Classic ‘Flower’ Trampled
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I think it is really sad that an American musical classic, “The Flower Drum Song,” long overdue for a major revival, has been absolutely ruined by writer David Henry Hwang (“A Classic Flowers Anew,” reviewed by Michael Phillips, Oct. 15).
All the charm, warmth, humor and fantasy of the original are lost on his new libretto for this version at the Mark Taper Forum. Hwang’s new play has no place in this classic musical, and only he stands to benefit by having his work enhanced by Rodgers & Hammerstein’s beautiful score. In his great arrogance, he thought he could improve the show by making it modern with no reverence for the original novel by C.Y. Lee.
The fact that the original showed a 1950s America that the Asian American community was just as vital a part of society as any other is completely lost on him in his desire to make it PC. An absolute disaster, and I urge all fans of R&H; and musical theater in general to skip it and pray for a real revival.
JASON KIM ROBERTS
Los Angeles
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