What can be said about a musical as confusing as Flower Drum Song? It isn’t that this particular production is substandard; I simply fail to understand how two masters of the stage such as Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein could have written a story so inconsistent as this one. To experience Flower Drum Song is to watch two very different musicals. The show certainly displays the explosive show tunes we’ve come to expect from Rodgers and Hammerstein, but these are sadly intermixed with plodding solos that serve only to drag the lethargic story along. In the end, I had very mixed feelings about this show. While several parts of it are very solid, the show has a bizarre undercurrent that takes away from the total experience and leaves something to be desired.

Based on the novel by C.Y. Lee, Flower Drum Song is a story about the continual rift between generations, and between tradition and transition. The story opens as Mei-Li, a young Chinese girl, flees her country in hopes of a better life in the United States. When she arrives in San Francisco’s Chinatown, she meets Wang Ta, a young man embroiled in moral conflict with his traditionalist father, who is trying to resist the influence of popular culture on his failing opera house. The remainder of the story focuses on the characters’ struggle to achieve a balance between cultural change and respect for tradition.

Having seen several of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s masterpieces such as The Music Man, Oklahoma, and The Sound of Music, I have to admit that I had fairly high expectations for Flower Drum Song. In retrospect, this is probably exactly why I felt this show was missing something, because what it lacks is the kind of consistently satisfying musical score that made the duo’s other shows popular. In particular, the solos and duets stand out in their mediocrity as they rely upon stand-and-deliver tactics, rather than emphasizing the flow of the story. Even Mei-Li’s climactic solo in “Love, Look Away” comes off as unreasonably lame because it completely interrupts what should be the story’s gradual climax. It’s also unfortunate that some of the most lackluster songs are reprised several times throughout the show. In truth, I will go completely insane if I have to listen to “A Hundred Million Miracles” again.

That being said, there’s a lot to be said in favor of the show. The casting is absolutely inspired, drawing upon some of the best talent Broadway has to offer. While the original 1960 version of the show casted several Caucasians as the inhabitants of Chinatown, this current version features an entirely Asian and Asian American cast. The depth of the cast is probably the show’s strongest point, as the great performances of the leads are nearly upstaged by the lesser characters. Allen Liu’s portrayal of foppish stylist and costume designer Harvard brings a lot of humor to the story; stage veteran Alvin Ing is also solid as Chin, a new role added for the Broadway revival. The role of Chin was actually written for Ing, who starred as Wang Ta forty-three years ago in the original production.

Even though Flower Drum Song’s score has little to offer, the entire show is almost redeemed by the spectacular finale of Act One. The choreography of “Fan Tan Fannie”, better known as “The Fan Dance”, is brilliant, as the dancers intensify the music and the dance itself with rhythmic accents from the repeated opening of the fans. The act finally comes to a close with Harvard’s sidesplitting performance of “I am a Vagabond Sailor”, which brought much of the audience to its feet.

I wish more could be said for the rest of the show, as these outstanding moments seemed to be swallowed up by the endless solos and subplots. Whether or not a given person will appreciate this show is a tossup.