Flower Drum Song--film on DVD

Of the so-called "Asian Trilogy" of Rodgers and Hammerstein--South Pacific, The King and I, and Flower Drum Song, the last one has the most interesting script for me, but the least interesting score.

The issues of assimilation into a new culture, clashes between generations, and how one personally chooses between tradition and a desire for one's own style are timeless and all present in the story of Flower Drum Song. They must have seemed very timely in the years after WWII, touching, as the book does on teenagers and American immigration, and maybe even as a mea culpa following the internment of Japanese Americans, even though FDS follows Chinese Americans.

The score however does not contain enough for me to hold onto. Perhaps the stage version has more. "I Enjoy Being a Girl" is a good song; "Love, Look Away" is a great song, one of the best R&H ever wrote I think. But the rest leaves me cold. Mei Li, the romantic female lead sings the insipid "A Hundred Million Miracles", and "I am Going to Like it Here." There is not a good number for Wang Ta, the male lead. Even the chorus numbers don't get my juices running, particularly "Chop Suey". "Grant Avenue" is slightly better.

The two extended dance numbers in this film also fall flat for me. I'd much rather hear some more of "Love, Look Away" than watch the odd dream ballet which interrupts it. The same with the comedic dance that follows "Sunday". Neither add to my understanding of the story or the songs out of which they come.

I do like the song "Don't Marry Me". I used to use it as an audition piece, before I realized that it was inappropriate for me to sing a song specifically written for an Asian American. Or inappropriate for me to sing period.

Flower Drum Song
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics and Book by Oscar Hammerstein
Opened on stage in 1958, film version released in 1961
Cast: Miyoshi Umeki, Jack Soo, Patrick Adiarte, Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta