5/28/05 Flower Drum Song at Fullerton Civic Light Opera

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 5/29/05 at 4:33am

Well... I'm back after seeing Flower Drum Song put on by the Fullerton Civic Light Opera... so I guess i'll talk about it for those of you that love hearing what goes on here on the west coast in Southern CA...

I have seen this show at its pre-Broadway tryout here at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and I absolutely loved the show then... and absolutely nothing has changed now... I love Flower Drum Song... I have never watched the original so I won't compare...

Kristine Remigio as Mei-Li was wonderful. I have enjoyed her performances as Kim in Miss Saigon and thought she did a great job here. I'm used to hearing Lea Salonga and no one else sing this role, and Kristine held her own. Her LOVE LOOK AWAY could have used more oomph, but her voice is beautiful. She played the part very wide eyed and innocent and was excellent.

Cliffton Hall as Ta was good. He doesn't have the strong tenor voice that Jose Llana had but I felt he was excellent in the role and would love to hear and see him do other roles.

Sharon Liu as Lindow Low was OK. Her voice had something lacking to it... it felt kinda gruff and low... but it was good enough...

I'm too tired to write about the other people so I'll just move on...

Being an Asian American (Filipino)... this show speaks to me very well... it's stuff that I have gone through and what my friends have gone through... it's definitely one of those shows that can impact a person more if they've gone through what the characters have gone through... so I applaud David Henry Hwang for writing an exceptional book to this musical... and for that i am proud... i can see why this musical didn't do so well... in my opinion... and yes it's an OPINION.... i felt that a majority of the audience couldn't truly identify with the characters... i've read reviews from critics and theatergoers that felt the book was bad and that R&H would be rolling over in their graves because of the scantily clad women and all that stuff... but to me, the musical is a representation of asian society and how non-asians view asians... and that as asians... we know that that's how you think... and David Henry Hwang captured that but at the same time tried to make it accessible to non-Asians with only mild success... the Asian struggle is not talked about much in society because of various reasons that I shouldn't go into because this isn't the forum to discuss it... but it's so inspiring to see a show comprised of only Asian American actors and a book written by an Asian American depicting our struggle in America that still continues to this day...

[riv]

Posted: 5/29/05 at 9:23am

Purchase the original Broadway cast album and view the film version.

Rodgers & Hammerstein weren't writing a political tract so try not to be turned off by that fact, since you seem to be approaching the material from that angle. It's a musical comedy.

[MouseInfo]

Posted: 5/29/05 at 10:29am

Thanks for posting your review. I have heard pretty good things about the show from others. I did see it at the Mark Taper, but decided to skip it this time around. The timing wasn't right (I live in San Diego). I do plan on seeing Once On This Island in Fullerton though. I love that musical and can not wait to see what they do with it! Updated On: 5/29/05 at 10:29 AM

[eslgr8]

Posted: 5/29/05 at 4:00pm

I have refrained from posting about this production until now. I prefer to post reviews of shows I really like, and I have to say the FCLO's production of Flower Drum Song was a huge letdown for me. True, the Taper production (which I saw twice) was a hard act to follow, but even so, I found FCLO's version sorely lacking. Kristine Remigio and Clifton Hall are the show's high points. Miss Remigio sings and acts well in what is a rather drab role and Mr. Hall is sexy and magnetic (though he looks very un-Asian, and in fact has played Chris in Miss Saigon). The rest of the cast are pale imitations of their Broadway counterparts. I could not watch Charlene Liu (as Linda) and Karen Lew (as Madame Liang) without recalling how the incandescent Sandra Allen and the razor-sharp Jodi Long defined these parts in the original. Samuel Chen (who was the best Seymore I've ever seen in East-West Players production of Little Shop of Horrors) was simply embarrassing (and I think embarrassed) playing the offensively stereotyped gay stylist Harvard (Thank you David Henry Hwang for eliminating the Asian stereotypes only to thoughtlessly offend another minority!). Only Alvin Ing, reprising his Broadway role, stood out for his professionalism and onstage power and dignity. Beyond the performances, I was underwhelmed by the dance numbers which had been so dazzling at the Taper. David Henry Hwang's book is quite definitely a tribute to the courage and resiliance of the Asian American population, and an interesting view of the culture class between those recently arrived and those born here. But without the brilliance of the pre-Broadway troupe we saw a few years ago in L.A., I found it overly dark this time. I'm glad for the performers that people like Eatlasagna liked it. I know they worked hard and did their best. Miss Saigon lived up to the hype. It was as good as regional theater gets. But this production of Flower Drum Song might make many wonder how it ever got to Broadway in the first place.

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 5/29/05 at 4:03pm

Glad you enjoyed Kristine. I love her too, and actually got to meet her! If you ever do, she'll be really nice to you, especially if you tell her about Miss Saigon, too.