Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra
Promoting Cultural Diversity through Multicultural Theater, Events, and Workshops in Western Nevada County
CATS 2009 Production of
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What People are Saying about ...Flower Drum SongThank you CATS having performed what, in our opinion, is the finest musical we have seen here in the past ten years. We hope you feel the wonderful taste that comes from the success of hard work well done. -- Gary Quehl and Bonnie Hampton ****Margo and I really enjoyed the show last night. It might be the best, in a long line of great shows. -- Bob and Margo Casselberry ****You guys have a homerun! Enjoy "being a girl" with a hit on your hands! -- Karen Leigh Sharp **** |
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"Flower Drum Song" is a really fun show. It's got everything you want in a musical: great songs, big dance numbers, fantastic costumes and sets, laughs, tears, boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, funny uncles, and an eleven-piece orchestra. I think it's been a while since something this big has been staged in Nevada County and CATS has done a great production job. -- Steve Nicholson ****What a marvelous production! We all enjoyed every act of the production! The costumes were especially marvelous, the roles played well, and the integrity related to the original production in tact. The red fans and the coordination involved was a masterpiece!!! We all just loved it. Blessings for continued success! -- Susan Hopkins ****We've been commenting for hours -- the "best yet" not only for CATS -- but of the musical productions (and many theatrical productions) we've seen in our town in the past decade or so. Kudos to everyone: Ken's excellent band/orchestra, dazzling costumes, fine cast (Mei Lei is perfect), rich choreography, brilliant set change. You should get a passel of Elly's for this one. -- Janaia & Robyn ****UNBELIEVABLE - FANTASTIC - YOU HAVE A HIT! Without a doubt, this is one of the best productions (if not the best) ever in Nevada County. Having just returned from Manhattan (and 3 plays), this production could be a road show. The live orchestra made the difference (of course Ken Hardin is terrific). I cannot tell you how wonderful the lead was. I spend as much time as possible in the theatre and she is good. -- Rosalie Baker ****You have out done yourself this time. Each year you seem to have a better production than the previous - and I HAVE LOVED ALL THE PRODUCTIONS THAT I HAVE SEEN! THANK YOU! Everyone enjoyed the play - terrific production value: the cast, band, costumes, sets, choreography, songs, scripts - what can I say but WOW! - Lope ****Thanks for giving me one of the greatest evenings in years. It was so tremendous from start to finish. The people working the house were so good to me. I've seen the production in London - and this one is better! Thank you! -- Fred Forsman ****Congratulations. It was a fantastic show! My daughter, Olivia, especially loved the Chinese Take-out Box Costumes. She told several of her friends in school and they came specifically to see those costumes. And they all loved the show. Wonderful! -- Mila Johansen ****The fieldtrip to the show presented teachable moments for our students. They wrote to the cast afterwards and described things they liked about the play. They asked many questions, like, what did the red books represent; the culture; the struggle of immigrants; and fitting in as an "American". They had questions about the ending, the costumes, rehearsals, staging, and blocking. It was really great to get them so interested and curious. -- Allison Chan (cast member and teacher at Sierra Mountain High School) ****I saw "Flower Drum Song" last weekend. It was my first CATS show, and one of the best productions I have seen in the area since moving here 3 years ago. Great set, great costumes, great orchestra, great cast! -- Peter Mason ****One word about "Flower Drum Song" ...BRAVO! What a total first-class job. Was probably one of my favorites. -- Robyn Adams ****I want to thank you so much for "Flower Drum Song". The performance was adult Disneyland for me, as it transformed and moved me out of my daily world and into a most enjoyable three hours of theater in beautiful Nevada City. -- Lucky Owyang ****Thank you and CATS for wonderful "Flower Drum Song!" Best thing that's ever been on that stage! - Custis Haynes |
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Coming Full Circle
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"Flower Drum Song"
"Flower Drum Song" is truly something very special and we wanted to alert all our friends that it is a MUST SEE! -- Jerry & Beth Biagini
When I was a child growing up in San Francisco's Chinatown, I attended Chinese school at St. Mary's on Stockton Street. Even though I spoke Chinese at home (Toishanese dialect), we had to go to Chinese school to learn the more "sophisticated" Cantonese dialect! One day, while attending class in 1959, we got word that they were filming FLOWER DRUM SONG at St. Mary's Square a few blocks away. I wanted so badly to cut class and go watch! Actually, I wanted to go so I could get "discovered" and maybe even get a part in the movie! Oh well, I didn't cut class, and my opportunity for stardom went out the door! The scene they were filming was one of the opening scenes in the movie where Mei Lei and her father arrive in San Francisco from China and they wandered into the park in Chinatown. In order to make some money, they staged a singing of a flower drum song, which became the popular "A Hundred Million Miracles."
I loved the movie. I knew every single song and sang them throughout my growing up years. FLOWER DRUM SONG introduced me to the beautiful sounds of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. To this day, they are my favorite collaborators and musicals are my favorite genre. FLOWER DRUM SONG was the first movie musical with an all-Asian cast. The actors in the movie looked just like me! Maybe that's why FLOWER DRUM SONG resonated so well with the Chinese community - there was a real connection there - even to this day. The story was cute and fun, and it definitely filled an artistic void. Today, people's awareness has evolved. At least mine has. After watching the movie now, I end up wanting more. In comes David Henry Hwang, an award-winning Asian-American playwright! 
Mr. Hwang saw the opportunity of taking this classic story beyond the generation gap into a world where cultural conflicts and differences are transformed. He rewrote the story in 2002, which was nominated for a Tony award on Broadway. He kept the same beautiful songs and kept intact the spirit of the original 1957 story by C.Y. Lee. Mr. Hwang's version incorporates modern-day sensibilities with depth, poignancy, and charm. This is the version that CATS will be producing at the Nevada Theatre from January 22 to February 14. (Our fundraiser of the 1961 movie, starring Nancy Kwan, is on February 13, 8pm, at the Nevada Theatre. Come compare the two versions!) Our 20+-member multicultural cast hails from, not only locally, but also from Roseville, Rocklin, and Elk Grove. It's been a joy to watch rehearsals by our revered team of directors Michael Baranowski (Director), Ken Hardin (Music Director,