boston tryouts, it was given to another Caucasian, Larry Blyden,[21] who was married to Carol Haney, the show's choreographer. [28] Rodgers later wrote, "what was important was that the actors gave the illusion of being Chinese. The principal casts of major productions of the musical (and of the film) have been as follows: *Linda Low's singing voice was dubbed by B. J. Baker, and Chao's "Love, Look Away" was dubbed by Marilyn Horne. Several months pass, and Club Chop Suey has become even flashier ("Chop Suey"). Best Soundtrack Album or Recording of Original Cast from Motion Picture or Television. The 2002 revival restored "My Best Love", a song that was cut from the original production, which is sung by Chin. [71] Half the cast was dismissed after the Los Angeles run for unstated reasons. Impatient at Ta's inability to find a wife, Wang arranges for a picture bride for his son. "Prefabricated success: Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, "'Forty Percent Is Luck': An Interview with C. Y. Flower Drum Song Synopsis - Broadway musical Chinese girl Mei-Li, actress of Chinese opera, runs from her native country after the death of her father, who was in jail for failing to follow the communist ideas. Hammerstein consulted with Rodgers, and they agreed to make it their next work, to be written and produced in association with Fields. Flower Drum Song Songs - Download Flower Drum Song mp3 songs to your Hungama account. They had, however, been working since 1956 on the popular television version of Cinderella, which was broadcast on CBS on March 31, 1957. Act I. Ta can not forget Mei-li, and his uncle Chin (a janitor under the new regime) advises Ta to pursue her ("My Best Love"). It is based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. [1] The closing was followed by a national tour that garnered mixed reviews, although Hwang stated that it was well received in every city except New York. Get the complete list of Flower Drum Song mp3 songs free online. Werbefrei streamen oder als CD und MP3 kaufen bei Amazon.de. This forced him to hurry his writing, as the production team had hoped to have the show in rehearsal by the start of September; this was postponed by two weeks. [2] The show attracted considerable advance sales; even when these were exhausted, sales remained strong and sellouts were the norm. The cast album still gets the nod over this re-creation, but both give a good sense of this enjoyable, if minor Rodgers & Hammerstein effort. Lee fled war-torn China in the 1940s and came to the United States, where he attended Yale University's playwriting program, graduating in 1947 with an M.F.A. Lee's novel centers on Wang Chi-yang, a 63-year-old man who fled China to avoid the communists. [21] Once the songs were finalized, Robert Russell Bennett, who had orchestrated several of the creators' most successful previous shows, did the same for the score of Flower Drum Song. [98] Patrick Adiarte, who originated the role of Wang San, however, saw it as "corny stuff ... put in there to get a laugh". For example, New York Journal American critic John McClain stated, "Flower Drum Song is a big fat Rodgers and Hammerstein hit, and nothing written here will have the slightest effect on the proceeds. A review in London's The Times compared this production with "the much grander production of Show Boat currently docked at the Albert Hall" and judged that "Flower Drum Song makes the more stimulating experience."[81]. My only thought was to keep on doing what I was doing, and I saw nothing in the future that could stop me. [66] The revival was originally planned for the 2,000-seat Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, but to save money he moved it to the nearby 739-seat Mark Taper Forum. They marry anyway. [72] Hwang considerably altered and trimmed his long script during Broadway rehearsals and previews; "The Next Time It Happens" was removed from the show. 5 star 79% 4 star 12% 3 star 6% 2 star 2% 1 star 2% How are ratings calculated? [31][46], Lewis calls the 1961 film version of Flower Drum Song, starring Umeki, Soo, Hall and Suzie Wong star Nancy Kwan, "a bizarre pastiche of limping mediocrity". He finds her in a fortune cookie factory working alongside Chao. In the morning, Mei Li delivers Master Wang's coat for Helen to mend and is distressed to see Ta's dinner jacket there. Flower Drum Song ‎ (CD, Album, RE) Sony Classical: SK 60958: US: 1999: Sell This Version [50] Other early productions included successful revivals by the St. Louis Municipal Opera in 1961 and 1965[51] and revivals in the San Francisco area in 1963 and 1964, both times with Soo as Sammy Fong. Nearly fifty years later, a musical with the same title and the same score but with a very different book was a flop. [45] The tour continued to be successful, spending 21 weeks in Chicago alone. Linda announces that she is leaving for Los Angeles, as Wang's "Sammy Fong" act has effectively taken over the show, and she has received a better offer. [29], The show opened in London's Palace Theatre on March 24, 1960 and ran for 464 performances. Sie finden Rezensionen und Details zu einer vielseitigen Blu-ray- und DVD-Auswahl – … Mei-li joins the opera company ("I Am Going to Like It Here") and is soon attracted to the indifferent Ta, who favors Linda. Opened at the St. James Theatre, New York, 1 December 1958 with Miyoshi Umeki (Mei Li), Larry Blyden (Sammy Fong) and Ed Kenney (Wang Ta). To Chinese Americans, the musical "represented political incorrectness incarnate. [88] Ben Brantley of The New York Times applauded the creative team's "honorable intentions" in bringing back a work thought to be "terminally out-of-date", but felt both the new Mei-li and the show in general lacked personality. The songs are all there, except for the lacklustre "The Other Generation". [78] Lee also felt that the influential Times review had hurt the show's acceptance, but commented that Hwang added some dialogue to Act II after the Los Angeles run that Lee felt slowed the show down. Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Flower Drum Song - 1958 Broadway Cast Recording on AllMusic [49] It was less successfully revived by that company five years later; though it still attracted large crowds, local critics complained that Hammerstein's view of Asians was outdated. Rodgers and Hammerstein refers to the duo of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together were an influential, innovative and successful American musical theatre writing team. That changes when Ta sees her in a Western dress ("Like a God"). It is the basis of 1958 musical Flower Drum Song, and later a movie of the same title, released in 1961, starring Nancy Kwan and James Shigeta. Flower Drum Song, that rarity among Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals, a moderate hit (otherwise, their shows were either smashes like South Pacific or flops like Me & Juliet), also became a moderately successful film in late 1961, three years after its Broadway opening; it just barely ranked among the ten highest-grossing movies of 1962. It features dubbing by the opera singer Marilyn Horne ("Love, Look Away") and band singer B. J. Baker (for Linda Low's songs). Qualifizierte Bestellungen werden kostenlos geliefert. [8] Rodgers was still recovering from an operation for cancer in a tooth socket, and he was drinking heavily[9] and suffering from depression. The 1961 album from the film uses a larger orchestra and, according to Hischak, has a fuller sound than the Broadway recording. [13], The musical retained Lee's "central theme – a theme coursing through much 20th-century American literature: the conflict between Old World immigrants and their New World offspring". [59], In 1996, while attending the successful revival of The King and I, Chinese-American playwright David Henry Hwang considered whether other Rodgers and Hammerstein shows could be revived and decided to work on Flower Drum Song. [14] According to The New York Times, Hwang "has reshaped the story to elucidate two of his own abiding thematic interests: the idea of the theater as a prism for society and the generational clashes of diversely assimilated immigrants. Wang also has a severe cough, which he does not wish to have cured, feeling that it gives him authority in his household. The impetuous Ta asks Linda to marry him. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the West End and on tour. She agrees, but she needs family consent and lies, saying that she has a brother who will approve the marriage. Ta and Mei-li quarrel; she takes her flower drum and leaves Club Chop Suey. Cast album sales were similar to previous Rodgers and Hammerstein hits. [74] Attendance was near-capacity during the first month of the run, but then dropped off precipitously. [10] In June 1957, Rodgers checked himself into Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic, and he remained there for twelve weeks. [22] Pat Suzuki, a Japanese-American who had been interned during World War II, was a recent arrival in New York who had made strong positive impressions for her singing on such television programs as The Tonight Show (with Jack Paar) and The Ed Sullivan Show. [75], The production was directed and choreographed by Longbottom, with scenic design by Robin Wagner, costume design by Gregg Barnes and lighting design by Natasha Katz. [24] Kelly and the show's choreographer, Carol Haney, journeyed to cities across the country to seek out talent. After the release of the 1961 film version, the musical was rarely produced, as it presented casting issues and fears that Asian-Americans would take offense at how they are portrayed. Wang's elder son, Wang Ta, woos Linda Tung, but on learning that she has many men in her life, drops her; he later learns she is a nightclub dancer. Nightclub owner Sammy Fong arrives with an offer for Ta's immigrant father, Master Wang, a very old-fashioned Chinatown elder. Flower Drum Song was one of five Asian-themed plays on Broadway in 1959, which despite the partial casting of white actors in yellowface, offered acting … "[86] Critic Kenneth Tynan, in The New Yorker magazine, alluded to the show The World of Suzie Wong in dismissing Flower Drum Song with the spoonerism, "a world of woozy song". Even professional companies found it difficult to round up an entire cast of Asian singer-dancer-actors. [14] The song "The Other Generation" was deleted; "My Best Love", which had been cut in tryouts in 1958, was restored in its place, and "The Next Time It Happens" was imported from Pipe Dream. [23], The team found it difficult to fill the remaining places in the company with Asian performers, especially in the chorus. "[14] Joshua Logan recommended a young Japanese actress, Miyoshi Umeki, whom he had discovered and cast the previous year opposite Marlon Brando in the film Sayonara (for which she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar); she was cast as Mei Li. Linda does her striptease, realizing too late who is sitting at the best table. Many lines of dialogue were cut, and producer Fred Van Patten stated that "[w]hat we've done is cut things in the show that Asians said to make white people laugh. A Hundred Million Miracles – Mei Li, Dr. Li, Wang, Madam Liang and Liu Ma. Linda, goaded beyond endurance when Sammy raises his glass to her, dumps a champagne bucket over his head. While his sons and sister-in-law are integrating into American culture, Wang stubbornly resists assimilation and speaks only two words of English, "Yes" and "No". [97] Although not a formal musical number, the brief "You Be the Rock, I'll Be the Roll", sung and danced by Linda and by Wang San, Ta's Americanized teenage brother, was described by Lewis as "virtually the first self-consciously rock and roll ditty ever sung" in a Broadway musical. As such, the differences between the original Broadway cast album and the original motion picture soundtrack have to do with casting and orchestrations. Act I: The team decided to include a song for Sammy Fong to explain to Mei Li that they should not wed. Flower Drum Song, that rarity among Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals, a moderate hit (otherwise, their shows were either smashes like South Pacific or flops like Me & Juliet), also became a moderately successful film in late 1961, three years after its Broadway opening; it just barely ranked among the ten highest-grossing movies of 1962. Top reviews. Despite his irritation at Ta, Wang allows him to marry Mei-li at the club (which now features Ta's Chinese opera one day a week), as the company celebrates how Chinese and American cultures have converged to create this happy moment (Finale: "A Hundred Million Miracles"). View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the Vinyl release of Flower Drum Song on Discogs. Dick and Oscar and Joe mined C. Y. Lee's novel for the generational conflict and for the three women who substantiated Ta's honorable search for love. Ta's blind date proves to be the thoroughly Americanized Linda Low, who we will learn is Sammy Fong's girlfriend and a stripper at his club. [61] Hwang's involvement was soon revealed, and in 1997, C. Y. Lee announced that the rewrite had his approval. Author C. Y. Lee, who had quietly watched the rehearsals, recalled that, at the Boston performances, Hammerstein would have a secretary mark on the script any sound of the chairs squeaking, as indicating that the audience was restless. degree. [39] Both the production and the London cast album were well received. [52], The musical proved difficult to produce for amateur and school groups, however, because it requires a cast either Asian or made up as Asian. After their extraordinary early successes, beginning with Oklahoma! 544 global ratings. [18], The three producers sought Chinese, or at least Asian, actors to fill the cast, an idea that was, at the time, considered "very risky". 4.6 out of 5 stars. [14] Hammerstein and Fields shifted the focus of the story, however, from the elder Wang, who is central to Lee's novel, to his son Ta. On arrival in the United States, Mei-li goes to the Golden Pearl Theatre in San Francisco's Chinatown, where little-attended Chinese opera is presented by her father's old friend Wang Chi-yang and Wang's foster brother Chin. [43] San Francisco gave the show a rapturous reception when it opened at the Curran Theatre on August 1. Ing also participated in The X Factor. Attendance began to decline in December 1959, though it continued to draw at above the 70% of capacity level which a Broadway play then needed to meet expenses. No formal audition was held in San Francisco's Chinatown, and the only find was Forbidden City nightclub comedian Goro "Jack" Suzuki (who soon changed his name to Jack Soo), who was cast as Frankie Wing, comedian at Sammy Fong's Celestial Bar. Ta brings Mei Li a wedding gift of a pair of his mother's earrings that she wore on her wedding day and tries unsuccessfully to hide the fact that he is now deeply in love with her. Sammy has taken the liberty of bringing the girl and her father with him; Wang is charmed ("A Hundred Million Miracles") and invites them to live in his home on the understanding that if the proposed marriage falls through, Fong will still be bound to marry Mei Li. The remastered audio is clear, & the added features of the subtitles is nice - especially if you don't hear/understand accents. [89], As with many of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musicals, the work features a ballet at the start of the second act, choreographed in the original production by Carol Haney. The team hired Gene Kelly to make his debut as a stage director with the musical and scoured the country for a suitable Asian – or at least, plausibly Asian-looking – cast. The extroverted, Americanized woman is not what Wang has in mind for his elder son, and Wang and Ta argue. [94] Although Hischak describes Rodgers as "the greatest waltz composer America has ever seen",[96] Flower Drum Song was the first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical not to feature one. Miyoshi Umeki and Juanita Hall appeared both on Broadway and onscreen, and the song score was transferred intact, but for the deletion of one song, "Like a God." 'It was kind of a guilty pleasure ... and one of the only big Hollywood films where you could see a lot of really good Asian actors onscreen, singing and dancing and cracking jokes. Sammy quickly strikes back by inviting the Wangs, Mei Li and her father to watch the show at his "Celestial Bar" ("Fan Tan Fannie"). [31], In 1960, the London cast recording was released. Flower Drum Song ( 1961) Flower Drum Song. The firm sent the manuscript to an elderly reader for evaluation. [26] The role of Madam Liang, Master Wang's sister-in-law, fell to Juanita Hall, a light-skinned African American who had played a Tonkinese (Vietnamese) woman, Bloody Mary, in South Pacific. I Enjoy Being a Girl – Linda and Company. Grammy. [70], The success of the Los Angeles run sparked sufficient investment to move the show to Broadway. [20] Critics note, in any case, that Asian-Americans "had found few opportunities in mainstream theatre. Flower Drum Song Lyrics Act 1 Overture You Are Beautiful A Hundred Million Miracles I Enjoy Being a Girl I Am Going to Like It Here Like a God Chop Suey Don't Marry Me Grant Avenue Love, Look Away Fan Tan Fannie Gliding Through My Memory Act 2 The Other Generation Sunday Wedding Parade/Finale "[83] The New York Daily Mirror termed it, "Another notable work by the outstanding craftsmen of our musical theatre ... a lovely show, an outstanding one in theme and treatment. Flower Drum Song was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. "[29], When rehearsals began in September 1958, Hammerstein was absent, still recuperating from his surgery. Act I: Rodgers and Hammerstein transformed a song entitled "She Is Beautiful" into "You Are Beautiful". Nevertheless, she called the touring production superior to the Broadway one. [60] Chapin called the musical "a naive, old fashioned, anti-feminist story with a truly great score. [14] The role of Mei-li (as spelled in the revision) was expanded. Linda is soon signed by talent agent Rita Liang, who pushes Wang to turn the theater into a club full-time ("Grant Avenue"), and he reluctantly opens Club Chop Suey. [73], Opening night at the Virginia Theatre on October 17, 2002 was attended by veterans of the film and 1958 production. Four other shows with Asian themes had opened or were in rehearsal in New York, and the demand for the few Asian actors was strong. It's one that ... needs changes. [14] Chinatown is portrayed as a more gritty and difficult place for new immigrants, and the pursuit of material success is given a more cynical face, especially in Act II. Meanwhile, in New York, the three producers were visiting dance schools. [31] The production used Haney's choreography, Bennett's orchestrations and the Broadway set and costume designs, but was directed and supervised by Jerome Whyte.
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