I also knew that it is rarely performed. So I definitely wanted to take advantage of this production, especially done at Signature, the regional theatre with the deepest relationship with Sondheim during his lifetime. Another bonus, Signature Theatre is a rather intimate place. Shows seldom seat over 200 and the audience is always close to the stage. For this production I had a second row seat with an eye level view right down the center of the stage on the end of an aisle used for the entrance and exit of Commodore Perry. I couldn't have done better.
Now a word about the musical itself. It is about Japan and it's forced entrance into the "modern" world of the mid-19th century. Not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised by all of the cultural aspects of the story-telling. No two Sondheim musicals are alike, and he is famous for ignoring conventions established by the classical musical era. I think of him like I think of Pablo Picasso in this instance. When Pablo was 10 he'd already mastered the art of figure drawing creating sketches of the human nude that rivaled anything Michelangelo every drew. And then he went on to discover a new way to portray the world. Sondheim cut his teeth on musicals like Gypsy and West Side Story...and then he went on to create a new way of telling stories in the American Musical Theater. While the bulk of the story telling here involves real people, presented with a little artistic license, at a critical moment in Japanese history, the story doesn't stop there. The pot plays out all the way to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and modern Japan with a litany of current facts that punctuate the range of moral questions regarding the goodness of Japan's entry into the modern world.
It's fascinating. And as Sondheim musicals go, really rather sparse in the way of musical numbers with a total of 11, and only 4 in the second act. Ergo, there's an abundance to narrative. As to the songs themselves, I had only ever heard one, "Someone in a Tree," before seeing the show. I didn't understand its context, but liked it as piece of music. It was clear that it was also an audience favorite, the row of queens sitting directly behind me couldn't completely contain themselves from humming along. In the end, it wasn't my favorite song in the show. I really found "There Is No Other Way," a duet between one of the male leads and his wife particularly beautiful. Also of note are a series of humorous songs: "Chrysanthemum Tea," where the Shogun's mother conspires to poison her son over the course of 5 days under the mistaken idea that if the shogun is dead, Commodore Perry will have no one to deliver his letter from President Pierce to, and will therefore leave. Of course, this only succeeds in murdering the Shogun. Perry delivers the letter and then returns in the second act intent on signing a trade agreement which gives us "Welcome to Kanagawa" the "Best Little Whore House in" Kanagawa number! Hilarious. But perhaps the most enthralling number in the whole show is "Please Hello!" which opens the second act and surrounds Lord Abe with grotesquely attired caricatures of envoys from the West and Russia in a tangled ballet of one-ups-man's-ship to establish the most comprehensive diplomatic relationship with Japan.
In 1976, when the Tony's were celebrating the productions of that year, "Pacific Overtures" was nominated for Best Musical and put up against "Chicago" and "A Chorus Line". Cue the trombones...Waaa, waaa, waaaahhh. Having opened on January 11, 1976, it played out its run at 193 shows. Not a stellar number, not a flop. The last revival was an Off-Broadway production in 2017 that starred George Takei and ran for 60 shows. Okay, I know. I've just given you more background information on this show than you've EVER wanted to know! Ugh...the teacher in me just can't always wait off stage.
As to this production. 1) The space at Signature is a blank canvas. Every single show is different. The depth and orientation of the stage is different. It's some hard to imagine how what I saw there comports from one show to the next. The set, designed by Chika Shimizu, was stunning in its simplicity, harmony, intimacy and functionality. The design went beyond just the stage with its huge rotating circle and various trap doors containing props and people. The canvas was extended to the entire perimeter of the space enclosing everyone in a box decorated with back lit zen screens. The effect was absorbing. 2) Puppetry was a part of the production in a way that melded the traditions of shadow theatre with kabuki and allowed a disturbing separation between real people and those in mortal danger. Not what you would expect. The puppets were more innocent and vulnerable somehow--the magic of excellent design. My hat is off to Helen Q. Huang for these animate creations. As if that weren't enough, Ms. Huang also created the costumes. I am almost at a loss for words when it comes to just how freaking stunning they were. You know me, Little Mary Sunshine herself when it comes to things like this, but I am going to put it out there: IF Helen Q. Huang doesn't win the Helen Hayes Award for best Costume for a Musical this year in June---there is no god. I have never seen anything like these before. Functional, Gorgeous, Alarming, Sensuous in a fully platonic way--just that freaking hard to describe, yet encompassing.
On to the actors. All, I mean ALL, were amazing. The opportunity to participate in this production brought out talent with more Broadway and Off-Broadway and International credentials than I've ever seen before in the DMV. First point, for these actors: If I don't call you out...I've already taken up more time than I should...we can agree it's not you, it's me.
So I'm going from the gut to elevate 4. In ascending order: 1) Daniel May as Kayama. Kayama is the "everyman" whose fate elevates him from faithful servant to hyper-exoculturally-stimulated, regional governor. All along the journey of the character's transformation, May never forgets Kayama's humanity. May's voice is tender and perfect for moments when he is conveying kindness, vulnerability, or regret. 2) Jonny Lee Jr. as Manjiro. This is a heavy role and Lee embodies it from disgraced exile to psychopathic Shogun warrior. He is best played as the grateful co-conspirator with May's Kayama. There duet "Poems" is a high point in the first act.
3) Andrew Cristi (he/they) as Shogun's Mother. Okay, first off, "He"/"They"? Oh, please, brother...sister...MOTHER/FATHER sit your ass on something, won't you? Cut me some slack, I'm evolving--and pronouns have never been my forte. As the Shogun's Mother, Andrew has arrived! They are exactly where he needs to be. (Don't blame me, again: I didn't pick the pronouns!) The performance of the song "Chrysanthemum Tea" was the most compelling for its tight lyrics and morphed recitative style that is so vintage (AND) avant garde Sondheim at his most subversive. (Think the "Witch's Garden" from "Into the Woods"). It draws directly on the nascent emerging musical artform of rap--we're talking with 2 to 3 years from the first expression of rap, almost before rap was rap--Sondheim got it. All of which is second fiddle to Cristi's interpretation--you can't make the magic unless you have a worthy magician. Magnificent my brother/sister/artist.
4) Of all of the out of town talent to populate this production, I want to end with a local actor. Christopher Mueller is part of the Signature Theatre "family." He's a journeyman actor. I've never seen a shitty performance from him. In this production he wasn't a lead. He inhabited a range of rolls. And in each he was wonderful. His female prostitute in the "Welcome to Kanagawa" scene was the perfect buffoon and delighted the audience over and over again. There is a scene in the second act that is as Shakespearean as anything Sondheim ever put out there. In the course of 10 minutes characters are assassinated en masse. Shoguns go hand-to-hand in mortal combat. The sword play is serious and choreographed within an inch of actual harm. Christopher's commitment to this scene was so utterly without hesitation, that the follow up battle between to other cast members, while technically perfect, felt staged. Oh, and one other thing, his voice. Good golly Miss Molly, he just gets richer and more expressive with every passing of the earth around the sun. I can't wait to see what he does next.
So just in case you're wondering: I LOVED this production. Unfortunately, I believe it is sold out through the rest of its run, and I'm grateful that I bought my ticket back in December.
No comments:
Post a Comment