Rodgers & Hammerstein’s 'Flower Drum Song' (available from Craft Recordings and Concord Theatricals)
Available Exclusively Today as a 2-LP Set at Barnes & Noble
And Hi-res Digital for the First Time
Featuring Classic Songs Including “I Enjoy Being a Girl” and “Love, Look Away”
To Celebrate, Stars in the House to Host Flower Drum Song Cast Reunion Featuring Baayork Lee, David Henry Hwang, Alvin Ing, Jose Llana and Lea Salonga
Click here to order on vinyl
Click here to stream the album, or download as high resolution
Los Angeles, CA (September 4, 2020) — Craft Recordings and Concord Theatricals are proud to announce a special reissue of the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song, available today exclusively at Barnes & Noble. This 2-LP set features classic songs like “I Enjoy Being a Girl” and “Love, Look Away.” For the first time ever, the album is also available in digital hi-res (192/24). The vinyl is being released in tandem with Barnes & Noble’s Vinyl Weekend, click here to order.
To celebrate the release, Stars in the House will host a reunion with cast and creatives from the Original and Revival productions of Flower Drum Song tonight (September 4) at 8pm ET/5pm PT. The live reunion, hosted by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley, will feature David Henry Hwang (2002 Revival Book Writer), Alvin Ing (Original Tour and Revival Cast), Baayork Lee (Original Cast) and Jose Llana (Revival Cast, will also be performing “Sunday”), with a pre-taped performance from Lea Salonga. The episode will be available on the Stars in the House YouTube channel HERE and on Playbill.com. While the live stream is free for everyone to enjoy, those watching are encouraged to support industry professionals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic by making a tax-deductible donation to The Actors Fund, by visiting www.ActorsFund.org/Donate.
Flower Drum Song opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on December 1, 1958, starring Miyoshi Umeki, Pat Suzuki, Larry Blyden, Juanita Hall and Ed Kenney and directed by the legendary Gene Kelly, who was making his debut as a stage director with this musical. The show ran for 600 performances and was nominated in several categories at the 1959 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Costume Design, Best Choreography and Best Actor and Actress in a Musical. The musical was adapted into a film in 1961, becoming the first major Hollywood feature film to have an Asian majority cast in a contemporary Asian-American story. In 2008, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” Flower Drum Song returned to Broadway in 2002 with a revised book by David Henry Hwang. The revival, which opened on October 17, 2002, starred Lea Salonga, Sandra Allen and Jose Llana.
Set in the late 1950s and based on the novel by C.Y. Lee, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song centers on Mei Li, who has come from China to San Francisco to marry nightclub owner, Sammy Fong. But Sammy loves Linda Low, a dancer at his establishment. His friend, Wang Ta, is urged to marry Mei Li, even though he is promised to Linda. After farcical trifles, a torn Wang Ta eventually realizes it is Mei Li who he loves after all, and they happily marry.
In his autobiography, Rodgers wrote of the effect the success of Flower Drum Song had on his state of mind:
The entire experience of working on Flower Drum Song was rewarding in many ways, not the least of which was that it convinced me that I had overcome all traces of my depression. My only thought was to keep on doing what I was doing, and I saw nothing in the future that could stop me.
The show received very positive reviews over the course of its run. New York Journal-American critic John McClain stated, “Flower Drum Song is a big fat Rodgers and Hammerstein hit.” The New York Daily Mirror called it, “Another notable work by the outstanding craftsmen of our musical theatre ... a lovely show, an outstanding one in theme and treatment.”
The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song was mastered from the original three-track tape and cut at 45-RPM by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound. Click here to order your copy of the vinyl, and click here to stream or download the album.
TRACK LISTING
Vinyl
Side A
1 – Overture
2 – You Are Beautiful
3 – A Hundred Million Miracles
Side B
1 – I Enjoy Being A Girl
2 – I Am Going To Like It Here
3 – Like A God
4 – Chop Suey
5 – Don’t Marry Me
Side C
1 – Entr’acte
2 – Grant Avenue
3 – Love, Look Away
4 – At The Celestial Bar: Fan Tan Fannie / Gliding Through My Memoree / Grant Avenue (Reprise)
Side D
1 – The Other Generation
2 – Sunday
3 – The Other Generation (Reprise)
4 – Wedding Parade And Finale
Digital
1 – Overture
2 – You Are Beautiful
3 – A Hundred Million Miracles
4 – I Enjoy Being A Girl
5 – I Am Going To Like It Here
6 – Like A God
7 – Chop Suey
8 – Don’t Marry Me
9 – Grant Avenue
10 – Love, Look Away
11 – At The Celestial Bar: Fan Tan Fannie / Gliding Through My Memoree / Grant Avenue (Reprise)
12 – Entr’acte
13 – The Other Generation
14 – Sunday
15 – The Other Generation (Reprise)
16 – Wedding Parade And Finale
ABOUT CONCORD:
Concord is the independent, worldwide leader in the development, management and acquisition of sound recordings, music publishing and theatrical performance rights. Concord has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, London, Berlin and Miami and operates via three primary operating divisions: Concord Theatricals, Concord Music Publishing, and Concord Recorded Music.
ABOUT CRAFT RECORDINGS:
Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most prestigious collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its rich and storied repertoire includes legendary artists such as Joan Baez, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Vince Guaraldi, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, Nine Inch Nails, Thelonious Monk, Otis Redding, R.E.M. and Traveling Wilburys, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Concord, Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, Milestone, Musart, Nitro, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Sugar Hill, Vanguard, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation—ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. For more info, visit CraftRecordings.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Spotify.
ABOUT CONCORD THEATRICALS:
Concord Theatricals is the world’s most significant theatrical company, comprising the catalogs of R&H Theatricals, Samuel French, Tams-Witmark and The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection. Our unparalleled roster includes the work of Irving Berlin, Agatha Christie, George & Ira Gershwin, Marvin Hamlisch, Lorraine Hansberry, Kander & Ebb, Ken Ludwig, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dominique Morisseau, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Thornton Wilder and August Wilson. We are the only firm providing truly comprehensive services to the creators and producers of plays and musicals, including theatrical licensing, music publishing, script publishing, cast recording and first-class production. www.concordtheatricals.com
ABOUT RICHARD RODGERS AND OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II:
After long and highly distinguished careers with other collaborators, Richard Rodgers (Composer, 1902-79) and Oscar Hammerstein II (Librettist/Lyricist, 1895-1960) joined forces in 1943 to create the most successful partnership in American Musical Theatre. Prior to joining forces, Rodgers collaborated with lyricist Lorenz Hart on musical comedies that epitomized wit and sophistication (Pal Joey, On Your Toes, Babes In Arms, and more), while Hammerstein brought new life to operetta and created the classic Show Boat with Jerome Kern. Oklahoma!, the first Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, introduced an integrated form that became known as “the musical play.” Their shows that followed included Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music. Collectively, the Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals have earned Tony, Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, Pulitzer and Olivier Awards. The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization is a Concord Company, www.concord.com and for more info, follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube
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