Pacific Overtures (2004 Broadway Revival Cast)
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CD Details
Edition: Music CDCD Release Date: 2005-05-10
Music Label: P.S. Classics
Soundtracks:
- Prologue
- The Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea
- ?Kayama Yesaemon. A samurai, but one of little consequence.?
- There Is No Other Way
- Four Black Dragons
- ?Disaster! The Americans insist upon landing.?
- Chrysanthemum Tea
- ?My Lord Governor of Uraga??
- Poems
- Welcome to Kanagawa
- March to the Treaty House
- Someone in a Tree
- ?Whatever happened inside the treaty house??
- Please Hello
- A Bowler Hat
- Pretty Lady
- Next
- bonus track: Prayers
Music reviews of Pacific Overtures (2004 Broadway Revival Cast)
Music Review: Beautiful Revival
Rating: 4 Stars
Another underrated masterpiece by Sondheim. This revival has wonderful orchestrations and makes Japanese culture and history accessible to all who listen. The best part about the new Sondheim recordings is that they include spoken word pieces that give background and context to the whole piece. A great addition to the Sondheim catalog.
Description of Pacific Overtures (2004 Broadway Revival Cast)
Pacific Overtures opened on Broadway in 1976. It didn't do that well, but neither did it completely flop--quite a feat considering it's one of Stephen Sondheim's hardest-to-penetrate musicals. Set in the mid-19th century, the show describes the arrival of Americans in Japan and their influence on that country. Sondheim said he wanted to keep the lyrics simple, so they're haiku-like, with few rhymes. Meanwhile, the music gets increasingly Westernized as the show progresses, to underscore the progressive Westernization of Japan. This revival was performed in Japanese at the 2002 Lincoln Center Festival, before being adapted for an English-speaking Broadway opening with an Asian-American cast. The small orchestra does justice to the score, although one may wish for echoes of the original production's fuller arrangements. Toward the end of the CD, two consecutive tracks neatly show up Sondheim's versatility. The comic "Please Hello" features American, British, Dutch, Russian, and French admirals, and Sondheim subtly honors each country's tradition as each admiral takes his turn (if only the cast's accents were as good). The song segues into the somber "A Bowler Hat," in which the Westernization of Kayama (Michael K. Lee) is examplified by his owning a bowler hat. (B.D. Wong shows his customary assurance as the Reciter.) Narratively speaking, the song may well be among Sondheim's best. The CD ends with a 1975 demo recording of Sondheim and director Harold Prince performing the cut number "Prayers." --Elisabeth Vincentelli
Other Recent Sondheim Releases
 The Frogs (2004 Cast) |  Sondheim Sings (vol. 1) |  Assassins (2004 Cast) |
 Sweeney Todd (DVD) |  Bounce |  Mostly Sondheim (DVD), Barbara Cook |
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