Pacific Overtures (1976 Original Broadway Cast)

List Price: $8.99
Our Price: $4.88
You Save: $4.11 (46%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.56 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details

CD Details

Music reviews of Pacific Overtures (1976 Original Broadway Cast)

Music Review: A most unusual topic for a musical, but then that's Sondheim
Rating: 4 Stars

At that point in time Sondheim was primarily known for his exploration of personal relationships (e.g., "Company," "Follies," "A Little Night Music"), so it is not surprising that he presents countries as characters when delving into international relations. There are three long set pieces in the show. "Chrysanthemum Tea" deals with the attempts in vain of the Shogun's mother to spur her son to action to stop the invaders, until she poisons him in frustration. "Someone in a Tree" relates the first formal meeting between the Japanese and the Americans from the perspective of a young boy in a tree and a warrior hidden underneath the floorboards in case of American treachery. The showpiece of the musical is "Please Hello," where a series of admirals representing the Western powers arrive and haughtily make their demands of the Japanese, allowing Sondheim to make maximum use of his delightful word play. There are also several effective smaller pieces, most notably "Poems." You will not find a song in "Pacific Overtures" that Barbra Streisand will cover on one of her Broadway albums, but that is because such the story and form of the show do not lend themselves to such melodies.

"Pacific Overtures" a rare musical to see in performance, which is a shame because of its imaginative use of Kabuki. Among the Kabuki traditions adapted to the show were the use of males to play the female roles, the Reciter (Mako) who comments on and sometimes participates in the proceedings, and stagehands completely clothed in black and musicians on stage throughout the play. Act I ends with the symbolism of a Kabuki lion dance, which provides the image for the album cover. More than most musicals "Pacific Overtures" is a piece that loses something significant when you listen to the album and are left without the images and only the sounds. First time listeners need to read the synopsis by William H. Evans and follow along with the libretto to get an appropriate idea of the production. While it would never be a very popular show, this musical is certainly a fascinating attempt that is of much interest to the Westernization of Japan as it is to devotees of the American stage. Ultimately, Prince has a bigger impact on the show than Sondheim, which takes some doing to be sure.

Description of Pacific Overtures (1976 Original Broadway Cast)

Broadway & Vocalists CDs

• Music > Styles
• Country
• Pop
• Soundtracks