Flower Drum Song: A Revival in Every Sense of the Word
Written: Sep 30 '02 (Updated Oct 01 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The vocal talents of Salonga and Llana. The comic timing of Long and Kim.
Cons: Chop Suey number. A few cliched moments.
The Bottom Line: Brilliant director, playwright and cast breathe new life into formerly uninspiring musical. Ideally cast characters provide a more nuanced and perceptive take on life in the States for Chinese Americans.
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| Epicure's Full Review: Flower Drum Song |
Among the splashy big-budget productions on Broadway this season, Flower Drum Song, a Rodgers & Hammerstein revival currently in previews at the Virginia Theatre, manages to distinguish itself. Owing much to the savvy direction of Robert Longbottom (who staged the woefully underappreciated Side Show and engineered the amazing turnaround of The Scarlet Pimpernel) and the smart, honest dialogue of playwright David Henry Hwang, this production of Flower Drum Song swept away all my reservations regarding glitzy Broadway shows.
Having grown up watching Singin’ in the Rain, My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music, I have always loved musicals. But I am not terribly fond of modern-day musicals on Broadway. In fact, I typically favor Broadway plays over Broadway musicals. Perhaps the sight of Gene Kelly dancing on sheet of newspaper in Summer Stock (brilliant choreography!) ruined me forever when it comes to musicals. They just don’t make ‘em like they use to. Incidentally, Kelly directed and choreographed the original Broadway production of Flower Drum Song in 1958. I’ll be the first to admit that my standards are a bit high. Where the old-fashioned musicals exuded class and wit, today’s offerings tend to be overwrought melodrama saturated with cheese. Flower Drum Song is one of those rare instances where I actually prefer the Broadway revival to the original film version.
Though some time has passed since I last saw the film version of Flower Drum Song starring Miyoshi Umeki, James Shigeta and Nancy Kwan, I remember the one-dimensional characters and a storyline that dragged. Furthermore, the film probably trotted out every Asian stereotype in the book. While the current revival also deals with many of the same stereotypes, it actually examines the truth of these stereotypes, sometimes undermining them, sometimes finding the quirky humor behind them.
Though many of the same characters from the original story remain, David Henry Hwang has taken considerable liberties in his rewriting of Flower Drum Song, all to the musical’s benefit, I might add. Flower Drum Song tells the story of Mei-Li, a young Chinese woman who escapes from Communist China after her father is persecuted and imprisoned for speaking out against Chairman Mao. In San Francisco, the destitute Mei-Li finds a home with Wang, her father’s old friend from opera school. Wang runs the Golden Pearl, a Chinese opera house where he plays to near-empty houses every night. At the Golden Pearl, Mei-Li encounters and falls in love with Wang’s son Ta. Ta wants to turn the Golden Pearl into a nightclub with performances featuring nubile young Chinese dancers. Oblivious to Mei-Li’s affections, Ta is besotted by Linda Low, the seductive star of his shows. Soon after Mei-Li inspires a new act for Ta’s nightclub, theatrical agent Madame Liang sweeps into the place, declaring the opera house to be a gold mine. Overcoming Wang’s vigorous objections, she transforms the Golden Pearl into Club Chop Suey. Against the backdrop of Club Chop Suey, the two relationships unfold – that of Mei-Li and Ta, and Madame Liang and Wang.
As with any good piece of theater, one of the elements that really makes Flower Drum Song work is a spot-on cast.
It has been over 10 years since Lea Salonga made her Broadway debut as Kim in Miss Saigon, a role that will forever bear her imprint, yet she still retains the sweetness of an ingenue. From the moment she first stepped quietly onto the empty stage, unaccompanied by any cast members, dressed in the humble dark blue garb of a Communist worker, Ms. Salonga held the audience’s rapt attention, many of whom began clapping before she sang a word. There was never any doubt as to her ability to breathe life into the role of Mei-Li, the innocent, pure-hearted daughter of a Chinese opera teacher. Her clear luminous voice perfectly conveys her character’s idealism, vulnerability and strength.
Sandra Allen is equally convincing and delightful in her role as Linda Low, the flirtatious heartbreaker, who never walks but always sashays on stage. Allen infuses her potentially unsympathetic character with enough panache and charm to win over the audience. Allen simply sparkles with her worldly drawl and flippant wit, and though some of her outrageous costumes are undoubtedly tacky, she manages to make them work. It certainly does not hurt that she is statuesque and curvy with alabaster skin and come-hither eyes.
Jodi Long, who plays Madame Liang, the shrewd enterprising agent who reinvents the Golden Pearl Theater, provides some of the show’s best comic moments. Comedy is all about timing, and hers is impeccable. She had just the right intonation and expressions when delivering her lines. You can tell that she is a stage veteran by her natural presence and her ease with the audience.
Randall Duk Kim, as Wang, the wry, stubborn patriarch battling against the Westernization of his theater and his family, provides an engaging foil to Long’s Madame Liang. Kim expertly conveys the humor in Wang’s unwavering determination to maintain his Chinese ways and indoctrinate his son in Chinese culture. Kim makes his character one with whom many audience members can probably identify – a frustrated father struggling with issues of cultural assimilation. He may be relentless but he is nonetheless lovable.
Jose Llana has the vocal talent to play counterpart to Salonga’s Mei-Li, but I could not help wishing that Ta had a little more depth. Of all the characters in the story, Ta seems the most predictable – a rebellious young man who favors the trendy over the traditional and who easily falls prey to pretty faces, possessed by girls out of his league. There was never any doubt in my mind that Ta didn’t stand a chance with the poised, self-assured Linda Low. Though she sings of being a girl, Linda is clearly a woman while Ta can best be described as the good-hearted boy next door. Perhaps the story would have been a tad more interesting if there had been a bit more complexity to Ta’s character.
Though Flower Drum Song has always featured lush, vibrant songs in the grand tradition of Rodgers & Hammerstein, I think the rewriting has resulted in those songs being better placed in the musical, heightening their emotional appeal. For example, Mei-Li sings one of the production’s most celebrated songs, “One Hundred Million Miracles” in the opening act as she sees the swirl of young people around her in China and as she embarks on her perilous journey to the States. I found it very affecting and certainly one of the show’s most touching performances.
Another highlight of the production is Mei-Li and Ta’s rendition of “You Are Beautiful,” a song as romantic and lyrical as the better known Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, “One Enchanted Evening” from South Pacific. I enjoyed the staging and context of the song almost as much as the song itself. In this scene, Mei-Li explains to Ta the beauty of The Flower Boat Maiden, a Chinese opera that Ta loathes because his father always makes him play the female part. Listening to Mei-Li, Ta becomes captivated by the opera himself, and as the would-be lovers recreate the opera scenes in their street clothes, a pair of illuminated dancers, dressed in traditional Chinese opera costumes, replicate their movements in the background. Each couple dances in sync with the other. The entire effect is mesmerizing.
“Grant Avenue” and “Don’t Marry Me” are both cleverly reimagined and reassigned for this production. Madame Liang and company bring exhilarating new life to “Grant Avenue” as they sing with hope and excitement about their business plans for Club Chop Suey. “Don’t Marry Me” is an endearingly funny almost-love song between Madame Liang and Wang, depicting them candidly discussing their flaws over a celebration dinner right after admitting how much joy the other person has brought into his or her life. With a number like “Don’t Marry Me,” you really need actors that have the wit, style and charisma to pull it off, and luckily Long and Kim have those traits in abundance.
Though Alvin Ing, who plays the grandfatherly Uncle Chin does not have a large part in the production, he leaves a strong impression in “My Best Love,” a song about a love that endures. Ing sings with emotion, yet there is a quiet dignity to his performance that provides a pleasant respite from Club Chop Suey’s loud, showy numbers.
I welcomed it in particular after a song like “Chop Suey,” an embarrassingly tawdry number, presented at Club Chop Suey, featuring guys dressed as dancing chopsticks and girls as Chinese takeout boxes, which lit up no less. Though the song was pure trash, it actually illuminated some interesting issues, such as the exploitation of one’s culture for profit. Unlike the original “Flower Drum Song” which focused on the characters’ desire to assimilate into the larger American society, this revival adds a new dimension to the story – the characters’ almost mocking attitude toward Caucasians’ perception of Chinese culture even as they struggle to find their place in America. They seem to be acknowledging that yes, a number like “Chop Suey” is positively ridiculous, but isn’t it even funnier that Caucasians will pay good money to see it. I like this added nuance to the story. It makes the characters more self-aware and less simplistic, and adds an element of irony to their performances.
The other numbers that comprise the musical revue at Club Chop Suey, such as “I Enjoy Being a Girl,” deliciously sung by Linda Low and “Fan Tan Fannie,” a flamboyant number that glamorizes kitsch, are much more successful from an entertainment standpoint. Though the lyrics of “Fan Tan Fannie” are silly and somewhat nonsensical, who can begrudge such enthusiastic dancers their fun. Led by Allen, dressed in black mesh, and skintight fishnet, the cast dancers dazzle with their sharp, rollicking movements and snapping red fans.
The production ends with Mei-Li and Ta each having a showcase song – you know, the one where the actor gets to belt out the refrain with all of his or her might. Both Salonga and Llana displayed admirable vocal prowess in their performances. Salonga poured every ounce of emotion into “Love, Look Away,” and somehow managed to save it from being too schmaltzy. But Llana’s “Like a God” seemed awkward to me, as if it were inserted in the musical for the sole purpose of giving Llana a chance to flex his vocal muscles. It is not a bad song, but a smoother transition is necessary. Currently, it interrupts what should have been a moving reconciliation scene.
Overall, I enjoyed this production enormously. I found the story much more lively and poignant than the original. All the characters have more personality and complexity. Mei-Li has more spunk. The show also skillfully highlights the hardships that the characters face both within and outside the Chinese community, like the obstacles that Ta and Linda encounter in trying to achieve success in greater American society and the biases that Mei-Li must overcome within her new Chinese family as a "FOB" (Fresh Off the Boat - a term that the more established Chinese Americans use to refer to new immigrants).
This revival of Flower Drum Song first opened last year in the much more intimate Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. I happened to be visiting my parents in Los Angeles at that time, so I had the chance to see it there as well. Though this show is better suited to a smaller venue, I think they added just the right amount of glitz to transform it for Broadway.
*Tip: If you go online to www.broadwaybox.com, you can obtain discount codes for ticket purchases. Without discount, tickets range from $65 for balcony to $95 for orchestra.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Epicure
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Location: New York, NY
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