Soft Power at the Curran — Page 2

MarkBearSF said: "WOW! It's interesting comparing these comments with the ones on the "other board" and the reviews in general. As I mentioned in a previous post, I really enjoyed it. This afternoon, as it's about to leave town, I decided to do a TodayTix $30 rush ticket and see it again.

I loved it even more. Yes, it's not entirely successful (and, as with shows like Follies and Merrily We Roll Along, it may never be fully successful) - but what's there is so well-done and holds such ravishing music and interesting layers, that it's as rewarding as it can be frustrating. I was again blown away by the beautiful music. The quieter songs were a pastiche of the best of classic R&H, and even the gag-filled production numbers were hung on solid songwritng.

I'm curious about the Chinese aspects of the show. While the "American style" numbers had a humorous blenderized mishmash performed by the blond-wigged cast, but the simpler "Chinese" ballads with Asian-dressed chorus dancing seemed organic to the song and composed of Chinese movements like Tai-chi and more harmonic and authentic. Can any with more knowledge of Chinese theatrical and movement comment?

Also, Conrad Ricamora was superb. I read that he's of mixed Filipino American heritage, raised in the US, so I'd assume that his Chinese accent and countenance had to be learned. Can anyone with a more discerning ear, tell me how he did?"

Um, the original production of Follies was fully successful in every way. The single greatest musical theatre experience I've ever had. To even mention Follies or frankly even Merrily in the same breath as Soft Power, well - that's what makes horse racing. Of course you went back and of course you loved it more. This is your thing :)

LightsOut90 said: "The original production of Follies closed at almost a million dollar loss and Hal Prince scrapped a west coast engagement and a national tour, so stating it was a success on every level, that's super incorrect"

^This!

Caught the last performance earlier this evening. Loved it! I found the way Hwang makes his points and skewers a variety of institutions but does it in such a tongue in cheek manner made it fun and refreshing instead of frustrating and tiresome. I love broad over the top satire and this hit the spot for me. You could nod at some of the references but it was hard to get mad or annoyed cause it was so ridiculous (in a good way). Strong performances from Ricamora and Jue who is a favorite of mine working regularly in the Bay Area and always excellent. In fact a bit of fun was Jue referencing The King And I in this production having seen him play The King in a touring production of TKAI in 2006. The real standout for me was Alyse Alan Louis as Hillary. She was fantastic. The biggest problem the show has is unlike most of Hwang's other works, this will really have a limited shelf life before the 2016 election just feels like ancient history especially once Trump leaves office (however and whenever that happens). Not everybody's cup of tea but i laughed a lot and really enjoyed it. Hope it has success if they bring it east.

Just to get back to the original topic: ''Soft Power.'' I also was there for the July 8th closing at the Curran, and San Francisco gave David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori's satirical new musical a sensational sendoff. The audience was very vocal and enthusiastic. And it was boosted by a terrific turnout by the Asian-American community, which heartily laughed, especially at the very Chinese references (like fighting over the check ''to save face'' ).

There were lotsa laughs about the cultural clash between America and Chinese, but I also was so moved by the end. In Broadway musicals, Asians are often depicted as the exotic ones, the foreigners, as in ''The King and I,'' ''MIss Saigon,'' ''Pacific Overtures,'' etc. But in ''Soft Power's'' curtain call, we got to see them as Asian-Americans singing about their love for this country - even tho' it hasn't always welcomed us historically (i.e., the Chinese Exclusion Act, the World War II internment of Japanese-Americans).

Also, it's not everyday you see Asian-American actors showcased like this, and they really strutted their stuff. From Conrad Ricamora in the rare role of an Asian-American romantic lead who gets to kiss the Caucasian leading lady, to Francis Jue, doing a playful take on Hwang, the playwright himself. Plus, there were scene-stealers, like Austin Ku, as the goofy gun-toting ''Bobby Bob,'' and Raymond J. Lee, in various roles, ranging from a roller-skating McDonald's server to a rifle-bearing bozo in the White House. Kudos to 'em all!

Updated On: 7/11/18 at 02:19 AM

Saw it in LA. What a mess. Even the greats (Henry, Sam, Jeanine) can fahk things up. They really screwed the pooch on it. It just doesn't work, period. It's got some killer one liners, but it's trying to do too many things at once. It's truly terribly contrived. As its been said earlier, the show is an view of what a big America musical would be from a Chinese perspective. And then--the protagonist gets stabbed in the neck--just like DHW IRL. It's a play with music, and the songs feel so shoe horned in, and are very unmemorable. Jeanine Tesori at her worst. Very talented cast and dramaturgy by Oskar Eustis- but you can tell why this is not going to the Public. The other thing is the sets are HUGE. There's a fahking airplane! Like Miss Saigon! Which is part of the point for sure, but there's no way a show with this big of a budget and this political will resonate with a commercial audience. I think DHW would have had better luck writing it as a play. But even then, it still wouldn't be solved. It's just unfortunate all around. I was lucky to have been there--I felt like I was watching a classic messy, out of town tryout that will close on the road. If they bring this to NY, it will flop hard.

Updated On: 7/16/18 at 05:20 PM