I just stumbled on this. Have wanted to see a production of Pacific Overtures for 30 odd years. And now, you can watch the actual Original Broadway show, on this You Tube link! It is a fantastic concoction: Stephen Sondheims beautiful songs, a script based on the diaries of Commodore Perry who made first contact with the Japanese in 1853. And an all-Asian cast using techniques from Kabuki and Bunruku Theatre to tell the story. Characters enter on a hanamichi, a runway above the audience; the female roles are played by onnagata, as in traditional Kabuki, until the last scene set in the present, when women join the men; the music is played on traditional Japanese instruments. The musical is about the transformation of Japan after being infiltrated by the Western World. Stunning! https://youtube/watch?v=MQ546PASgHI
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 05:46:46 +0000