Flower Drum Song--2002 Broadway Cast Album

I've previously watched the film version of this show, so I thought I knew what I was in for when I popped the cast album of the 2002 Broadway revival of Flower Drum Song into the player. Turns out this revival was a very different show from the original, as evidenced not only by the synopsis of the show and the notes by Ted Chapin provided in the booklet to the CD, but also by the music itself. The score is re-orchestrated, the book re-written, characters re-arranged, and songs re-assigned.

All of this is thanks primarily to David Henry Hwang who approached the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization about reworking the show for a contemporary audience. I don't know if that means that the show is no longer set in the 1950s, the notes don't discuss that. But from my recollections of the film, several characters are missing, and the notion of arranged marriage from the original story has been taken out.

Lea Salonga starred as Mei-Li in the version, and her singing on this disc is very good from beginning to end. Ms. Salonga has a warm and lovely music theater voice which general traverses well into her head voice. The character of Mei-Li is given the song "Love, Look Away" which was sung by the character of Helen in the original version. This is a wonderful song, and Ms. Salonga sings it well, although I have some slight issues with the tempo and some of the rhythms taken in this version. Other good singing from this cast is given by Jose Llana as number one son Ta (although if there is a number two son, he's not on the disc), and Sandra Allen as Linda Low.

Less successful to me is turning "Don't Marry Me" into a duet. Jack Soo was so droll and funny in his delivery of this song in the film version, I missed the character of Sammy Fong in the 2002 arrangement (two characters have been combined here).

There is a moment in the second act finale that I need someone to explain to me. The actors seem to step out of character and announce where they were born. I suppose this is to show how diverse the Asian community is, but I wonder how it worked on stage. I certainly can't blame the R&H Organization or Mr. Hwang for wishing to rework Flower Drum Song for a new incarnation, but I do wonder if they went too far.

Flower Drum Song
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by David Henry Hwang
This version opened in 2002
Cast: Lea Salonga, Jose Llana, Sandra Allen,

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