Pacific Overtures, Signature Theatre, Arlington, VA

 

Jason Ma (Center) as the Reciter and the cast of Pacific Overtures. Photo credit: Daniel Rader.

For the second time in less than a week, I had the opportunity to see a show I didn't know well: Signature Theatre's production of Pacific Overtures. One of the least often performed of Stephen Sondheim's musicals, I knew the plot vaguely and had heard just a couple of its songs. Just as was the case with Shout Sister Shout!, I was in for a memorable evening of learning while being superbly entertained.

There are many East-meets-West depictions in various genres. When these opposites meet, each learns something about the other but also something about themselves. This is the story of Western (American) encroachment on Eastern (Japanese) culture, told from the perspective of the Japanese.

John Weidman’s book takes us back to mid-19^th century Japan. “The Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea,” the opening song, sets the stage. A Shogun’s edict issued in 1638 forbade anyone to enter or leave Japan and the Japanese were content to keep it that way. A young fisherman, Manjiro, is brought to the Shogun, who is essentially a military dictator. The young man broke two laws: he left Japan (shipwrecked, he was rescued by an American ship and taken to the U.S.) and after several years he returned. He has been sentenced to die.

In 1853, four armed ships under the command of Commodore Matthew Perry enter a Japanese port. Never having seen such things, the townspeople react with fear referring to the ships as “Four Black Dragons.” The Shogun sends a low-level civil servant, Kayama, to go out to the American ships and force them to leave. The Americans are insulted that such an insignificant man has been sent and demand to see someone more important. When Kayama reports this to the Shogun, it is decided that the prisoner Manjiro, who has spent time among the Americans and speaks English, should be disguised as an important nobleman and meet the Americans. This is Manjiro’s “get out of jail free card” rescuing him from execution. (The best way to handle Americans, according to Manjiro, is to talk loudly.) The Americans are more satisfied but will not be completely satisfied without going ashore and signing an agreement that will open Japan to American trade.

Jonny Lee Jr. as Manjiro and Daniel May as Kayama in their "boat" on their way to meet with the Americans. Photo credit: Daniel Rader.

To keep the Americans from setting foot on Japanese soil, the Japanese lay out a long carpet for them. After they meet, the carpet is rolled up and destroyed. The American ships sail away. The Americans are gone forever, or so they think. But of course, what America wants, America gets. The Japanese realize that their arms are no match for American firepower.

Eymard Meneses Cabling (in black) as the Shogun Lord Abe with the emissaries from (L to R) France, the Netherlands, the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Photo credit: Daniel Rader.

The Shogun is soon beset by not just the Americans, but the British, Dutch, Russian, and French emissaries. The Japanese way of life is changed forever. We see parallel transformations of Kayama and Manjiro. Kayama embraces the Western way; now he has a bowler hat and spectacles and has begun to dress and think differently. On the other hand, Manjiro, the fisherman who had been rescued and taken to a place called “Massachusetts,” rejects the Western way for an increased interest in ancient traditions, including becoming a samurai. When the two characters clash, representing opposing ideals, one of them is killed.

The production inserts a silent tableau with all of the actors appearing as corpses, suggesting that atomic bombs unleashed on Japan might never have happened had the Americans not intruded in the first place, a troubling and questionable hypothesis. Fast forward to today and we learn updated contemporary information about Japan, population data, GNP ranking, etc., as the cast populates the stage in contemporary styles.

This production of Pacific Overtures incorporates numerous elements of Japanese theatre and culture, including traditional kabuki dance, samurai swordsmanship, taiko drumming, masks, fans, and puppetry. Sondheim’s music is not Japanese, but Japanese-ish, in the same way that Richard Rodgers’s music for The King and I was not Thai, but Thai-ish. The lyrics are as inventive and witty as any Sondheim wrote, often notably using haiku. Sondheim’s favorite lyrics of all the songs that he wrote are in “Someone in a Tree,” a whimsical song about what happens in the meeting between the Shogun and the Americans, sung from three different perspectives.

The character of “the Reciter,” played with unassuming charm by Jason Ma, serves as a kind of tour guide through the play, narrating its action and slipping into characters at several points (not unlike the Narrator/ Mysterious Man in Into the Woods). Because all but three of the ten actors play multiple roles (the program lists each of those actors as a character “& Others”) and they are often masked, it is sometimes difficult to determine who is playing whom. It hardly matters, as the entire cast is outstanding. I was impressed with the strength of Eymard Meneses Caling as the Shogun, the sly wit of Jonny Lee Jr. as Manjiro, and the depth of Daniel May as Kayama. Andrew Cristi provides welcome comic relief as the Shogun’s Mother.

In the play’s original Broadway production (1976), all of the roles were played by men, as was the custom in traditional kabuki. Signature wisely broke from that model. While mostly we see men and the male characters, we sometimes see men as women and women as men.

This is the first musical staged here by Signature’s new associate artistic director, Ethan Heard, and it portends very well for the future. Heard makes imaginative use of the entire theatre. The “primary” stage is several feet from a platform on which the Americans appear, so that the Japanese use a very creative boat to bridge the distance. I was especially struck by the staging of “Please Hello!,” in which the Shogun is overwhelmed by representatives from the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands, Russia, and France. (The Dutchman even tap dances in wooden shoes.) Each is imaginatively and colorfully costumed as they hand out small flags of each nation to audience members on the front rows of the various tiers. Sondheim cleverly pays homage to Gilbert and Sullivan in the verses sung by British representative.

Jonny Lee Jr. as Manjiro and Daniel May as Kayama in their final face-off. Photo credit: Daniel Rader.

Shika Shimizu’s set design is minimalistic and true to the spirit of the play. Helen G. Huang, who designed the puppets as well as the costumes, uses aspects of traditional Japanese dress but also the cartoonishly masked Commodore Perry and the Americans. Fight director Yoshi Amao created the swordplay sequences, which are breathtaking. Alexander Tom serves as musical director and conductor of the eight other musicians. They sound like a much larger orchestra, thanks to their musicianship and Jonathan Tunick's orchestrations.

I believe this is the first production I have seen that credits a “kabuki consultant” (Kirk Kanasaka) and a “taiko” consultant (Mark H. Rooney). Their contributions should be seen as a testament to Signature’s commitment to authenticity and respect for the Japanese culture.

Pacific Overtures continues through April 9. The play is rarely produced and completely different from any other musical you are likely to see, so I hope audiences will take advantage.