Hwang Revisits 'Flower Drum Song' Remake

Playwright David Henry Hwang is currently overseeing a significant revival of his reworked version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, 'Flower Drum Song.' This production, running for seven weeks in Los Angeles, marks a return to the city where his revised book premiered 25 years ago. Hwang sees this as an opportunity to address shortcomings he identified in both the original 1958 musical and his own 2001 adaptation.

His previous revision aimed to update elements that had not aged well, such as dated lyrics and stereotypical portrayals. However, Hwang has now further refined the narrative, questioning character choices like the heroine's attraction to a less decisive male lead. He has also introduced a scene emphasizing the harsh realities faced by immigrants arriving in America.

This iteration also explicitly addresses the character Harvard's sexuality, making him definitively gay, reflecting San Francisco's Chinatown's role in LGBTQ+ culture. Furthermore, the production highlights intraracial discrimination within the Asian American community, a nuanced aspect often overlooked in favor of focusing on external racism.

Hwang noted that the musical's pro-immigrant message, central to the 1958 original, is exceptionally pertinent in the current socio-political climate. He expressed pride in staging a show that celebrates immigration and portrays immigrants with depth and humanity. This production at East West Players, the nation's oldest Asian American theater company, is being staged at the larger Aratani Theater due to its scale.