Flower Drum Song - Softcover

Hwang, David Henry; Rogers, Richard; Hammerstein II, Oscar

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1559362227 ISBN 13: 9781559362221

Publisher: Theatre Communications Group, 2003

Synopsis

In 1958, it was daring to stage a Broadway musical about romances between Asian men and women in San Francisco's Chinatown. It was filmed in 1961 and reached an even wider audience before dropping off the cultural radar. Nearly thirty years later, the well-established Asian-American writer David Henry Hwang decided to revisit the show and give it a more modern sense of authenticity. The updated and revitalised show opened in Los Angeles in 2001 and returned in triumph to Broadway in 2002. 'To create something new, we must first love what is old.' So says a character in David Henry Hwang's updated book to Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical. This volume contains Hwang's new text (and Hammerstein's lyrics) plus Hwang's introduction and an afterward by Karen Wada documenting the long and vital history of this landmark musical.

About this title

Review:

Flower Drum Song shines in this jubilant, top-to-bottom revision. David Henry Hwang’s wised-up book adds more humor and political savvy and fits perfectly into Robert Longbottom’s seductive and opulent musical.”- David Cote, Time Out New York

Part fashion show, part nightclub act, part hymn to Asian American diversity, Flower Drum Song’s intelligence may be rooted in Asian American cultural contradictions, but its heart belongs to Broadway.” John Lahr, New Yorker

The dramatist and his director-choreographer, Robert Longbottom, have worked brilliantly to create a new Broadway show of high and low seriousness, which was Rodger and Hammerstein’s intention in the first place.” John Heilpern, New York Observer

David Henry Hwang and Robert Longbottom have retained the show’s irresistible sweetness and added more of the unabashed grandeur that distinguishes Rodgers and Hammerstein’s best-loved material.” Elysa Gardner, USA Today

"A bold theatrical operation, an artistic success, revealing a revitalized score and a dramatic complexion that’s far richer than the original." Variety

“Flower Drum Song shines in this jubilant, top-to-bottom revision. David Henry Hwang’s wised-up book adds more humor and political savvy and fits perfectly into Robert Longbottom’s seductive and opulent musical.”- David Cote, Time Out New York

“Part fashion show, part nightclub act, part hymn to Asian American diversity, Flower Drum Song’s intelligence may be rooted in Asian American cultural contradictions, but its heart belongs to Broadway.” –John Lahr, New Yorker

“The dramatist and his director-choreographer, Robert Longbottom, have worked brilliantly...to create a new Broadway show of high and low seriousness, which was Rodger and Hammerstein’s intention in the first place.” –John Heilpern, New York Observer

“David Henry Hwang and Robert Longbottom have retained the show’s irresistible sweetness and added more of the unabashed grandeur that distinguishes Rodgers and Hammerstein’s best-loved material.” –Elysa Gardner, USA Today

"A bold theatrical operation, an artistic success, revealing a revitalized score and a dramatic complexion that’s far richer than the original."―Variety

About the Author:

David Henry Hwang is the author of the Tony Award-winning M. Butterfly, Yellow Face (OBIE Award, 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalist), Golden Child (1997 OBIE Award), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), Family Devotions (Drama Desk nomination), and the books for musicals Aida ( co-author), Flower Drum Song (2002 Broadway revival), and Tarzan, among other works. David Henry Hwang graduated from Stanford University, attended the Yale School of Drama, and holds honorary degrees from Columbia College in Chicago and The American Conservatory Theatre. He lives in New York City with his wife, actress Kathryn Layng, and their children, Noah David and Eva Veanne.

About this edition

• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1559362227
• ISBN 13: 9781559362221
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 120