pacific overtures- Page 2
pacific overtures
re: pacific overtures#25
Posted: 3/20/05 at 9:58pmOther than the staging of "Four Black Dragons," this revival ranged from pretty good to wonderful. The high points for me were "There Is No Other Way," "Please Hello," "Someone in a Tree," and you know what part in "Next." That last one was a stunning moment of theater.
re: pacific overtures#26
Posted: 3/20/05 at 10:02pmI also loved "Bowler Hat."
re: pacific overtures#27
Posted: 3/20/05 at 10:02pmThe interpretation of "Welcome to Kanagawa" was also pitch-perfect.
re: pacific overtures#28
Posted: 3/20/05 at 10:05pm
The show was non-stop choreography in my eyes.
Listening to "Bowler Hat" right now.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/14/04
re: pacific overtures#29
Posted: 3/20/05 at 10:06pmThere is No Other Way was magnificent. I liked Poems (or, as it was renamed, I Shall Make a Poem), even though the lighting reminded me of "Billie Jean".
re: pacific overtures#30
Posted: 3/20/05 at 10:07pm
i have to say PO and Assassins have been the only shows i've seen where i was literally awed/amazed/full of delight. they were perfect.
Next was amazing
Stand-by Joined: 3/18/05
re: pacific overtures#31
Posted: 3/20/05 at 10:49pmThe only problem I had with it was B.D. Wong who was far too light in the loafers in the role Mako created in the original production with such indelible power. Wong's pouty shogun in "Chrysanthemum Tea" was way out of synch with what the rest of the wonderful cast were trying to do.
re: pacific overtures#32
Posted: 3/20/05 at 10:52pmyea, after listening to Mako i see that BD was sorta light and airy and fluffy and fun
re: pacific overtures#33
Posted: 3/21/05 at 1:58pmI dont see y it is hated by so many.
"I am sorry but it is an unjust world and virtue is only triumphant in theatricle performances" The Mikado
re: pacific overtures#34
Posted: 3/21/05 at 2:20pmThe people that hate it probably don't understand it.
re: pacific overtures#35
Posted: 3/21/05 at 2:28pm
PO is hated by many?
I had no idea.
How could anything so beautiful provoke hate?
re: pacific overtures#36
Posted: 3/21/05 at 2:34pmcuz people are stupid, I agree with what Hal Prince said "it was a succes, a flop, but a succes" it is differnt and today in soceity if its differnt, it is looked at differntly. I think also because of the meaning of the show it was disliked by the Tony commitee only winning one the first time but I belive it may do better (but there of coursce is no chance at the revival Tony cuz it closed in like 20 months)
"I am sorry but it is an unjust world and virtue is only triumphant in theatricle performances" The Mikado
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
re: pacific overtures#37
Posted: 3/21/05 at 2:58pmPS Classics recorded it with a release for late May, I believe.
re: pacific overtures#38
Posted: 3/21/05 at 3:51pm
Pacific Overtures is one of my all-time favorite musicals. I think it's a masterpiece. But I've found in my short time on this site that lavish praise is too often the rule.
I need to say something before we go any further. We live in a day and age in which Broadway scales down productions and we must endure minimalist versions of great musicals. Sometimes this is acceptable, depending upon what work we're talking about, and sometimes it is economically necessary. The latter, to an extent, can be used to justify the production Roundabout Theater production. But as good a revival as it was, it was lacking.
To get specific and to the heart of the matter, the original Pacific Overtures had 22 people in its orchestra (which was augmented by 14 more for the recording of the score). This production had seven! This may seem fine to folks who don't know any better, I suppose, but the severe reduction in something as important as the orchestra of a musical on Broadway to the level of a jazz ensemble or chamber music group is disgraceful. Seven is beneath contempt. I could go on at length about this, but I won't. I just need to express how the lushness and beauty of works such as Pacific Overtures are stripped away by productions treating the music on the cheap.
The other reservation I had concerned the small playing area at Studio 54 which did not allow an expansive staging. "Someone in a Tree" is a perfect example. The scene was far too cramped. And a ladder standing in as a tree? Please.
The controversial Hiroshima portion of "Next"--which was not part of Pacific Overtures in 1976--had no real impact thanks to the small stage area at Studio 54. At Lincoln Center in the Japanese version of this production, it was clearly staged to remind one of the World Trade Center attack. That was daring and did not come across in Studio 54.
Why was Commodore Perry's "Lion Dance" even listed in the Playbill? The number was reduced to practically non-existance. And the way Perry was outfitted as a giant precludes the character--who is actually symbolic, anyway--from doing any choreography at all. It's a wordless role, so his one moment for artistic expression was lost.
Those are a few brief thoughts to balance out the preponderence of one sentence raves on this thread.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/14/04
re: pacific overtures#39
Posted: 3/21/05 at 4:43pm
Obviously, the orchestra was a bit thin-sounding -- the size of the theater made it impossible to fit a large orchestra. Yes, the ladder as the tree was a bit strange. And yes, the Lion Dance was a letdown after hearing how spectacular it was in the original. But to me, the show is so strong (even if the book drags a bit) that those details didn't detract too much. The majority of the staging was very effective, the cast was uniformly excellent, and the design aspects were fitting.
I don't see anything wrong with minimalist versions as long as they either bring something new to the table or are keeping in the spirit of the original. With the recent influx of revivals, a show should at least do that much, or else why bring it back at all? Roundabout brought this back so new theatergoers could experience it, and they should be commended simply for that. The fact that it was a beautiful new staging was a bonus.
Many posters on this board who saw the original Pacific Overtures disliked this version; some even walked out at intermission. I can certainly understand why they felt this new version was inferior, but to the large number of people who did not get the chance to see the first Broadway production, there was nothing to compare to.
We, who had never seen a production of this show, were stunned by the beautiful simplicity and quiet power of PO. That, in my mind, makes it successful and worthwhile.
Updated On: 3/21/05 at 04:43 PM
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/21/04
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