Two Golden Age musicals get makeovers: 'Brigadoon' transcends time, 'Flower Drum Song' falters between eras

Few would contend that Lerner and Loewe’s “Brigadoon” and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song” correspond the champion enactment of these legendary duos.

Unlike Lerner and Loewe’s eternally fashionable “My Fair Lady,” “Brigadoon” hasn’t had a Broadway revival since 1980. “Flower Drum Song,” relegated to the shadows of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” and “South Pacific,” didn’t past agelong erstwhile it received its archetypal and lone Broadway revival successful 2002.

I assumed nostalgia was fueling the tendency to springiness these Golden Age musicals a makeover. But erstwhile I sat successful the assemblage for these shows and fell instantly nether the spell of their scores, I had a antithetic answer.

The euphony makes a lawsuit for wherefore “Brigadoon,” present successful a soaring revival astatine Pasadena Playhouse, and “Flower Drum Song,” making a little assured reemergence astatine the Aratani Theatre successful Little Tokyo, should unrecorded again. I was peculiarly skeptical of “Brigadoon,” with its airy-fairy publication and dense dose of romanticist hokum, but the Broadway-level accumulation astatine Pasadena Playhouse whitethorn beryllium the champion section staging of a philharmonic I’ve seen successful my 20 years covering the country for The Times.

Kylie Victoria Edwards and Daniel Yearwood successful “Brigadoon” astatine Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

I knew some musicals principally from their movie adaptations. I missed David Henry Hwang‘s archetypal rewrite of “Flower Drum Song,” which was a storied occurrence astatine the Mark Taper Forum successful 2001 but fared little favorably erstwhile it moved to New York the pursuing year. I accidental I archetypal saw “Brigadoon” arsenic a kid astatine my grandmother’s house, amused astatine the mode she goofily sang along. When I precocious watched some movies again, it was similar falling into a philharmonic drama clip warp.

The enduring emotion for these Broadway shows isn’t conscionable astir the standards they person bequeathed to the American songbook. It’s besides astir the yearning for a much optimistic epoch of philharmonic storytelling, erstwhile goodness could beryllium counted connected to prevail and a blessed ending mightiness beryllium delayed but lone seldom denied.

“Brigadoon,” a romanticist phantasy astir 2 Americans who stumble upon a mystical Scottish colony that magically comes to beingness for a azygous time erstwhile each 100 years, mightiness look to beryllium irredeemably old-fashioned. The show, which premiered connected Broadway successful 1947, was Lerner and Loewe’s archetypal deed aft a drawstring of flops and fizzles. Without the occurrence of “Brigadoon,” “My Fair Lady,” “Camelot” and the movie philharmonic “Gigi” mightiness ne'er person happened.

Betsy Morgan and Max von Essen successful “Brigadoon” astatine Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

But however bash you lick a occupation similar Alan Jay Lerner’s book, written for a sensibility markedly much wholesome than our own? Enter playwright Alexandra Silber, whose caller adaptation works for the astir portion remarkably well. There are a fewer lumpy patches, moments erstwhile the revision over-explains itself oregon belabors a point. But the mode Tommy Albright (Max Von Essen) and Jeff Douglas (Happy Anderson), the accidental American intruders, person been modernized is simply a fizzy delight.

Imagine if Vincente Minnelli’s surface mentation of “Brigadoon,” starring Gene Kelly and Van Johnson, was remade with Paul Rudd and John Goodman, and you’ll person immoderate thought of the comic chemistry here. But I should preface this thought workout by archetypal extolling the philharmonic theatre prowess of Von Essen, who received a Tony information for his enactment successful “An American successful Paris” and has a dependable that could marque the angels swoon. Less is required of Anderson’s jaded, booze-sodden Jeff, but this smart-alecky sidekick is re-imagined with crackling comic vitality.

The production, directed and choreographed by Katie Spelman, saves its astir assertive interventions for its pistillate characters. Fiona MacLaren (Betsy Morgan), the unmarried heroine who catches Tommy’s amorous eye, inactive falls heedlessly successful emotion but not earlier correcting immoderate of her American suitor’s chauvinistic assumptions. Morgan mightiness overdo Fiona’s fiery streak erstwhile she sings “Waitin’ For My Dearie,” but the driving impulse is to bring the musical’s out-of-time pistillate characters into the 21st century.

“Brigadoon” ensemble astatine Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Meg Brockie (Donna Vivino), nary longer the municipality floozie single-mindedly retired to furniture Jeff, is present the proprietor of Brockie’s Pub and the keeper of Brigadoon’s accepted connection and culture. She’s inactive a sensual wrecking ball, but she’s excessively formidable to beryllium treated arsenic comic relief.

Silber has transformed Mr. Lundie, Brigadoon’s schoolmaster and motivation guide, into Widow Lundie. The casting of the large Tyne Daly successful the relation is crushed capable to marque the sex switch, but it’s each portion of a recalibration of the values of this theatrical world.

The dynamism of the singing and dancing smooths retired immoderate of the adaptation’s unsmooth edges. Spelman puts her ain stamp connected Agnes DeMille’s archetypal choreography, which was arsenic integral to the storytelling arsenic the book, lyrics and music.

When Charlie (a phenomenal Daniel Yearwood), a genial groom readying himself for the large wedding day, performs with his buddies “I’ll Go Home With Bonnie Jean,” Pasadena Playhouse erupts successful a stomping frenzy of Celtic ecstasy. And Yearwood’s gorgeous rendition of “Come to Me, Bend to Me” is truthful seductive, it’s nary wonderment that Jean (Kylie Victoria Edwards), Fiona’s sister, has chosen to wed him.

“Brigadoon” ensemble astatine Pasadena Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

All, however, is not idyllic successful time-forgotten Brigadoon. Casting a pall implicit the nuptials, Harry Beaton (Spencer Davis Milford), hopelessly successful emotion with Jean, threatens to destruct Brigadoon’s occurrence by leaving the municipality for good.

Silber deepens Harry’s quality and gives his communicative much affectional weight. (Milford manages to beryllium some convincingly menacing and pitiably heartbroken.) The movie tweaked Harry’s fatal ending, but the adaptation does thing adjacent much striking with his desperation. The alteration is absorbed people by the musical, adjacent if the ceremonial creation that Maggie (Jessica Lee Keller) elaborately performs mightiness beryllium much moving connected a reduced scale.

The adaptation doesn’t ever get the melodramatic proportions right. When Jeff bares his psyche to Tommy aft the 2 are backmost connected barstools successful New York, the revelation that helium is simply a heartsick widower complicates our knowing of a quality primitively conceived arsenic a cynical bachelor. But Silber tries to extract excessively overmuch sympathy from the speech and stops the enactment erstwhile it should beryllium moving rapidly toward its large finish.

Marc Oka, foreground, and Esther Lee, from left, Gemma Pedersen, Ai Toyoshima, Sally Hong, Hillary Tang and Emma Park successful Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song,” produced by East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.

(Mike Palma)

But thing tin derail the occurrence of this bonzer production, the precocious watermark truthful acold of Pasadena Playhouse producing creator manager Danny Feldman’s ongoing reexamination of the American philharmonic canon. Jason Sherwood’s ravishing scenic design, afloat of eye-catching texture and lush density, makes it intolerable not to imagination on with the characters. Even the signifier curtain, graced with Brigadoon’s floral insignia, is simply a enactment of art.

A 22-piece orchestra, nether the euphony supervision of Darryl Archibald, draws retired the each the sublime colour of Frederick Loewe’s music. Most spectacularly, the blend of Von Essen’s lyric baritone and Morgan’s assertive soprano gives eternal beingness to Tommy and Fiona’s numbers. Hearing “The Heather connected the Hill,” “Almost Like Being successful Love” and “From This Day On” successful the majestic intimacy of Pasadena Playhouse is simply a representation that volition past astatine slightest a lifetime.

It’s a spot harder to justice this update of “Flower Drum Song,” which is Hwang’s 2nd ace astatine revising the book, primitively written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joseph Fields. A co-production betwixt East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, the revival doesn’t person the resources of Pasadena Playhouse’s “Brigadoon” and apt doesn’t person the aforesaid goals.

Ai Toyoshima, from left, Brian Shimasaki Liebson, Grace Yoo and Scott Keiji Takeda successful Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song,” produced by East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.

(Mike Palma)

The musical, which premiered connected Broadway successful 1958, was groundbreaking for the mode it provided a showcase for Asian American performers. Henry Koster’s 1961 workplace movie adaptation followed suit with an adjacent greater reach. The volition was to make philharmonic theatre amusement built astir generational struggle — a longstanding instrumentality of romanticist comedy. But present the clash involves immigrants successful San Francisco trying to reconcile accepted Chinese civilization and modern American life.

Stereotypes, however, prevailed, leaving a assemblage astatine erstwhile grateful for practice and uncomfortable with the reinforcement of aged tropes. Hwang (author of the Tony Award-winning “M. Butterfly”) acceptable retired to re-imagine the characters from the position of a modern Asian American dramatist astir 25 years ago. But times proceed to alteration on with taste sensitivities, and helium wanted to revisit his enactment for East West Players’ 60th day season.

Directed by EWP creator manager Lily Tung Crystal, who is of Chinese heritage, the accumulation is connected a quest for a deeper authenticity. This ngo is to supply a much genuine reflection of Asian American acquisition — assemblage members speaking straight to chap assemblage members.

Grace Yoo, left, and Scott Keiji Takeda successful Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song,” produced by East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.

(Mike Palma)

The accumulation is astir effectual erstwhile the actors are singing, particularly Grace Yoo, who plays Mei-Li and had maine entranced the infinitesimal she started singing “A Hundred Million Miracles.” Don’t fto the accepted angiosperm drum she totes astir fool you. She’s nary longer the softly obedient girl of authority. Having fled communism, she has arrived successful the U.S. without papers and (unlike the original) her father, and isn’t excessively keen connected anyone dictating to her what she tin and cannot do.

Scott Keiji Takeda, who plays Ta, Mei-Li’s reluctant inamorato, has a sumptuous dependable that captures the hues of Richard Rodgers’ music. But unluckily his woody characterization raises questions astir what precisely Mei-Li sees successful him.

There’s a hostility betwixt the update’s bully intentions and the inclination of philharmonic drama to postulation successful amusing caricatures. (Exaggeration and simplification are par for the course.) In trying to basal retired violative Asian American stereotypes, Hwang imports swishing stereotypes for laughs successful his instauration of a caller character, Harvard (Kenton Chen), who works astatine the theatre owned by Ta’s begetter and seems a throwback to the campy, wisecracking cheery characters that were a staple of 1980s big-budget movie comedies. Harvard whitethorn get a much empowering storyline than his florist-hairdresser-retail-clerk predecessors, but the wit is redolent of the aforesaid punishing cliches.

Krista Marie Yu successful Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song,” produced by East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.

(Mike Palma)

Emily Kuroda arsenic take-charge shaper Madame Liang and Marc Oka arsenic Wang, Ta’s old-school father, propulsion themselves into the revival with afloat farcical force. Crystal’s fluid staging, afloat of agile and vibrant plan choices, smoothly maneuvers the action. But earnestness is the force of hilarity. Hwang tin beryllium precise witty, but however tin the accumulation fto itself spell erstwhile it’s truthful often being called upon to marque an important point?

Linda Low (Krista Marie Yu), nary longer Mei-Li’s rival for Ta’s manus successful marriage, is present her ally. When she sings a middling mentation of “I Enjoy Being a Girl,” the gag isn’t connected her but a nine that leaves women truthful fewer options. The occupation is that for Hwang to rebuild Mei-Li and Linda into characters of credible modern-day complexity, helium would person to commencement from scratch, not conscionable retooling the publication but commissioning a caller people to soma retired his much analyzable vision. In different words, leaving Rodgers and Hammerstein’s philharmonic behind.

“Brigadoon” manages to transcend time, but this instrumentality connected “Flower Drum Song” falters betwixt eras.