| Two minor disagreements | |
| Posted by: DistantDrumming 04:44 pm EDT 03/18/23 | |
| In reply to: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "PACIFIC OVERTURES" in WASHINGTON DC - T.B._Admin. 09:44 pm EDT 03/17/23 | |
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| "Standouts are Chani Wereley as the opportunistic madam of a Japanese brothel, Andrew Cristi as the scene-stealing mother of the ailing Shogun (Ma), and Albert Hsueh as a child witness to the events." These three actors WERE wonderful, but I'd also argue that Jonny Lee Jr. and Daniel May, who play the main samurai Kayama and the fisherman from Boston, Manjiro, and who are pictured in the review, were also standouts. Perhaps their roles aren't as showy as the Mother or the Madame, but they gave soulful, nuanced, and beautifully sung performances. I was expecting to be entranced by Sondheim's gorgeous score, but I wasn't expecting to be so moved by those two performances. To be fair, the reviewer does start by noting the cast is made up of "12 immensely talented actors." "Alexander Tom conducts eight additional musicians from the keyboard from behind a scrim." My program lists 10 musicians, in addition to Alexander Tom. And, in most songs they sounded wonderful with the reduced Tunick orchestrations. Only the most bombastic songs (4 Dragons, Please Hello) felt lacking. Anyway, if you have a chance to see this production, don't miss it. It's not perfect, but it's wonderfully cast, sensitively directed. It remains reverent to the material and the blend of Japanese traditional theatre (Kabuki) and Broadway while not being afraid to mark its own... signature (ahem), by injecting a little more emotion and naturalism into the performance and presentations than I recall from the original. |
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