Overture/You Are Beautiful/A Hundred Million Miracles/I Enjoy Being A Girl/I Am Going To Like It Here/Like A God/Chop Suey/Don’t Marry Me/Grant Avenue/Love Look Away/Fan Tan Fannie/Gliding Through My Memoree Into Grant Avenue/The Other Generation/Sunday/The Other Generation (Reprise)/Finale
The London cast musical Flower Drum Song starred Mei Li, Kevin Scott and George Minami. It opened at the Palace Theatre in March 1960 and ran for 464 performances. Plot centres on conflicts between the traditional and integrated outlook of the main characters in an American Chinatown community. Music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. (UK:10)
“Flower Drum Song seems to inhabit a sort of Rodgers & Hammerstein no man's land. It was not one of the mega hits but neither was it a failure. The score is appealing and worth listening to and this London Cast recording, although not quite as accomplished as the original, has one major advantage over its Broadway counterpart: the musical director takes a more sympathetic view of the score than his Broadway colleague by allowing the ballads more space and the swingers the chance to swing.”
“Both the original Broadway and London cast recordings are very different from the film soundtrack, which is my personal favourite. The differences between the two original recordings make it worthwhile to investigate this one, particularly as it is not that readily available.”
“It is one of my favourite Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. Love the Chinatown storyline, great lyrics and beautiful music - from the enchanting Eastern flavoured A Hundred Million Miracles to the lively Grant Avenue. This is a fun-packed musical.”
“The score contains some great numbers, though I Enjoy Being A Girl might fall foul of today's political correctness.”
“It has not lost any of its magic over the years. Good listening. One of my Rogers and Hammerstein favourites, although not the most publicised.”
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