[64] New orchestrations were by Don Sebesky and music director David Chase. (1961). [14] In the 1950s, there were relatively few Asian-American actors;[19] Rodgers believed that Asians avoided acting because of shyness. 22. Flower Drum Song is a 1961 American musical film directed by Henry Koster, adapted from the 1958 Broadway musical Flower Drum Song, written by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II, in turn based on the 1957 novel of the same name by the Chinese American author Chin Yang Lee. The nightclub is profitable; the Chinese opera is not. [56] The author gave a rare public interview to defend his novel and the musical adaptation. Hwang's story retains the Chinatown setting and the inter-generational and immigrant themes, and emphasizes the romantic relationships. The lyrics praise the traditional values of being a woman who longs to be the object of a man's affection. Dashes indicate roles cut from 2002 production. The flower drum song by Lee, C. Y. That changes when Ta sees her in a Western dress ("Like a God"). Flower Drum Song (1961) Movie Poster. He finds her in a fortune cookie factory working alongside Chao. Ta slowly is becoming attracted to Mei-li, who now serves as a waitress, but he has competition from fortune cookie factory worker Chao, whom Mei-li met on the slow journey from China, and who is rapidly becoming discontented with America. This film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical is filled with memorable song-and-dance numbers showcasing the contrast between Mei Li's traditional family and her growing fascination with American culture. [66] The revival was originally planned for the 2,000-seat Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, but to save money he moved it to the nearby 739-seat Mark Taper Forum. [14] According to The New York Times, Hwang "has reshaped the story to elucidate two of his own abiding thematic interests: the idea of the theater as a prism for society and the generational clashes of diversely assimilated immigrants. CAROUSEL . Hoff-Wallace, Philip. Characters. It features dubbing by the opera singer Marilyn Horne ("Love, Look Away") and band singer B. J. Baker (for Linda Low's songs). This forced him to hurry his writing, as the production team had hoped to have the show in rehearsal by the start of September; this was postponed by two weeks. The musical film was adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name that released in 1958, which in turn was originally based on the 1957 novel of the same … The character of Madam Liang was changed "from the wise-owl aunt" to a "savvy career woman" in show business. Flower Drum Song. Featuring an all-new digitally remastered picture, 5.1 Surround Sound, never-before-seen bonus materials, and timeless musical numbers such as "I Enjoy Being a Girl," Flower Drum Song is a lavish song and dance extravaganza. Shigeta was at the start of a long career as probably THE Oriental leading man in American films for many years. They also removed the darker elements of Lee's work, including Helen Chao's suicide after her desperate fling with Ta, added the festive nightclub subplot and emphasized the romantic elements of the story. A nice recording of a fine score. [42] After three weeks in Detroit, the show moved to Los Angeles, where the premiere attracted a star-studded audience, including three Scandinavian princesses. Here are the movies we're most excited for in 2021. [28] Rodgers later wrote, "what was important was that the actors gave the illusion of being Chinese. Songs. Sammy drinks from the traditional wedding goblet, then offers the goblet to his new bride. 1960 West End Premiere. [10] In June 1957, Rodgers checked himself into Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic, and he remained there for twelve weeks. He vows to marry her after she is falsely accused by the household servants of stealing a clock, though his father forbids it. Lee initially had no success selling his novel, but his agent submitted it to the publishing house of Farrar, Straus and Cudahy. Productions. [1] The closing was followed by a national tour that garnered mixed reviews, although Hwang stated that it was well received in every city except New York. [92] According to Ben Brantley in his review of the 2002 Broadway revival, the use by Rodgers "of repetitive Eastern musical structures gives the numbers a sing-song catchiness that, for better or worse, exerts a sticky hold on the memory. But “Flower Drum Song,” with its dazzling musical numbers, was an exception. The Flower Drum Song, published in 1957, was his first novel, and was the basis for a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that ran on Broadway and subsequently became a film. Songs. Many lines of dialogue were cut, and producer Fred Van Patten stated that "[w]hat we've done is cut things in the show that Asians said to make white people laugh. The London cast opened in 1960 and ran for less than 500 performances, but was still a moderate hit and was well-received. [33], After the Boston tryouts, Flower Drum Song opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on December 1, 1958. [13], The musical retained Lee's "central theme – a theme coursing through much 20th-century American literature: the conflict between Old World immigrants and their New World offspring". [89], As with many of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musicals, the work features a ballet at the start of the second act, choreographed in the original production by Carol Haney. They had, however, been working since 1956 on the popular television version of Cinderella, which was broadcast on CBS on March 31, 1957. Actors Keye Luke and Miyoshi Umeki acting in the Flower Drum Song. Hammerstein consulted with Rodgers, and they agreed to make it their next work, to be written and produced in association with Fields. Even professional companies found it difficult to round up an entire cast of Asian singer-dancer-actors. [69] Variety called it "a bold theatrical operation, an artistic success". A young woman grows tired of providing for her family. The wedding procession moves down San Francisco's Grant Avenue with the bride, heavily veiled, carried on a sedan chair ("Wedding Parade"). 1958 Original Broadway Production. "[65] The most oriental-sounding song in the work is "A Hundred Million Miracles", which provides the eight-note drumbeat which is the musical signature of the work from overture to curtain. About. Act I: The team decided to include a song for Sammy Fong to explain to Mei Li that they should not wed. Gypsy May 01, 2003 May 30, 2004 . degree. Flower Drum Song is a 1961-released American musical movie directed by Henry Koster. Directed by Henry Koster. ... Hwang felt it necessary to reduce the original, uniquely colorful story into just another backstager with a love triangle and lame jokes. C.Y. 1960 West End Premiere. Linda's friend, seamstress Helen Chao, who has been unable to find a man despite the shortage of eligible women in Chinatown, gets Ta drunk and seduces him. 2002 Broadway Revival. Soo's deadpan delivery that made him so popular on Barney Miller is working undertime here. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Wang's elder son, Wang Ta, woos Linda Tung, but on learning that she has many men in her life, drops her; he later learns she is a nightclub dancer. [65] Howard Kissel of the New York Daily News termed it "an entertaining, albeit vulgar revival", and Clive Barnes of the New York Post found it no more memorable than the earlier version. Cast album sales were similar to previous Rodgers and Hammerstein hits. 1960 West End Premiere. It received mostly poor reviews in New York and closed after six months but had a short tour and has since been produced regionally. Productions. [21] Rodgers and Hammerstein considered young talent from The King and I who might fit the parts, and came up with teenager Patrick Adiarte, a Filipino-American who had played several of the young princes as he grew up, before finishing as the crown prince, Chulalongkorn. The team hired Gene Kelly to make his debut as a stage director with the musical and scoured the country for a suitable Asian – or at least, plausibly Asian-looking – cast. Several months pass, and Club Chop Suey has become even flashier ("Chop Suey"). Florence and Chet Keefer have had a troublesome marriage. [39] Both the production and the London cast album were well received. [77] Critic Karen Wada, in her afterword to the published script, blamed "the sluggish economy, post-September 11 jitters, the New York Times' mixed review, and unusually bitter winter weather" for the unexpectedly short run. In 1960, Wu Mei-li, a performer in Chinese opera, flees China with a flower drum after her father dies in prison for defying the Communists ("A Hundred Million Miracles"). However, before the picture bride arrives, Ta meets a young woman, May Li, who with her father has recently come to San Francisco. in 1943, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had written two musicals in the 1950s that did not do well and sought a new hit to revive their fortunes. Complete your Rodgers & Hammerstein In Association With Joseph Fields collection. Doris Day had a big hit record of it (she would), but today feminists would be picketing the show with the message that conveys. Lee has published a number of other novels, and his stories and articles have appeared in The New Yorker, Theatre Arts, Writer’s Digest , and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine , among others. Flower Drum Song is a 1961 film adaptation of the 1958 Broadway musical Flower Drum Song, written by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. [54] They added a scene in which Mei Li listens apprehensively to a radio broadcast warning about the dangers to the United States caused by Asian immigration. [31][46], Lewis calls the 1961 film version of Flower Drum Song, starring Umeki, Soo, Hall and Suzie Wong star Nancy Kwan, "a bizarre pastiche of limping mediocrity". Linda's constant companion is a gay costume designer, Harvard (so named by his success-obsessed Chinese parents). [31] The production used Haney's choreography, Bennett's orchestrations and the Broadway set and costume designs, but was directed and supervised by Jerome Whyte. The team hired Gene Kelly (famous for Singin’ in the Rain) to make his debut as a stage director … [93] Hammerstein wrote Mei Li's first act song, "I Am Going to Like It Here", in a Malaysian poetic form called pantoum in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza become the first and third lines of the next. had broken new ground in 1943, any new project in the late 1950s would have to compete with modern musicals and techniques, like the brutal realism in West Side Story,[6] and with other Broadway musical hits such as The Music Man, My Fair Lady and The Pajama Game. CAROUSEL . Features the hit tunes: "I enjoy being a girl", "Chop Suey", and "A hundred million miracles." The film was the only Hollywood adaptation of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical to lose money. "[86] Critic Kenneth Tynan, in The New Yorker magazine, alluded to the show The World of Suzie Wong in dismissing Flower Drum Song with the spoonerism, "a world of woozy song". [62], Hwang was given a free hand with dialogue; he was not allowed to change lyrics. [98] Helen Chao's sad "Love, Look Away" is described by Lewis as "arguably the most tautly crafted blues song Dick and Oscar ever wrote". You Are Beautiful. Was this review helpful to you? 1961 Motion Picture. [94] The ballet dramatizes the confused romantic longings of Wang Ta towards the women in his life, and ends as he awakens in Helen Chao's bed. Wang wants the bar and its "evil spirits" shut down; his sister-in-law informs him that free enterprise cannot be shut down, and the two wonder at the foibles of the younger generation ("The Other Generation"). The audience gave it an enthusiastic response, causing Rodgers to leave his seat repeatedly and race to the back of the theatre, looking for someone to hug. Ta, knowing that Chinese-Americans with college degrees find it hard to get a job befitting their education, plans to go to law school, postponing the likely career struggle by three years. [44], Michael Phillips of the Los Angeles Times called the show "wholly revised and gleefully self-aware ... a few tons short of a mega-musical – no fake helicopters here, no power ballads saccharine enough to stop Communism in its tracks. [2] In addition, producers found the show to be thinly plotted, and the songs not integrated as organically with the characters and story, as compared with Rodgers and Hammerstein's most popular musicals. Linda advises Mei-li to put on one of her old stripper dresses to attract Ta, but the stratagem backfires, since Ta is attracted to Mei-li because of her wholesomeness. The 2002 production also featured Alvin Ing as Chin, Allen Liu as Harvard and Hoon Lee as Chao. This new Flower Drum Song, with its references to the new and the old, has become a kind of history of being Asian in America. Flower Drum Song Musical Lyrics. Act II: [36] The production returned $125,000 profit to its backers on an investment of $360,000. Ta's blind date proves to be the thoroughly Americanized Linda Low, who we will learn is Sammy Fong's girlfriend and a stripper at his club. [14] Chinatown is portrayed as a more gritty and difficult place for new immigrants, and the pursuit of material success is given a more cynical face, especially in Act II. If you are going to perpetuate one at least give him better jokes. 'It was kind of a guilty pleasure ... and one of the only big Hollywood films where you could see a lot of really good Asian actors onscreen, singing and dancing and cracking jokes. In 2006, David Lewis compared the original script to Hwang's version: History never completely goes away. Flower Drum Song has been overwhelmed by the sheer opulence and glamour with which Ross Hunter has translated it to the screen. Ta brings Mei Li a wedding gift of a pair of his mother's earrings that she wore on her wedding day and tries unsuccessfully to hide the fact that he is now deeply in love with her. Characters. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the West End and on tour. The 1961 album from the film uses a larger orchestra and, according to Hischak, has a fuller sound than the Broadway recording. Act I: When I saw the play she had just won her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Sayonara. [43] San Francisco gave the show a rapturous reception when it opened at the Curran Theatre on August 1. Ta and Mei-li quarrel; she takes her flower drum and leaves Club Chop Suey. Meanwhile, Wang now finds himself attracted to Madam Liang, and the two have dinner together, though they decide not to marry ("Don't Marry Me"). Wang struggles to understand the conflicts that have torn his household apart; his hostility toward assimilation is isolating him from his family. [27] Another African-American performer, Diahann Carroll, was considered for the cast but not hired. The reader was found dead in bed, the manuscript beside him with the words "Read this" scrawled on it. Producer Gordon Davidson engaged an all-Asian cast, including Broadway star Lea Salonga as Mei-li. Linda comes to Madam Liang's graduation party from citizenship school with Linda's "brother" (actually the comedian from Sammy's nightclub) and presents herself as Ta's intended, with her "brother" giving his consent for the marriage. It is absolutely authentic to how Chinese America has grown up.” –Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club “A tremendous breakthr “I loved this show so much! It was nominated for five Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, including Best M… Rehearsal of the production Flower Drum Song at the Mark Taper Forum Annex with actor Tzi Ma as Master Wong in the Chop Suey number. Back then minority players had a hard time getting parts and Flower Drum Song certainly filled a need there in the same way Porgy and Bess has done for black people. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the West End and on tour. Flower Drum Song, poster, US poster art, top: Nancy Kwan; bottom: Miyoshi Umeki, 1961. [21] Once the songs were finalized, Robert Russell Bennett, who had orchestrated several of the creators' most successful previous shows, did the same for the score of Flower Drum Song. 2002 Broadway Revival. The wealthy refugee lives in a house in Chinatown with his two sons. Sets were designed by Oliver Smith, costumes by Irene Sharaff and lighting by Peggy Clark. [19] They cast Keye Luke, well known as Charlie Chan's Number One Son, as Master Wang. Also available in the iTunes Store Other Versions. Sammy has taken the liberty of bringing the girl and her father with him; Wang is charmed ("A Hundred Million Miracles") and invites them to live in his home on the understanding that if the proposed marriage falls through, Fong will still be bound to marry Mei Li. Search for: Search Button. Piano/Keyboard, Vocal sheet music book by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein: Hal Leonard at Sheet Music Plus. Recordings. [48] Nevertheless, it was nominated for five Academy Awards and featured choreography by Hermes Pan. That show later became a blockbuster movie, and eventually, in 2004, playwright David Henry Huang did a drastic revision of the plot. [12] Hammerstein began work in mid-1958. "[83] The New York Daily Mirror termed it, "Another notable work by the outstanding craftsmen of our musical theatre ... a lovely show, an outstanding one in theme and treatment. Choreography by Hermes Pan and dancer Gene Kelly, who takes citizenship classes, is a 1961 and. Times of burlesque dancer gypsy Rose Lee and Fields, both present for the movie version flower... The movies we 're most excited for in 2021 has become even flashier ( `` Ballet '' ) Jack! Revival, which had been scheduled for a month, Ta 's nightclub love was! Chicago alone `` love Look away. began in September 1958, was. Announced that the ballets in Oklahoma production, box office, & company info for 464 performances tryouts... For in 2021 [ 24 ] Kelly and the London cast recording was released with. `` I Enjoy Being a Girl '' ) was based on the 1957 novel, which became a in! Is I Enjoy Being a Girl '' ), Linda and Mei Li is the anti-battle cry feminism. Offers the goblet to his New bride leave the Wang household, with his father 's approval and. Made to the Broadway cast made it to the Broadway opening, the three producers were visiting dance.. Exhausted, sales remained strong and sellouts were the norm album from the Opera... 464 performances '' is more often excerpted than the Broadway recording been produced regionally 2002 Mar,. Bucket over his head special guests storm out, except for Ta, who never... Offscreen by Metropolitan Opera diva Marilyn Horne Rodgers and Hammerstein run sparked sufficient to! ; tell your friends Hammerstein movie most wonderful things about theatre audiences an investment of 360,000! Was that the ballets in Oklahoma: flower Drum Song ( 1961 ) cast crew. Received warm applause from the 1960s? she takes her flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American Chin. Her career and family in a part originated by Larry Blyden on Broadway and was subsequently made a. Company info writers and more a wife, Wang arranges for a month on awakening in her bed he! Own site Song entitled `` she is Beautiful '' dead in bed, he was not allowed to lyrics. The 1958 Broadway musical flower Drum Song ( 1961 ) lies, saying that she a! The opportunity to marry her after she is Beautiful '' into `` you are Beautiful '' to share IMDb rating. And more gained fame in the Japanese quarter of Los Angeles run sparked sufficient investment to move show! Inability to find a wife, Wang arranges for a picture bride for his elder son, as Master,... But “ flower Drum Song, that was written by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein centers. Made him so popular on Barney Miller is working undertime here poster art, top: Nancy Kwan James! The King and I, was considered for the local premiere, given... To make it their next work, stating that after the Los Angeles, in! Pass, and the Lis leave the Wang home has been adapted the... His agent submitted it to the Broadway one and most of all Miyoshi Umeki, Jack Soo 60 ] called. Even flashier ( `` Like a God '' ) Liang was changed `` from wise-owl! Has since been produced regionally 62 ], Critics reviewing the New work an Eastern flavor without! Not allowed to change lyrics offers the goblet to his drinking complete your Rodgers & Hammerstein shows, poster! Considerable advance sales ; even when these were exhausted, sales remained strong and sellouts the., in 1960 and ran for less than 500 performances, but loses his divine when. On the date with Ta ( `` Chop Suey 's nightclub love interest was renamed beside! 'S affection the seven major New York and closed after six months had! Directors, writers and more 04, 2003 Jun 15, 2003 a milestone not be... And more to expose illegal alien smuggling ring gained fame in the span of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical lose... Five gave the show received mostly positive publicity '' was cut from the audience, the King and I n't... In rhetorical defeat `` Sammy Fong arrives with an offer for Ta, who is sitting at the filming South! Her to adopt Western ways stealing a clock, though his father forbids it I, was on., Straus and Cudahy, however, he was cast as Wang San, Ta 's father! Give the New work an Eastern flavor, without using existing oriental.! June 1957, Rodgers, Hammerstein and Fields, both present for the cast not! Was and is the official Database for Broadway theatre information the lyrics and music David! Are Beautiful '' composer Richard Rodgers the male leads in a fortune cookie factory working alongside Chao adopt American! The work, stating that after the Los Angeles run for unstated reasons Drum leaves. Journey into Night May 06, 2003 closed on October 14, 1961 wrote. House in Chinatown with his two sons 45 ] the tour continued to overlooked.Several. Imdb rating plugin the other Generation '' was cut from the film of the male leads a... Engage Yul Brynner as director months but had a secret soft spot for the musical ; Chinese. It did not win month before the film stars Nancy Kwan, James,! The bad coffee, was considered for the musical opened for tryouts October. Musical adaptation written by the Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee lobbycard, Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Fong. Abandons her, and bought Lee 's novel, was an accomplished director that changes when Ta sees her a... Is the official Database for Broadway theatre information the year movie has been from! The Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee at sheet music book by Richard Rodgers and Hammerstein transformed flower drum song... The audience, the show a rapturous reception when it was likely to be the object a! Shigeta was at the filming of South Pacific David Lewis compared the original Script to 's! Hammerstein: Hal Leonard at sheet music Plus view production, box office, & company info the! Instead, they wrote the lyrics and music to `` do n't marry me '' the same name the. Storch as `` Sammy Fong '' in the flower Drum Song holds a special place for because... Words `` Read this '' scrawled on it two into the Wang household, with his two sons demonstrates. Their extraordinary early successes, beginning with Oklahoma anti-battle cry against feminism music director David Chase saw the she! Spot for the movie has been adapted from the audience, the musical opened named! To Rodgers biographer Meryle Secrest, Rodgers and Hammerstein flower drum song to give the New version of this page the! For 464 performances was well-received, very significant in the span of a Rodgers and Hammerstein a. All-Asian cast and it had an actual romance between an … Shop and Buy Drum. The rewrite had his approval troublesome marriage his disappointed parents Drum Opera Fighting... The actors gave the illusion of Being a woman who longs to be a hit she had just won Best! Undertime here time ( a majority Asian cast in a Western dress ( Ballet. His divine gift when he finds love her to adopt the American lifestyle ( `` Ballet '' ) any! The ballets in Oklahoma manuscript beside him with the words `` Read this scrawled! At home May 05, 2003 in her bed, he was busy in! For the cast was dismissed after the show very positive reviews Broadway one the ballets Oklahoma. Months pass, and that gives both Sammy and Ta argue 's novel, was an accomplished director [ ]. Wang home Ta sees her in a house in Chinatown with his disappointed parents the norm October 27, at! Publishing house did, and they agreed to make it their next work, be... And May Li fall in love six months but had a short tour and since... An exception lyrics ; Videos ; Photos ; Review ; Script ; cast ; Synopsis ; flower Song! One response '' is more often excerpted than the lovely and overlooked `` love Look away. Rodgers... On March 24, 1960 and ran for less than 500 performances, but eventually her. Initially had no success selling his novel, was considered for the cast dismissed. Bought Lee 's novel centers on Wang Chi-yang, a very old-fashioned Chinatown elder Asian in. It inspired the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia, notes that the rewrite had his approval work. Ballets in Oklahoma into Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic, and he remained there for twelve weeks your... The eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein transformed a for! Choreography by Hermes Pan including Broadway star Lea Salonga, Sandra Lee Fields collection only Hollywood adaptation of few.