Pacific Overtures (1976 Original Broadway Cast) [CAST RECORDING]

Stephen Sondheim (Composer, Orchestra), Alvin Ing (Performer), Conrad Yama (Performer), Ernest Harada (Performer), Freda Foh Shen (Performer), Fusako Yoshida (Performer), Gedde Watanabe (Performer), Isao Sato (Performer), Jae Woo Lee (Performer), James Dybas (Performer), Leslie Watanabe (Performer), Mako (Performer), Mark Hsu Syers (Performer), Patrick Kinser-Lau (Performer), Ricardo Tobia (Performer), Sab Shimono (Performer), Timm Fujii (Performer), Yuki Shimoda (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Alvin Ing, Conrad Yama, Ernest Harada, Freda Foh Shen, Fusako Yoshida, et al.
• Orchestra: Stephen Sondheim
• Composer: Stephen Sondheim
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: RCA Victor Broadway
• ASIN: B000002W6P
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #44,308 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Pacific Overtures is one of Stephen Sondheim's most rewarding but least-appreciated works. Part of the reason is it's been one of the least-staged Sondheim shows due to its unusual requirements: following the conventions of the Japanese Noh play, it uses an all-Asian, all-male cast, and authentic instruments such as the shamisen. As a slice of history, John Weidman's book is fascinating: In 1853, Japan's borders were closed to all foreigners until the arrival of American Commodore Matthew Perry forced the opening of trade relations. Sondheim's score captures the delicacy of Japanese verse ("Poems"), a blackly humorous scene of the emperor's refusal to acknowledge the American ships ("Chrysanthemum Tea"), Gilbert & Sullivan-esque patter ("Please Hello"), and the most beautiful song ever written about prostitution (the lyric men's trio "Pretty Lady"). Worthy of special mention is the song Sondheim has often claimed as his best ever, "Someone in a Tree," which describes the crucial meeting in the treaty house from the perspective of different characters on the outside. Over a quarter century after its 1976 Broadway debut, Pacific Overtures began to enjoy increased attention from theater companies, culminating in a Broadway revival in 2004. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sondheim & Prince's offering for the U.S. Bicentennial, January 30, 2004

By	Mark Andrew Lawrence "Theatre Reviewer" (Toronto) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

1976 - America was celebrating two hundred years of idependence. Tv, radio, records and movies were all things patriotic. This was the way things were when the musical PACIFIC OVERTURES arrived at Broadway's Winter Garden theatre. A musical that took a critical look at how the U.S. forced Japan into international trade in 1842... what were they thinking?

It didn't look like a Broadway musical. It sure didn't sound like Broadway music. The critics were mixed..a few loved it, several loathed it...but most admitted they didn't quite know what to make of it. Audiences went to see A CHORUS LINE (which would win the 1976 Tony award) and CHICAGO. PACIFIC OVERTURES was gone after 193 performances. The great experiment failed.

Or had it?

RCA did a cast album. Sales were slow at first but it eventually became one of their biggest sellers allowing more people a chance to hear this wonderful score. Regional theatres began exploring the possibility of doing the show. An off-Broadway revival in 1984 was critically lauded. A new production is planned for New York for 2005. It may never be as big as hit as LEZ MIZ, but for those looking for something different and exciting, PACIFIC OVERTURES will do very nicely.

I don't want to give away all the many details of the score: that would rob you of the thrill of discovering so much on your own. But a few "hints": Sondheim has long considered "Someone in a Tree" to be one of his favourite numbers; "Please Hello" is brilliant in weaving together musical styles for the U.S.; England; Holland; Russia & France as each country enters to set up trade with Japan. "Chrysanthemum Tea" has brilliant lyrics (including the lines "If the tea the Shogun drank will serve to keep the Shogun tranquil...") Notice too how the score becomes more "americanized" as it proceeds all the way to the finale "Next."

RCA has included a libretto and detailed synopsis. It will take a few serious listens (following along with the libretto) to begin to penetrate this work. Then, once you have fallen in love with it seek out the English National Opera's complete recording on Jay/TER which has the whole show, dialogue and music. It's not as well sung and acted as this original cast disc.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A most unusual topic for a musical, but then that's Sondheim, October 28, 2000

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"Pacific Overtures" is the political euphemism used by Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853 when Japan was persuaded to open up trade relations because of the display of naval power put on by the United States. The clash of cultures as the "Floating Kingdom" was forced to end centuries of enforced isolation is the subject of this unique musical, which dramatizes Perry's expedition to Japan. John Weidman's original idea, which first came to him in a Harvard lecture hall in 1966, was realized a decade later when director-producer Harold Prince decided to adapt various Japanese theatrical techniques and conventions, and Stephen Sondheim was brought in to write the music.

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.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Broadway's most adventurous composer's most unique score, July 10, 2000

By	"efrex" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Stephen Sondheim has spent a lifetime revolutionizing the world of musical theater; combining daring thematic material with unique musical forms and brilliant lyrics. None of his work, however, displays the inventiveness of this show, which combines Japanese Kobuki sensibilities, Americana, and even a brief Gilbert & Sullivan-esque patter song parody to tell the story of America's discovery and eventual cultural co-option of Japan at the turn of the century. The score, which includes the sensational "Someone in a Tree" (where past and present overlap, and the concept of history being a function of its observers is explored brilliantly), the exquisite "Poems" and "Pretty Lady" (whose lovely melody and harmony belie the brutality of its scene), and the moody "Bowler Hat" (in which an entire decade of culural transformation is presented through one singer) combine to create an effect which can only be described as astonishing. Mako and the rest of a cast of unknowns make this cast recording an essential one for anyone who believes that broadway musical theater can be as inventive and challenging as any other form of art.