New Musical in Manhattan

Flower Drum Song (music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II; book by Mr. Hammerstein and Joseph Fields) proves to be thoroughly professional, has Miyoshi Umeki, Pat Suzuki and other nice performers, has some agreeable dancing, some gorgeous costumes, here proof of a jolly Rodgers and there of a dreamy one. As purely popular musical fare, the show should fare handsomely. But as Rodgers and Hammerstein, it not only lacks the talent of their top-drawer work, it seldom has the touch. Flower Drum Song is passably pleasant in its way, but its way is strictly routine.

This is borne out by a natural comparison between this tale of San Francisco's Chinatown, of Oriental parents and Americanized children, and The King and I. Once again East meets West; once again there are clashing customs and picturesque ceremonies. Doubtless Rodgers and Hammerstein were properly determined that never their twain should meet; in any case, they operate at such different levels that they cannot. Where, in musicomedy terms, The King and I seemed truly exotic and aromatically blended fable, score and choreography into one. Flower Drum Song has no distinctive elements to blend and is never really exotic because it makes Chinatown almost indistinguishable from Broadway.

The Rodgers score can be pretty (7 Am Going to Like It Here), or have zip (I Enjoy Being a Girl), or lead to fun (Don't Marry Me). But it gets few assists from the lyrics, and the libretto gains nothing from its Joseph Fields brand of gag. Perhaps the right comparison for the show is not with first-flight Rodgers and Hammerstein but with second-best Rodgers and Hart. Such work might well be less smoothly professional than Flower Drum Song, but it was more individualized. If it sagged, it would suddenly soar; if there was nothing notable for the nightingale, there was something delightful for the mockingbird. The Hart wit waltzed to a Rodgers tune; the Hart irreverence punctured what, on more than one occasion, Flower Drum Song seems to promote.

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