Flower Drum Song 1958 vs 2002

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 1/27/16 at 11:26pm

Grew up listening to the OBCR and had the opportunity to see the revival with Lea Salonga and Jose Llana in LA before it came to Broadway.  I know it didn't last long and I remember reading some of the reviews as to why.  Personally I enjoyed it, but maybe it was because I was just so excited to see it in any format as it was one that doesn't get revived much, if at all (up to that time).

What would be the chance of it making a successful return to Broadway, but in a representation that is more closely aligned to the original (rather than the tweaking and re-imagining of the book by Hwang)?

I think the music is just great and, though dated, I think the story is witty and there is some great humor in it.

 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/27/16 at 11:29pm

Never saw the original but familiar with the score and the movie. Saw the revival. Not a big fan of updates to.make a classic show pc. Enjoyed the revival but would have liked the original more. Just a matter of taste.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 1/28/16 at 6:44pm

I don't think it's so much a matter of the original book being dated, it's just clunky.  I much prefer Hwang's revisal which has plenty of humor but a more compelling soul at its center.  And yes, the score is swell.

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 1:52am

I actually liked Hwang's version too.  And anytime I can hear Jose Llana's voice it's a great thing. 

I also thought the version that came through in the movie was really good though too (not quite old enough to have seen the original Broadway production).

And totally agree that the music is just super.

As for the datedness….I've never had a problem with that anyway.  Revivals of shows that go so far back that they're oft considered dated by some are some of my favorites.

[Steve C.]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 2:47am

I've been listening to 1958 and boy, Larry Blyden really has a powerful, full voice. I would have loved to see Juanita Hall and Myoshi Umeki ; they are both so great on the OBC. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVbXd_yX5BY&list=PLUSRfoOcUe4YNgmrWKi-nZryRwdoBeaIE

I still like the revival but in a different way I guess.

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 6:26am

"rather than the tweaking and re-imagining of the book by "

 

I wouldn't call that appalling travesty of the original mere "tweaking." It was more on the order of "wreaking," as in wreaking havoc, or "reeking," as in stinking up a delightful show.

 

My heart sank watching it. It was one of the most depressing things I've ever witnessed in the theatre.

 

May we never see it or its like again!

 

Do you notice how everyone bows and scrapes before Lin-Manuel Miranda's pronouncements about the primacy of an author's wishes and instructions? How come that doesn't apply to people like Oscar Hammerstein or Arthur Miller?  

Updated On: 1/29/16 at 06:26 AM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 9:00am

It does not apply as they are only dead old white guys.Before the Oscar flap, they were icons. Now they are nothing.

 

Concise enough?

Updated On: 1/29/16 at 09:00 AM

[markypoo]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 4:55pm

I saw the national touring company at the Shubert in Chicago @ 1959-60.  I think Keye Luke, Juanita Hall and Jack Soo - all of the original cast - were in it at the time.

Elaine Dunn played the Pat Suzuki role. 

I was only about 5 at the time but I vividly remember the show curtain: a design that featured brightly colored fish.  Fabulous. 

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 6:09pm

 

"Do you notice how everyone bows and scrapes before Lin-Manual Miranda's pronouncements about the primacy of an author's wishes and instructions?"

 

You could at least spell his name correctly.  Or was that joke?  About his manual on primacy?

[gypsy101]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 6:13pm

it wasn't a joke, after 8 can't be bothered to spell his name correctly